DoofDoof: Losing the fight

DoofDoof 01.08.25	State of play 2025
mkmusic1995 01.08.25	I feel you on this, over the last couple years I have really indulged in finding older music or exploring different world music. I still listen to an insane amount of new music but it's more 50/50 for me now whereas my new music ration was more 80/20 at a certain point.
ArsMoriendi 01.08.25	This is why I keep my album listening to like 60 new albums a year or so It allows me to dig into the new while revisiting the old I’m never burned out this way and I still feel like I’m progressing forward I’ve seen too many people listen to like 200+ new albums a year for like 3 years only to crash and go down to like 5 or worse…to stop completely Balance is key
cylinder 01.08.25	This speaks to me strongly rn. So many overlooked gems from the past waiting for their due. Plus with how oversaturated music has become these days, it can be exhausting to sift through the sea of mediocrity to find the gems
DoofDoof 01.08.25	Ars - yeah, I've always been aware of that balance, the ratio of new to old has varied over the years. It's interesting it's the feeling that's called out to me (to the point I simply can't ignore the change in feeling) rather than it being more an academic thing of thinking about the idea myself. The feeling has become too obvious to ignore.
DoofDoof 01.08.25	cylinder - yes, there's an element of fomo in a variety of guises.
zakalwe 01.08.25	I’m never actively on the hunt for new music but still get stuck in and listen. I enjoy the blanket of the past. Nothing like sticking a classic on.
JohnnyoftheWell 01.08.25	every year that passes skews the ratio of probable worthwhile material from the past to probable worthwhile material from that year alone further towards the past based on sheer mass, so maybe this is inevitable for all of us
AlexKzillion 01.08.25	swear i listened to a podcast (plain english?) years ago talking about the post-covid trend of spotify users increasingly listening to less and less "modern music" (which they defined as music from the most recent 3 years) and more and more "older" music. wonder if that's still a thing
Christbait 01.08.25	It's why I can't participate in AOTY voting because I will, at most, listen to 10-12 new albums a year and at least 80% of those I'll forget about in a week or two unless it has an immediate impact. I'm really impressed with how others can digest a huge number of new albums each year, remember them, and then communicate an accurate opinion come November/December.
Jots 01.08.25	my new-music listening has died down a lot too. been revisiting favourites more and more yeah. idk. getting more fatigued as the years press on
Jots 01.08.25	I listened to maybe 50ish new albums last year, whereas in the past I'd listen to maybe 2-3 new albums daily. but when I only end up enjoying 10-20% of them... that's a lot of bad music to traverse
DoofDoof 01.08.25	Zak - this could itself be a phase but that blanket is working a magic right now. Johnny - yes, that's the academic side I've been aware of a while, partly why I started the monthly 'legacy' or 'classic' artist exploration to try and do justice to the huge amount of worthwhile stuff there must be from the past. I will still try and keep that going because that's manageable and it is a constant stream of excellent releases so far.
DoofDoof 01.08.25	Jots - there was definitely a time my philosophy was very close to 'if it's a mid week day if I'm not listening to at least one new album I'm being a bit lazy' Now I'm finding there'll be a day I listen to three new albums but then rest of the week just return to them alongside old stuff. It's not a daily quest anymore.
cylinder 01.08.25	"in the past I'd listen to maybe 2-3 new albums daily. but when I only end up enjoying 10-20% of them... that's a lot of bad music to traverse" right, this. sometimes it's not so much fomo as it is simply finding some fruits to your labor lol
pizzamachine 01.08.25	I also like old music
DoofDoof 01.08.25	pizza, this is more 'familiar' vs 'exploration'
Frost15 01.08.25	I'm feeling this as of late too. Exploration requires more effort now than before, specially cause I like to go all in when I listen to new music, I like the ritual of experiencing the album 100% focus on it. And now that I got less time for music it just feels better and more comfortable to be in familiar grounds... I guess such is life... I got a lot of energy still though, so I'm still enjoying new music when I want to.
zakalwe 01.08.25	It’s 95% film-flam. The first album I have heard in years that sucked me in hook line and sinker was The Cures new one.
gabba 01.08.25	I gave up the fight against seeking out for new music years ago, and it was such a relief tbh not to waste my life with checking those mid-at-best releases. But since I started following sputnik more closely I’m for novelty again (which was the effect and which was the cause?), so I guess it has a natural dynamic of waxing and waning.
