Getting tired of certain music-genres, does it ever come back?

[Zantera]

I'll try to formulate this question as good as possible, and start off with some basic facts.
When i first got into music for real (about 6-7 years ago), my first 3-4 years consisted of pretty much only metal-music, bands like Maiden, Metallica but also newer bands like Linkin Park, SOAD and Disturbed. (to name a few)
But i slowly started to "outgrow" that type of music, even though i went to a more progressive-phase, with lots of Opeth and Dream Theater, it started to become less heavy for almost each discovery, falling in love with bands like PT and Anathema. (that aren't exactly heavy)

Overall i feel like my favorite-bands are bands that offers more then one type of music, because i NEED diverse things to keep me interested enough, and that is the reason why bands like Oceansize, Porcupine Tree and Radiohead (to name a few) will always be high up, because there's lots of variety in the music.
I don't really miss metal-music at all, i still get into metal-music from time to time, but it always has to be something diverse, because bands like Maiden and Metallica aren't interesting anymore.

So to my question, am i alone in feeling like this?
I get that "growing out" of music isn't very uncommon, i'm just slightly afraid to outgrow the music i love now.

[skydivingninja]

Depends on the person.  I don't listen to much prog rock/metal like DT anymore, but there's always a time where I'll suddenly find myself on a DT/Yes/Pink Floyd/Spock's Beard kick. 

[kári]

Maybe you will, maybe you wont... Why does it matter? You will always listen to music you love...

[Zantera]

It's just a bit fascinating i'd say, i see a lot of people listening to the same genre for 10/20-years or so, when me myself have an urge to always find something new.
Sure it's different for every each individual, but i do find the "phenomenon" a bit interesting. 

[kári]

Sure, it's interesting! But why are you afraid to outgrow the music you love now?

[Zantera]

Well, i guess because now i feel like music is a huge passion, meanwhile earlier when i listened to metal, it was mainly to have something in the background when playing games.
Even though i'm not that concerned about it, it would still suck if i woke up one day, not caring at all about bands i love now.

[kári]

Well if you keep following that trend you'll end up caring much more for the next bunch of bands you'll fall in love with, right?

[KevShmev]

Even if you shun some former favorites, so to speak, for a while, it is likely that you will eventually come back to them.  I grew up listening to nothing but 80s music (mostly the popular stuff that was played on MTV), but once I got into classic rock, progressive rock, etc. in the 90s, I barely listened to any of that 80s stuff for probably a decade, but the cycle came back around, and I now listen to that stuff again quite frequently, as well as my newer and current favorites.  In other words, don't fret.

[Ultimetalhead]

I used to be into synthpop and other electronic music quite a bit. Then there was my thrash/death metal phase, and now I'm in my prog phase. I'll still come back to those older bands occasionally, but it's not something I do every week. I always notice my tastes maturing a bit. A few times every year I'll find a new band that I'll binge on. I think that's really the only thing that stops me from listening to the same band forever. Porcupine Tree made me branch out from DT, and the cycle just keeps going.

I'd say don't worry about your tastes changing, and just enjoy the moments you have now as much as you can.

[kári]

just enjoy the moments you have now as much as you can.

This is correct no matter what precedes it.

[Marvellous G]

I do tend to obsess over certain bands/genres really intensely for about a 6 month period before moving on, which I'm hoping is something I'll do less as I get older. For instance, I have 2,000 scrobbles of DT or something on LastFM but that was concentrated into a 4 month period and I've barely listened since January last year.

[King Postwhore]

Even if you shun some former favorites, so to speak, for a while, it is likely that you will eventually come back to them.  I grew up listening to nothing but 80s music (mostly the popular stuff that was played on MTV), but once I got into classic rock, progressive rock, etc. in the 90s, I barely listened to any of that 80s stuff for probably a decade, but the cycle came back around, and I now listen to that stuff again quite frequently, as well as my newer and current favorites.  In other words, don't fret.

This. Plus it depends on my mood of the day.  Happt tends to lead to 80's music.  Mad, more modern and heavy.

[ClairvoyantCat]

I'm always outgrowing my favorites.  I have no problem with it either, because the only reason for me to outgrow it would be that I found something better.

