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Ever lost your interest in music? (e.g. post kids)

Thanks for all the replies ... it seems ebbing and flowing of time allocated to hobbies is natural, but the underlying passion tends to remain. During my session of Neil Young yesterday I happened to see there's a new album out with Crazy Horse today. I don't believe in fortune/god etc but what a coincidence!
 
I certainly couldn’t listen to music all day, only have speech radio/podcasts on when working but 3-4 times a week works for me. Usually get 3 hours in on a Friday & about the same again on Saturday. Sunday depends upon if there is a decent football match on.
 
The older I get the more genres of music I would like to explore and experience. So sometimes I get tired of blues, same tune, same angst and it can get so predictable; so I move on to other music such as Classical music, or Middle eastern and Arabian instrumentals (its a treasure trove when it comes to tempo, rhythms and pace!). By the time I have obsessed over other music I return to blues music and now its again fresh, vibrant and so palable (with some artists) and the mad merry go round keeps on turning...:confused:
 
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I don't think it's unusual for our passion for music to ebb and flow over the years with the changes in our circumstances. I'm surprised though that the OP has purchased some new kit in this time and that hasn't ignited a renewed interest in music. I always find on the rare occasions that I buy new equipment that I can't wait to try it and it always leads to me playing more music. And it's not just about the kit, I usually find that my delight in music is refreshed.
 
My two main hobbies since my early teens have been music and photography - and I fall in and out of love with both of them on a regular basis (sometimes for years)

Currently I listen to music for a couple of hours a day at least (usually late night through cans - radio or digital files)
Haven't touched a camera in earnest for months though (if not years) - occasional snaps with the phone when I'm out walking, but mostly harmless ....
 
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I'm in real musical limbo right now. I spent several years not even switching-on the hifi after (stupidly) trying to turn the hobby into a job, and also because of unceasing frustration with unreliable valves: I ended-up scared to switch-on for fear of something expensively combusting and taking my speakers with it...

Along the way I lost touch with the music I loved, and am now finding less fulfilment in that music without knowing where I'm going next. I'm not someone who has to endlessly chase novelty, but I also can't return to the cold-sick of my distant youth: it dismays me when I see fat, raddled old codgers like me dressing-up like kids from the 70s and 80s, hobbling arthritically about to geriatric bands 40 years past their use-by date...

I've always listened to a lot of radio broadcasts, but can't abide local or commercial stations (most DJs need grinding into dogfood), and now I find R1 almost entirely a celebration of mediocrity (artists with any real edge or creativity are hidden in the small hours, if at-all), R2 is ear-Horlicks, R3 is increasingly just young women yapping for an hour about how their wombs inspired their creativity, R4 is all dreck and tory propaganda, R5 mouthsturbating sportw@nk, and now 6Music is trying to be R2 for the not-quite-so-nearly-dead: I mean, ****ing Craig 'Crack-Lisp' Charles in a ****ing primetime slot... That's the best we can muster?

Not 100% sure my system is quite where it needs to be sonically, either - just temporarily replaced my pricey and cult-following power amp with its cheaper and supposedly more-mundane monobloc predecessors, and actually enjoying them more... Didn't see that coming.

I even seem to be listening at lower volumes nowadays - another surprise. Hey-ho, onwards-and-upwards...
 
earlofsodbury said:
I'm in real musical limbo right now. I spent several years not even switching-on the hifi after (stupidly) trying to turn the hobby into a job, and also because of unceasing frustration with unreliable valves: I ended-up scared to switch-on for fear of something expensively combusting and taking my speakers with it...

Along the way I lost touch with the music I loved, and am now finding less fulfilment in that music without knowing where I'm going next. I'm not someone who has to endlessly chase novelty, but I also can't return to the cold-sick of my distant youth: it dismays me when I see fat, raddled old codgers like me dressing-up like kids from the 70s and 80s, hobbling arthritically about to geriatric bands 40 years past their use-by date...

I've always listened to a lot of radio broadcasts, but can't abide local or commercial stations (most DJs need grinding into dogfood), and now I find R1 almost entirely a celebration of mediocrity (artists with any real edge or creativity are hidden in the small hours, if at-all), R2 is ear-Horlicks, R3 is increasingly just young women yapping for an hour about how their wombs inspired their creativity, R4 is all dreck and tory propaganda, R5 mouthsturbating sportw@nk, and now 6Music is trying to be R2 for the not-quite-so-nearly-dead: I mean, ****ing Craig 'Crack-Lisp' Charles in a ****ing primetime slot... That's the best we can muster?

Not 100% sure my system is quite where it needs to be sonically, either - just temporarily replaced my pricey and cult-following power amp with its cheaper and supposedly more-mundane monobloc predecessors, and actually enjoying them more... Didn't see that coming.

