Does your age effect your obsession?

[Discoteque]

i was drivign aroudn with a friend a couple years ago, and we had Green Day on the radio, and were singing to it at the top of our lungs....suddenly, we stopped and looked at each other and said, "are we getting too old for this?"

as i get older, i'm finding that i like less and less of the music that's "out there"....it's all shallow teen/kiddie pop, or so blatently angst-ridden and angry, that i can't relate to it at all. it's not a really big deal with me - it's usually only about the music itself, but there are times when I catch myself thinking "i think i am getting too old for this!" they say everybody has a "music age" (or a music "rut" as the case may be) - everyone has a certain era of music that becomes their favorite, and they tend to not vary too much from it. i guess i'm an 80s/90s gal!

but i love U2 - not only are they my age, but their music is classic, timeless...their albums have been a sort of "movie soundtrack" to my life. Bono's lyrics have spoken for me when i couldn't, and like fine wine, the guys and their music just seem to get better with age.

 

[Bono's shades]

I don't think it's so much your age as your personality and the type of person you are. Some people are more obsessive, some have stronger emotions and tend to become more attached to things and feel more passionately about them than others.

Good point! And another thing that might come into play is how much of a "music" person you are generally. Some people just get really, really into music and others don't although they might get passionately attatched to something else, such as movies. Just as some people might not understand how I could care so passionately about music, I have never understood the devotion some people have to movies. To me movies aren't a big deal. Sure, I've seen some good ones but it's not something I get really excited about. I couldn't even tell you what my favorite movie is because I honestly don't know. But I could probably write a doctoral dissertation on why U2 is my favorite band (Uh, don't worry, I'm not going to attempt that here - at least not tonight!)

 

[BabyGrace]

hey it's ok enggirl - sometimes talking in circles can get you somewhere, and sometimes it's just, well...talking in circles!

but yeah I know what you mean about U2 being a touchstone. I think it always will be for a lot of us. what just gets me is the fact that they are the one band my dad has really managed to connect with when he's long since retreated to the touchstones of his youth.

and basically, I think we should always be able to keep growing and expanding in terms of music taste, and pretty much everything else.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

And also...

be it movies or music or books or whatever-it's always nice to have something you care deeply about, something you're really into and interested in.

I'm a huge music person. I listen to lots of music, and I can thank my parents for that. I just feel that without music, life wouldn't be quite as exciting, you wouldn't be able to find solace in a song, because if music didn't exist, then people would not be able to put into words absolutely perfectly everything you're feeling and thinking.

And I think that's one of the reasons I got into U2-I just love the way they put things in their songs, they make you think about things you never considered before, their songs can relate to a situation you're in, and so on and so forth. I think that's one of the reasons a lot of you here like U2, if I'm not mistaken.

But you know what I mean? Be it a certain band, or music in general, or a certain actor or a movie, or just movies in general, or certain books, or whatnot, people will always find something in this world that they can get into, something that they will connect with, and I think it's a good thing to have something like that in your life, because when the rest of the world seems like it's gone off its rocker, you have whatever it is you are into there to comfort you and to make you realize that not everyone in the world has lost their marbles, the music you listen to or the movies you watch or the books you read all express exactly how you feel, just in much better words than you could ever hope to express, and so you feel better because there is someone out there who thinks along the same lines as you.

I kinda started rambling there, and going off in slightly different tangents, but, oh, well. Hopefully everyone knows what I'm getting at here.

Angela

 

[joyfulgirl]

take it from an oldie

i find this really itneresting actually. i'd like to hear from more older fans that have been following the band since the early 80's.
does the passion wear off?
will i ever stop talking about u2 to friends and family?
will i ever take down my u2 posters?
one of my friends came to stay the other week and said to me "gee i must be getting old, id never think to have posters in my room."

no
no
yes--the posters will come down. to be replaced by expensive professional photos of the band in $500 frames.

 

[joyfulgirl]

Re: Good topic

I am another fan who has been listening to U2 since the early days... The truth is I think I am actually a bigger U2 fan now than I was before.

 

[enggirl]

hey it's ok enggirl - sometimes talking in circles can get you somewhere, and sometimes it's just, well...talking in circles!

Thanks BabyGrace for understanding! It's always safe in here, no matter how out in the weeds we get!

 

[Scarletwine]

This is a great topic!

I've enjoyed U2's music since they started getting airplay in the States. Over the years I've gone to four concerts, bought their albums and watched them on TV whenever I could. However, I didn't know much about them as people; they were just a band I liked very, very much.