[Nekov]

I am kind of at the same point as you are. After I started listening to Prog rock I kinda stopped enjoying the rest of the music. From time to time I do listen to other stuff because I need some variety but nothing gets me going as prog. And at least from my personal experience what is happening to you is not that strange. I have a couple of friends that went through similar stages after getting into prog. Some of them decided not to listen to it anymore so they could get their old musical taste back.

[j]

I'm always looking for new stuff too.  But that doesn't mean I never listen to older/already familiar stuff at times.

No reason to worry about "outgrowing" (I hate that term for it) music, because the REALLY good stuff you'll always come back to.  If you never have that desire, then what are you missing out on?

-J

[Ben_Jamin]

If anything I've grown to enjoy more genres than getting tired. Metal will always be my roots, but my favorite so far is electronic, groove, and rap.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Even if you shun some former favorites, so to speak, for a while, it is likely that you will eventually come back to them.  I grew up listening to nothing but 80s music (mostly the popular stuff that was played on MTV), but once I got into classic rock, progressive rock, etc. in the 90s, I barely listened to any of that 80s stuff for probably a decade, but the cycle came back around, and I now listen to that stuff again quite frequently, as well as my newer and current favorites.  In other words, don't fret.

This. Plus it depends on my mood of the day.  Happt Being awake tends to lead to 80's music.  Mad, more modern and heavy.

FTFMyself

[Jamesman42]

I just listen to whatever. I went about 9 months without listening to DT just because I wasn't feeling it, then I put some back on and they sounded fresh.

I don't know, that's me, though. I was going a while without any Neal Morse, and now I've been playing his music a lot again. It happens.

[73109]

I do tend to obsess over certain bands/genres really intensely for about a 6 month period before moving on, which I'm hoping is something I'll do less as I get older. For instance, I have 2,000 scrobbles of DT or something on LastFM but that was concentrated into a 4 month period and I've barely listened since January last year.

I do this way too much too...

Metallica and Dream Theater in 08, Shinedown and Alice in Chains in 09, Devin Townsend in 2010, now, it seems as though Gojira, Falconer, and Alice Cooper are shaping up to be those bands this year.

Metallica is my favorite band of all time and I can guarantee that will never change...and I have not listened to them except for the random song on the radio in 6+ months and I have not listened to them heavily in over a year.

[Ravenheart]

Oh yeah, definitely. Green Day, Radiohead, and Nine Inch Nails were my first exposures to music. I never listen to GD anymore, and I only listen to NIN and Radiohead occasionally. And like many others on this forum, I played the hell out of Dream Theater for a long time, but I don't listen to them much anymore either.

It's pretty natural, and I think everyone is bound to rediscover long lost favorite bands, while others are simply forgotten. I guess it's revealing to how much staying power some bands have. Lately, I've been obsessed with Depeche Mode, Anathema, Ulver, and all of Steven Wilson's work.

[orcus116]

Numbers, please move on from Falconer. Please.

[darkshade]

moods and tastes change and evolve

2003 - hard rock > classic rock > heavy metal> 2004 - hard rock > heavy metal > thrash metal > death metal > black metal > hardcore > thrash metal> 2005 - prog metal > thrash metal > prog rock > space rock > jazz-rock/fusion > prog rock > jazz > electroninc > ambient > classical > prog metal > 2006 - prog rock > psychedelic rock > jazz-funk > prog rock > Frank Zappa > 2007 - jazz-rock/fusion > jazz-funk > jazz > funk > 2008 - jazz > classical > jazz-fusion > thrash metal > prog metal > jazz > 2009 - prog metal > prog rock > hip-hop > jazz-fusion > prog rock > electronic > jazz > 2010 - prog metal > hip-hop > jazz-rap > electronic > dub step > hip-hop > prog rock > jazz-fusion > 2011 - jazz-fusion > prog rock

dont ask me how i remember all that. It's also very general, of course.

[73109]

Numbers, please move on from Falconer. Please.

And why is that?

