The evolution of listening

My parents used to listen to music through the radio. On rare occasion, live music would be played at local dance get-togethers - both parents (in their youth) lived in relatively small towns. The most common social exposure to music was sounds in churches or other places of worship.

The music that was played and enjoyed was fairly slow-to-change. Trends from New York, southern California, the deep south, and Europe took quite some time to make it to the ears of middle America. Even then, the number of tunes following new trends was quite small.

From a positive point of view, music was perceived as a much more valuable resource and entertainment item. The constant play/listening of familiar tunes gave comfort to those who heard the tunes so very many times.

The downside? They never got to hear Robert Johnson play the blues (just as an example). They missed a great deal of music...

Fast forward to today. Any of us with an internet connection (or transportation to a music store) can experience MASSIVE amounts of music from all over the world. In my parents' time, the only music heard on radio or at dances was music that was marketed by a very small group of people in the music industry. Today, huge amounts of music can be heard - music that hasn't ever passed over the desk of a big-time producer or record label person.

Granted, lots of the music that is out there is not music we would all enjoy hearing... but our choices are so much more wide, so much more rich, and more diverse than any time in recorded history.

Listening has evolved as much as (if not more than) music itself. Listeners have become accustomed to broad palettes, vast choices, and rapid change. We can now access and hear new-trend music within a day of its creation. How cool is that?

As a side note, people still listen to what they like, just as they used to... the stuff the listener likes gets repeated enough to stick in the heads of the listener... Even if it isn't an itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny-yellow-polka-dot-bikini or a Flying Purple People Eater.