Have you been into a record shop recently with the itch to buy something new and felt incredibly frustrated and let down when you can’t find a single thing you want among the racks of racks of new releases and have to leave the shop empty-handed? It can happen at any age of course but as you get older it happens more and more often and the frustration becomes coloured by the anxiety that the grim day is coming when you won’t go into a record shop for a new release ever again because you’re an ancient fucker completely out of touch with the now and your record collection is frozen somewhere in the past.
Serious music fandom is an addiction which starts when you’re a teenager and though decades might go by it remains a precious link to those golden days which is why it’s depressing to feel it fading away. You can feed your habit by buying old records (and I do) which are fine for a quick fix but nothing can beat the rush you get from a pure, uncut, new record — and buying it on the day of release is the biggest high of all that makes you feel like you did when you were an eager, passionate youth and the world was full of exciting new music. I turn 48 next week and there are still about half a dozen current bands and singers I automatically buy new releases by which isn’t bad for someone of my advanced state of decrepitude (I have mates my age — and younger — who lost touch with current music trends sometime in the early 90s), but with age the fountain of discovery inevitably starts to dry up or you struggle to embrace the latest hot thing (at the moment I’m trying hard to be impressed by the new Arcade Fire album with only “it’s OK” results) leaving you with longer and longer periods when there’s nothing new to buy and you feel like a heroin addict whose supply of smack has been cut off — and equally miserable and sick.
This is nothing to do with wanting to stay “hip” — God forbid — but about not wanting to turn into one of those sad blokes who mutters grumpily about “music today” and only listens to music he bought 30 years go. Contemplating this future is like staring into the black hole of your own mortality and the death of that last link to the kid you once were.
Download: You’re History – Shakespears Sister (mp3)
cryingallthewaytothechipshop.wordpress.com 
I’m sorry, but Arcade Fire – as someone once said, there’s no “there” there. No tunes, no melodies, no personalities. But hey – that’s what happens when you let Canada produce your next big thing.
LikeLike
I lost touch with new music when kids came a long (sorry Lee). Harder to get to gigs, exhaustion etc.
but then they grow up and twow marvelous things happen. One you can find new music you like together and two you can point them in the right direction to older stuff. Just today I put Mingus Ah Um on my eldest’s MP3 player.
LikeLike
My favourite thing when I was a teenager was to take a train up to London and wander around the record and book shops. Recently I was having an attic clear-out and found an old book of bank statements, and could clearly see where I was spending my money. Remember these names (they’ve all gone now) : Virgin Megastore, Our Price, Tower Records, Mister CD, Dillons, Borders, Ottakers.
LikeLike
I went through a bit of a “huh, music today…” phase, but have since become a born again musophile thanks to Radcliffe and Maconie on Radio 2 online. I was (and still am) really surprised by just how much good music there is being made, though it’s frustrating not to be able to see a lot of the good live acts when you live in Pubrockistan.
LikeLike
Today is my 60th birthday and I feel ancient. I’ve almost stopped going to record stores these past few years and the last gigs I was at were last year – Neil Young and Steve Earle, both playing in Aberdeen.
I felt like a kid again at the Neil Young show – one of my top 5 fave gigs.
But, most of the current pop toons pass me by. Now and then I find a gem by a new (young) band, but they seem few and far between.
Ah nostalgia – it ain’t what it used to be either.
LikeLike
Great post…As a 46 year old, I completely and worryingly identify with this post.
LikeLike
Brilliant post, sums up how I have been feeling for the past few months. I will buy a couple of dance twelves every month but these are one off tunes that grab me. Nothing has really made me feel enthused since finding the XX (late) at the tale end of last year, except perhaps the 2nd Meursault album around March/April time.
LikeLike
Yes Sir! Great article, my sentiments exactly! I’m 36 and I can’t wait to buy Roots Manuva’s latest reggae tinged hip hop offering tomorrow. Too old to listen to hip hop I’m told…bah! Nothing beats the discovery of fresh sounds!
LikeLike
Howdy! Someone in my Facebook group shared this website with us so I came to take a look. I’m definitely enjoying the information. I’m bookmarking and will be tweeting this to my followers! Wonderful blog and fantastic design.
LikeLike