[ShadowWalker]

Because I don't look at music as defined by some genre tag, I never feel like I am limited to what I am listening to and what I may fall in and out of love with. On any given day, I can listen to all extremes, one right after another and not feel at all odd about it. Music falls into two "genres" for me - music I like and music I don't. Moods may dictate gravitating toward certain choices, but overall, I see it all as simply music. Break free of looking at your music as genre-based and simply look at it as music and you will find you never quite fall out of love with things, but rather they become less frequent in your rotation.

[73109]

The more I think about it the more I realize my listening pattern just is a constant cycle of one band to the next to the next to the next without really looking back. I mean, I still love the bands, I just don't listen to them all that much. That changes if I am about to see a band though.

[Ben_Jamin]

Because I don't look at music as defined by some genre tag, I never feel like I am limited to what I am listening to and what I may fall in and out of love with. On any given day, I can listen to all extremes, one right after another and not feel at all odd about it. Music falls into two "genres" for me - music I like and music I don't. Moods may dictate gravitating toward certain choices, but overall, I see it all as simply music. Break free of looking at your music as genre-based and simply look at it as music and you will find you never quite fall out of love with things, but rather they become less frequent in your rotation.

This is exactly how I see music. Honestly this should be how you listen to music. Just take it in and whatever you like, you like. It's to vast to enjoy every single song out there, but at least you know you can enjoy any style as long as its a song you are in the mood for. One day could be electronic, the next orchestral, the next world, and so on. You'll find interesting things in odd places you never knew of before, and its fun.

[orcus116]

Numbers, please move on from Falconer. Please.

And why is that?

There's so much better metal out there that isn't saturated with cheese.

[DarkEternalNight]

I've binged on all of my favorite bands last year with the exception of Rammstein. From January - March, it was Dream Theater. From March to October, it was Rush with a bit of Devin Townsend in between. From October-December, it was mainly Porcupine Tree and Opeth. Since then, it's been Prog, mostly King Crimson and Transatlantic. This first part of the year, it'll probably be Crowbar and Devin Townsend since those 2 have releases soon.

[wolfking]

Since I discovered Maiden about 15 years ago, I've never looked back.  I'm metal at heart, but heavily delve into prog, fusion, 80's pop, blues etc. from time to time.

[jsem]

I'm heavy rock/heavy metal at heart. I have grown up playing lotsa jazz and stuff, but I still find easier to play rock/metal than jazz... strange.

[darkshade]

Music falls into two "genres" for me - music I like and music I don't.

[73109]

Numbers, please move on from Falconer. Please.

And why is that?

There's so much better metal out there that isn't saturated with cheese.

Eh. I dig it at the moment and they have 4 albums, and I know 2 of them like the back of my hand. 2 more and they will be stuck on the shelf for a while while I move on to something different.

[sonatafanica]

IT'S MUSIC GOD DAMN IT


STOP BEING SO SERIOUS ABOUT IT


IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE ENJOYED



FUCK

[Portrucci]

cool story inc

I still like stuff I liked when I was 12, and I will still like the stuff I like now when I'm 30. To be honest, I think that if you really like a certain song or band at one point, the thing that appealed to you then, will probably still appeal to you now. I recently found an old mix-CD I made when I was 13-14 containing pretty much all electronic stuff like The Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim and various other tunes like that. And as soon as I was playing it I said to myself "I'm still enjoying this, I haven't changed that much". Then when I was 15 I got into Metallica, and I still listen to them regularly today, because I like the music. There's this illusion that "oh I was young and stupid" and so on, but I believe we are pretty damn close to who we were at 13-14 in regards to what appeals to our senses. Nowdays I listen to anything really, which I couldn't have done back at that age, but my taste has only expanded, it hasn't "moved on" if you will. I'm sure it's different for other people, but this is what happened to me 

[MetalManiac666]

Because I don't look at music as defined by some genre tag, I never feel like I am limited to what I am listening to and what I may fall in and out of love with. On any given day, I can listen to all extremes, one right after another and not feel at all odd about it. Music falls into two "genres" for me - music I like and music I don't. Moods may dictate gravitating toward certain choices, but overall, I see it all as simply music. Break free of looking at your music as genre-based and simply look at it as music and you will find you never quite fall out of love with things, but rather they become less frequent in your rotation.

Pretty much this.