If you are not young, what music do you like? And want to hear?

[Papyrophile]

I hate Radio 2 with a vengeance. It all sounds like cheesy cheap pop, which I have never liked because I don't enjoy obviously easy listens. I really want to hear new music, well played, accomplished, sophisticated. Spotify seems to deliver 20 minutes of decent stuff and then descends into plinky plonk crap.. it descends into the cheapest generic version of the genre. How does a person with varied taste in music continue to hear the best of the new?

Mid 40s here, still mostly listening to hard house and techno playlists 🫣 absolutelm rasio 90s if I want indie nostalgia!

I’ve had Apple Music for ever. I use the ‘new in … ‘ playlists and skip the tracks I don’t enjoy after a minute. If I find a track I like I go to the artist’s page and try their essentials playlist. If I enjoy it I add it to my library.

I signed up to songletter. It's free and I get three emails a week with a new song. Not everything to my taste, but I've definitely found a few new additions to my music library.

I like the fact that the way we listen access music now means that you can ‘discover’ an artist who stopped recording 50 years ago.

I'm 50. Pick and choose bits of R2, but largely listen to Radio X.

KEXP is a radio station based on Seattle that plays some great music. And the D J s really care about music. Worth a listen.

How old is "not young"? I'm in my late 30s and mostly find music through YouTube now, I click on "my mix" and they add suggestions based on what else I've listened to, or I click on "mixes" at the top on the app and find a song I feel like listening to then the algorithm feeds me a playlist based on that song and others I have listened to that are similar. Then I save the ones I love to seperate playlists so when I want happy/ chilled/ fun/ sad etc music I can play the songs I've enjoyed before that I thought fit that genre/ mood. If the radio is on in the car then it's usually Classic FM, or I'll choose a radio playlist in the genre I fancy from the radio app on my phone.

I'm quite old, late 30s, but I mainly listen to contemporary girl pop, there's some really fantastic stuff around at the moment, yes, some of it's quite mainstream but absolutely top-notch.
I know everyone's talking about her, but, in my opinion, it doesn't get any better than Taylor Swift, she's so much more than just a disposable pop star, she's an incredibly talented song-writer, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist who is both incredibly prolific and consistently excellent. Her lockdown indiefolk albums, 'folklore' and 'evermore' are exquisite pieces of work, her 2022 bedroom pop album 'Midnights' is flawless and her 31-track long 2024 album 'The Tortured Poets Department' is an utter masterpiece, and that's just the start!
Elsewhere, I'm currently loving Chappell Roan, Charli XCX, Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo, Maisie Peters, Leah Kate, Gracie Abrahams, Renee Rapp and girl in red, yes, some of it's a bit poppy, but really intelligent, sparkling pop.
I listen to a bit of R1 and R2, but I regularly get the Alexa to compile playlists for me and it often presents me with exciting new suggestions. I used to listen to 6 Music but I'm pretty burned out on guitar indie at the moment, though some of the specialist shows can be interesting.

I'm quite old, late 30s

You're a spring chicken!

I listen to 6Music. Glad to have found my tribe! If I want classical music then I'll listen to Classic FM. I think my taste in classical music is more mainstream than my taste in pop/rock/indie etc

I'm 58. What I listen to depends on where I am. In the car, I just have a memory stick with hundreds of songs on. In the kitchen I have the radio on, usually Classic FM but occasionally a Radio 4 comedy programme or play. In the living room I'll put a CD or record on. In bed, Spotify, but only my own play lists, I never listen to its suggestions.
My DS makes play lists for me too, or adds songs in the car. He's 19 but has fairly eclectic tastes and doesn't like much current music so it's usually rock or blues, though he's been sending me Frank Sinatra and obscure Northern Soul recently, and has even persuaded me that not all country music is awful!
I agree Radio 2 is dire. I had an MRI scan a while ago and the radiographer must have picked Radio 2 on the basis of my date of birth as she plonked some headphones on and disappeared and I was forced to endure some woman screeching banal comments in between cheesy old songs for 45 minutes. I was seriously considering pressing the emergency buzzer to escape it.

Northern soul.