Jots 01.08.25	the new cure was great. apparently they have a couple more new albums ready to release pretty much this year, or at their leisure
AsleepInTheBack 01.08.25	last year i spent the first 10 months checking old stuff, then the last 2 months checking new. worked well for me. also useful in that it gives the good sauce time to bubble to the surface, i dont have to spend as much time digging around for good new stuff
pizzamachine 01.08.25	“pizza, this is more 'familiar' vs 'exploration'” Yeah I like to explore but I prefer the familiar
anode 01.08.25	i keep seeking out new music begrudgingly hoping to find something i like but i never do
CugnoBrasso 01.08.25	New music is for cringe skibidi toilet rizzlers, do as I do, stop listening to new music altogether.
Motiv3 01.08.25	Honestly I haven't bothered keeping up to the newest releases heavily year by year for a long while now. I just listen to whatever new music I feel like trying regardless, if I want to try something new. So I get where you are coming from.
FowlKrietzsche 01.08.25	Pretty based Cugno, but have you considered that all old music is crusty boomer wank and should not be listened to at all costs?
cylinder 01.08.25	reminds me of a post i saw on threads one time that went something like: "I'm curious, why do some of you still listen to old music? Is it because you just can't let go of the past?"
Mort. 01.08.25	doof i have always liked your deep dives and have thought about doing the same so i would say, choose a year, genre, artist, and do a deep dive and write about it like you have previously cos that is the sort of good 'content' sput thrives on
Demon of the Fall 01.08.25	Fair. This is my goal for 2025, like I’m actively looking to avoid new releases, especially by artists I don’t already know I’ll still be deep in discovery, just from years gone by instead. I feel like this has achieved a better hit ratio of late, which makes sense as the pool of choice is so much larger and potentially bountiful Time is precious, I want to stop wasting it. And yes revisiting stuff is giving me those warm fuzzies, sometimes in unexpected places actually
Atari 01.08.25	I can relate to this list like crazy. my intense listening habits really fell off a cliff this past year or so after 10+ years of chasing new music. in some ways it felt bittersweet but overall, it was quite refreshing lol
Dewinged 01.08.25	I felt the same since last year. Revisiting albums is just more gratifying right now. It's called aging my friend XD
Cygnatti 01.08.25	Hate to be an old fart but the urge to listen to new music has actually died so hard at the moment. I'm sure it'll come back in a bit.
jrlikestodance 01.09.25	I often think this, then a DJ drops a banger and I'm down a new rabbit hole! It's also important to take breaks from new releases or favorite genres so you don't get burnt out
anode 01.09.25	Is anyone gunna address the elephant in the room that the music industry is in the toilet?
AnimalForce1 01.09.25	"I’ll still be deep in discovery, just from years gone by instead." This is my exact strategy for 2025, barring any releases that I've been hugely anticipating (Spiritbox and Coheed are the two big ones)
swallowtales 01.09.25	there have been times in the past where I have just smashed new to me and new in general stuff, and forced myself to digest as much as possible. i have to say that was not very fun in retrospect, which is difficult as both of those are things i do care about a lot, but also keeping listening to stuff as natural as possible and not wasting my energy forcing shit is something i care more about as time passes.
Relinquished 01.09.25	yea I stopped giving a fuck I’m not 18 anymore. I know what I like.
unclereich 01.09.25	Music tbh is a 3/5
DoofDoof 01.09.25	a lot of comments Dewi - yeah I'm not sure if this feeling might be a symptom of a musical midlife crisis or just what follows a musical mid life crisis. I am engaging with it as a positive! Mort - my headspace and life right now just aren't going to allow me to put in that level of focus sadly, might change, the kid going to school instead of nursery would help chill out my routine for one - that's coming in September. Demon - discovery focused on years gone by and warm fuzzies from the familiar sounds like my likely combo too yeah Atari - my habits haven't fallen off a cliff, more like a slow decline so far, but there could still be a huge change at some point.
Demon of the Fall 01.09.25	on this subject I created my very first RYM list the other day (sorry Sput) I think it may be telling that it was a collection of things I am already familiar with and enjoy, but want to spend more time with. Cataloguing anything I believe has the opportunity to improve / enter my rotation more regularly, essentially. Looking at expanding my repetoire of faves from existing stock, rather than unearthing new discoveries "Time" is certainly a key component to all of this, if there was enough of it to feel like I wasn't compromising on spending time with my faves etc. then it wouldn't matter
DoofDoof 01.09.25	Demon - similarly I could scan through my own ratings for five years and find enough I haven't done justice to or that inspires a deeper dive into those artist's other work. I think there'll be an element of that approach too for me, but nothing as structured as SandwichBubble trying to revisit most of his 20,000 rated albums again (which I believe he was doing on his RYM account). Definitely less structure and projects for me, for a while at least.
