Musical Space

A while ago, standing in the lobby of a New York City train station, I couldn’t help but notice the incongruity of the music piped over the speakers. It was Mozart - a beautiful violin concerto - being blasted at a dance-club volume toward uncaring commuters. The reason couldn’t have only been for aesthetics; here classical music was being used to drive away would-be teenage loiterers.

Next month is album writing month, at least according to an intriguing website, fawm.org. This non-commercial site is designed as a dare for songwriters to write 14 songs in 28 days.

Researchers for streaming service Spotify have found that 33 is the age when musical taste stagnates. That’s the age when people stop seeking out new music. It turns out most of the stuff people listen to is what they liked when they were 16-24. I’m a little distressed. Music shouldn’t just be nostalgia, and young artists shouldn’t get crowded out by hits from the 80s.