It was late February of this year when I realized that yes, U2 WAS my favorite band, and I started seeking out information about them in books, magazines and on the Internet. Before then, it wouldn't have occured to me to visit a site like Interference, let alone PLEBA!

I think, in my case, the "passion" is going to last for the rest of my life. U2's music has been a part of my life for so long; I can't picture NOT buying a record of theirs when it is released.
And over the last few months, I've come to realize that I think of this band kind of distant, old acquaintances of sorts. It was kind of a warm, familiar feeling that I had while watching them on SNL, the Grammies, the Super Bowl and similar shows. They've sort of been in my life all these years as background music. It's just in the past few months that they've moved to the forefront of my leisure-time activities?posting and reading posts on Interference and such.

That's exactly how I feel. Now I have tons of books, boots, and tapes. And I love the band more than ever.

 

[U2SavesTheWorld]

It never goes away

I'm going on my 13th year of HARD CORE fandom of this band.


My PASSION just shows itself in different ways as I've gotten older (25 now)...

I'm no longer writing BONO on every single page of a Lit book and I'm not writing FIRST NAME HEWSON on everything I own. THough I do think my employer would find that amusing...something to think about.

Anyway, this thing is just manifesting itself in different ways now. First of all, I spend serious money on this band now and, thank god, I now have the means with which to do. EBay is a constant in my life and so is the U2 room in my condo (I had to have in individually insured). Instead of screaming when they come on the radio, I scream when I get my 3rd Sweetest Thing chocolate bar in the mail, you know?

I'm babbling. I will stop.
I guess it.....
It EVOLVES.....Don't let it get awaaaaaay.....

 

[what a bomb!]

I think the reason there aren't any other bands I'm becoming obsessed with is because U2 is such a big obsession that there isn't room for anymore.

Though...there aren't any newer artists that I'd care to become obsessed with so far.

Thats how I feel! thru the 80's went thru loads of bands, seeing them live ect even though U2 were the faves,and like you say the obsession with U2 is to big for anyone else and quite frankly there is nothing coming thru that interest me. All we seem to get over here is manufactured boy bands and hardcore dance crap!

 

[Saracene]

I listen to heaps of bands, but I've only had two truly deep musical loves so far: Queen, when I was about thirteen years old, and U2 since 2000. I'm not a sort of person who gets obsessed easily, but when I do get passionate about something, it takes over my entire being. And I think that visiting this forum and other U2 discussion groups was what helped my obsession along: it's like a candle that burns so brightly because there're other candles that lend a bit of their flames to mine.

My passion for U2 is probably very different to what it's been like a couple of years ago when there was sooooo much stuff to discover about the band that I'd spend nights and days on the net in some sort of feverish state, just trying to absorb as much as I could without my head bursting to bits. I guess it evolved into something more calm, although not any less intense.

As for age... well, I'm only 22, but I've noticed that almost all of the bands I ever got seriously interested in are "older" bands. It's not to say that there's no good new music around, but to me almost all of those new groups seem awfully faceless. There's an argument out there that the music itself is the only thing that matters, but I just don't think that music (and rock music in particular) would be anywhere as exciting without its strong, iconic, larger-than-life figures who not only gave the world the music, but also put a face on it, gave it its own mythology. I just don't see that sort of quality in any of the newer bands.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

I listen to heaps of bands, but I've only had two truly deep musical loves so far: Queen, when I was about thirteen years old, and U2 since 2000. I'm not a sort of person who gets obsessed easily, but when I do get passionate about something, it takes over my entire being. And I think that visiting this forum and other U2 discussion groups was what helped my obsession along: it's like a candle that burns so brightly because there're other candles that lend a bit of their flames to mine.

My passion for U2 is probably very different to what it's been like a couple of years ago when there was sooooo much stuff to discover about the band that I'd spend nights and days on the net in some sort of feverish state, just trying to absorb as much as I could without my head bursting to bits. I guess it evolved into something more calm, although not any less intense.

As for age... well, I'm only 22, but I've noticed that almost all of the bands I ever got seriously interested in are "older" bands. It's not to say that there's no good new music around, but to me almost all of those new groups seem awfully faceless. There's an argument out there that the music itself is the only thing that matters, but I just don't think that music (and rock music in particular) would be anywhere as exciting without its strong, iconic, larger-than-life figures who not only gave the world the music, but also put a face on it, gave it its own mythology. I just don't see that sort of quality in any of the newer bands.

Exactly. I'm with you on everything you said (only difference is that I personally do get obsessed with things easily...hehe).

Angela

 

[ZooEuropa]

I seem to find i'm not so interested in any new bands anymore..... I think I'm totally obssessed with U2 and theres no room left for anyone else! And I'm only 17!