I'm 47

I listen to 60s stuff, Brazilian jazz, whatever I'm learning in choir and sixteenth century recorder music. Also Ghibli soundtracks, musicals and recently brass band music

Car radio is set to greatest hits because I don't like heart.

I don't listen to much actual new music - most of my new music is only new to me.

Most of my new stuff comes via my son who is a professional musician.

F65, My car radio favourites include:

https://www.radio-uk.co.uk/capital-dance
https://www.radio-uk.co.uk/chill

Heard this wonderful cover today - it's been on a Youtube loop ever since: 4

Enjoy the journey...

DS2 advises me. He's introduced me to everything from funky Aussie indie pop bands like Parcels to ambient guitarists like Pliny.

I watch Later with Jules Holland - that's how I discovered Michael Kiwanuka and (years ago) Sufjan Stevens and Cee Lo.

If I go to festivals I try to spend time in some of the smaller tents or stages - first saw Squid on a tiny stage. Or I watch people I've never heard of play Glastonbury on TV (first heard Gabriels, and – years ago – Christine & The Queens and Haim by doing this.)

DH is good at keeping up with new music. He likes everyone from Caroline Shaw who is quite avant garde to Kelis who is mainstream but really diverse and has some gorgeous albums.He's better than I am at playing new stuff. I love listening to old favourites.

Radio 6 👌

Early 40s here. When I was younger I was very into buying CDs (now long gone) and going to gigs (largely indie). I still like indie but don't do gigs anymore. I have to say I only very rarely listen to the music of my teens and 20s, I prefer something a bit newer rather than pure nostalgia trips.

Although I do occasionally like Radio 6 I don't enjoy some of the talking once it starts to outweigh the music (which I guess is true for most radio in general). I can never quite seem to get Spotify to understand my taste, maybe I'm too picky?

For the past few years my go-to is YouTube, I like finding small bands/ artists, also some fan channels have created really amazing videos to go along with an artist's songs. I like reading the comments to see what fans of an artist that I like also recommend.

You can find more obscure stuff on there, although I mostly stick to indie/pop or classical, the other day I was listening to Bulgarian women's choir music, totally otherworldly and different to anything else.

Radio 6, I subscribe to YouTube music which is a bit rubbish but at least allows me to easily listen to whole albums. I'm old fashioned like that but I like to listen to complete albums, not shuffled individual tracks.

I'm a 90s girl so I listen to a lot of 90s indie and dance music, I do like some contemporary pop like Charlie XCX and Christine & the Queens and every year I listen through NME's top albums of the previous year to pick up some new music. I'm mostly finding I like 'alternative pop' type stuff these days and a few guitar bands like Blondeshell or Big Moon who sound like 90s girl indie bands I liked.

Thanks all. Apologies for disappearing on you, but I had a briefly busy social interlude, and lost sight of this. Lots of you are on my wavelength.

I’m 60. I used to love Radio 2, it’s such a shame it’s changed so much.
I went with Ken to Greatest Hits, but I tend to just listen to his show then switch off.

I'm the same age as you, but only listen to Greatest Hits on Friday and Saturday nights after 10pm when they play soul music.

The rest of the time I listen to Absolute Radio (the main station but they have many other decade stations) as it plays a good mixture of old and new music and I like the djs.

I'm approaching mid 40s. Other than BBC Sounds for loads of 90s nostalgic tunes I listen to random play lists on Spotify. I've found a few (new to me) bands including Thievery Corporation and alt-J. I mostly listen to the Discover Weekly play list which is where I came across new bands. The playlist should play old tunes and new stuff.
I put on the Mercury Prize 2024 Shortlist playlist the other day, which was 90% new to me.
Finally, I find a tune to listen to. Tap the 3 dots to the right then go to song radio. Spotify should suggest other music of a similar style.

I’m 55, and have a paid Spotify account.
Green Day are my most listened to on there, though Frank Turner, The Jam, The Smiths, Oasis, Stone Roses, Beautiful South, Duran Duran and various two tone bands also get a fair amount of plays.

Too much to young
Concrete jungle.
Both hard hitting records.
The boiler by Rhonda and the specials Aka is the most brutal record I have listened too.

Rhoda not Rhonda.