Recently, I saw a cute video online of a bunch of different babies trying broccoli. They all hated it, and their universal (and utterly honest) disgusted expressions were hilarious. If broccoli is so bad, why does anyone eat it? I know I didn’t like when I was a kid. No matter how many times I tried it, the taste was absolutely abhorrent to me. Years later, however, I developed an affinity for it, and now I like it. (I don’t love it however.)
I think very few adults have the exact same likes and dislikes they had as infants or children. In the case of food, the explanation is partly physiological – our taste buds change over time – perhaps even wear out a little, so foods that were simply awful become less so. Also, kids are very sensitive to texture. You don’t see a lot of first graders slurping down raw oysters.
The same maturation, (or at least transformation) or preferences can apply to the arts, too. How we feel about or react to art is generally a reflection of who we are, and that definitely changes over the years – it’s only natural our tastes in art might change.
In my opinion, the best manifestation of this change is a broadening of the spectrum of arts that affect us. Life can certainly be long enough to develop a strong interest in a wide variety of music and visual art, and to do so, one does not need to stop liking any of the ones they liked previously. It’s a very enriching process, and it adds an undeniably delicious feeling to life. It’s like discovering a new “first love” over and over again.
But while I may like broccoli now, but I don’t really care for pablum anymore. Similarly, some art or music that I really liked when I was younger doesn’t move me so much anymore. Oh, that reminds me – I have some Styx albums for sale.
Sometimes, the passage of some years bestows on us the ability to appreciate some subtleties that failed to affect us when we were younger. Just as a fine wine tastes better (or at least different) after it ages, and then breathes, music that seemed overly simple may be more appealing down the road. Also, music that seemed impenetrably complex may reveal its charms and power to you unexpectedly.
Why I am telling you all this stuff? Because you can’t discover how your tastes change (and reap those joys) unless you make it a point to revisit things you don’t think you like. Life is NOT too short to give a band a try, even if you don’t like “newgrass”. Remember, the old music you’ve always loved was new once. You don’t think anybody listened to it way back when and sniffed “I don’t like the new stuff.”? I only used “newgrass” as an example – this could apply to any type of art. Don’t close your mind to something that may surprise you- you could be missing out..