DoofDoof 01.09.25	Still keeping my 'focused new album of the week' (this is flagged on my RYM account each week) - to try and get to really know the most promising sounding new release of any week. Also still keeping my 'Legacy Artist of the Month' listening going, this month is Donovan and after mostly dismissing him in the past I'm starting to connect with his style now. Found a lot of incredible albums from this approach, it's very relaxed and unstructured, I don't have to cover full discogs or listen to the artist every day or even every week if I'm not feeling it.
Mort. 01.09.25	h3y doof you may not have the time to do your deep dive from a writing perspective but i do think they are very worthwhile from a listening perspective. as others have pointed, as time goes on the amount of good releases from the past increases and id rather spend my time going through culturally significant or acclaimed records to see what i think of them than sifting through the thousands of new releases
Mort. 01.09.25	look what im saying is, i want you to do another 90s deep dive so i can inundate you with metalcore and post hardcore recs. is that too much to ask?
Voivod 01.09.25	Great discussion. The key for not "losing" the fight is to take in as much music, new or old, as real life allows. Even in the direst of situations, it's still more than enough.
DoofDoof 01.09.25	Mort - I'm not ruling it out, would be easier second half of this year ;) You can suggest bands to put forward for my 'Legacy Band of the Month' if you want? I'll listen to albums in those discogs multiple times and they'll all get rated, I'll comment my feelings too most likely, I just won't mini review all of them.
Dylan620 01.09.25	I still keep up with new releases to an extent - my radio show needs to have at least one-third new music, station policy - but I missed a lot of releases in 2024 partly due to the sheer amount of quality material coming out, but also because I've been doing some work on Wikipedia's hurricane season timelines. I usually go about that by listening to albums from the year I'm working on, whether those albums are established favorites or ones I haven't heard before. It's a fun way of combining my loves of music and weather.
anode 01.09.25	I was thinking “what kind of music could doof listen to to think that so much quality new music is coming out? Indie, folk, country?” Looked at the chart and couldn’t be more right. What a terrible time to be alive
Dylan620 01.09.25	You're not giving Doof enough credit for punk and metal ;)
DoofDoof 01.09.25	A few decent electronic/ambient albums too - nothing earth shattering though I guess I'm not really vibing with much newly released hip hop or pop right now, a few exceptions
anode 01.09.25	;) lmao I didn’t even attribute the right comment to the right user. I’m such an idiot edit: oh shit Dylan also has those genres in his chart. My comment still holds hahaha
anode 01.09.25	Yeah electronic is doing alright but it mainly has those spaz drum beats which invalidates it for me. I like the recent trend of dystopic hip hop
DoofDoof 01.09.25	anode - you're going to have to define who you'd consider dystopic hip hop :)
anode 01.09.25	Jpegmafia, Danny brown, lil ugly mane (I guess that’s not that new)
DoofDoof 01.09.25	Ok that makes sense, wasn't so into the most recent Danny Brown but yeah Lil Ugly Mane is great and Peggy drops some interesting material
Demon of the Fall 01.09.25	"and id rather spend my time going through culturally significant or acclaimed records to see what i think of them than sifting through the thousands of new releases" yeah, this is it, for me although definitions of culturally significant may vary of course
CugnoBrasso 01.09.25	^ Fowl, the trick to be 100 % based is: do not listen to new music and only listen to old music ironically. It's the way of the chad.
zakalwe 01.10.25	Having thought about it I’m talking bollocks. There’s been some ‘new’ albums that I have connected with on a ridiculous level over the last several years. It never dies.
gabba 01.11.25	Years ago I’d listened to anything I came across that had the right genre tag, not even checking singles/videos, but after a while it became very frustrating (almost “job like”) with diminishing returns. So I’d let my picks be pre-screened by various blogs and websites, eventually by music recommended here by all of you. But yeah, the drive to discover new music will never die, but “new” can come as some yet undiscovered treasure from the past, not necessarily produced by darlings of the present.