I even seem to be listening at lower volumes nowadays - another surprise. Hey-ho, onwards-and-upwards...
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Bit harsh on Radio 3.Just listening to some glorious string music and no sign whatsoever of a young woman yapping on about wombs.
 
Probably been said upthread but a part could be hifi that is too big, too heavy, too complicated and too expensive. Going past reasonable (self-defined) lies diminishing returns and regrets that can spill over into diminishing enjoyment of the music itself.
Same with garage-queen cars, wine you are scared to open for fear of disappointment, etc
 
wacko said:
Probably been said upthread but a part could be hifi that is too big, too heavy, too complicated and too expensive. Going past reasonable (self-defined) lies diminishing returns and regrets that can spill over into diminishing enjoyment of the music itself.
Same with garage-queen cars, wine you are scared to open for fear of disappointment, etc
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Oh man I think you're very close to hitting the nail on the head! I find with any hobby (photography, cycling, hifi) I spend a lot on the gear ... pressure myself to get value for money, end up resenting the gear, beat myself up for buying it, consider selling it, stop using it, etc. Not to make this thread too dark, it does all tangle up with my own tendency for long lasting "dark moods".

The problem with any hobby is we think box swapping (or getting a new lens/set of wheels) will lead us to the enjoyment we seek. When in actual fact we should just listen to some music (or take some photos/go for a ride).

I am generalising here, and some lucky folks won't have these issues - I envy you!
 
Darkagesound said:
I don't think it's unusual for our passion for music to ebb and flow over the years with the changes in our circumstances. I'm surprised though that the OP has purchased some new kit in this time and that hasn't ignited a renewed interest in music. I always find on the rare occasions that I buy new equipment that I can't wait to try it and it always leads to me playing more music. And it's not just about the kit, I usually find that my delight in music is refreshed.
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I actually bought gear just after we moved house (and my wife then broke her ankle), so the entire hifi (including upgrades) is in boxes in the lounge, waiting for renovations. So i have my main hifi, plus extra SACD player and extra power amp ready to demo.
 
A sure fire way to disillusionment is finding that after a move your hifi sounds crap in the new room no matter what.
 
miktec said:
My two main hobbies since my early teens have been music and photography - and I fall in and out of love with both of them on a regular basis (sometimes for years)

Currently I listen to music for a couple of hours a day at least (usually late night through cans - radio or digital files)
Haven't touched a camera in earnest for months though (if not years) - occasional snaps with the phone when I'm out walking, but mostly harmless ....
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I'm similar but I'd add in movies and books.

I'm 61 and still play music every day. I've finally reached a point where I'm happy with my hi fi so do now listen to music rather than what recordings sound like on my kit. I do, however, also enjoy sitting in silence or reading in silence far more than I ever have done before. It's not uncommon, in fact it's increasingly frequent, to start off looking for some music, not finding anything I fancy and sitting in the quiet.

When the kids were younger I had music on all day. I put something on first thing in the morning and always played something before I went to bed. The kids grew up with music on all day. I remember that one of my kids use to come down at night and ask me to turn it a bit up so he could get to sleep and another one we could only get to sleep when he was a baby by dancing with him in the lounge with the music cranked up.

With ref to the OP - I do play music less than I used to but now tend to listen to it more attentively when it is on.
 
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I listen to a lot of music, but the place and time changes frequently. Qobuz downloads to my iPhone, and bluetoothed to my car is a frequent way. Sonos in the kitchen is another. The main hi-fi has been used a little, but nowhere near so much since i go into playing the piano.
 
wacko said:
Probably been said upthread but a part could be hifi that is too big, too heavy, too complicated and too expensive. Going past reasonable (self-defined) lies diminishing returns and regrets that can spill over into diminishing enjoyment of the music itself.
Same with garage-queen cars, wine you are scared to open for fear of disappointment, etc
Click to expand...

Definitely agree with that and I’d add that buying anything you can’t easily get out of is never a wise move in life. I always buy nice stuff used so if I don’t come out ahead I’m only ever a few tenners down. It takes all the stress and need for justification out of out of the hobby. By saying that I am absolutely certain I could live with a very nice but modest/simple system, e.g. a 303 driving LS3/5As. I’d still need a nice record player and CD/SACD player upstream as that is where my music is. I really don’t need extremes of hi-fi to enjoy music.

The other thing is to keep exploring music. Never get stuck in a rut. There is a whole world full of amazing stuff being created right now along with a huge library of stuff from all ages that we’ve all inevitably missed. I’ll never understand folk who never move beyond their teenage taste. I can’t comprehend that at all. There is just so much astonishing stuff to dive into out there.
 
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