When does your taste in music officially become “old?”

[This was my column for GlobalNews.ca this week. – AC]

It happened again at the gym. In the middle of my workout, some godawful song started playing: another wretchedly over-Auto Tuned melody-less mid-tempo mumble rap thing with zero energy. It just meandered aimlessly for about four minutes before segueing into something else. My reaction was both emotional and physical. How could anyone possibly think this was good music? And this is what the kids are listening to these days? What’s wrong with them?

That’s when it hit me one more time: I must be old.

Such a come-to-Jesus moment is concerning for me. I listen, analyze, and evaluate music professionally. It’s literally my job. I spend on average eight hours a day listening to all manner of music with a critical ear as part my process for creating programs like The Ongoing History of New Music and posts for Global News, Corus Radio, and my own website, ajournalofmusicalthings.com. I’m constantly being invited to speak on music for both public and private events. I moderate and appear on panels at conferences around the world. Radio stations and news channels as far away as Israel have me on speed dial when they need someone to comment on something happening in the world of music. I need to be up-to-date on everything that’s happening in the world of music.

But even though I can maintain a neutral analytical position — well, most of the time — I will confess that a lot of contemporary music leaves me cold. It’s just … bad.

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