Isn’t it weird how some music gets better as you get older, while other stuff gets worse? While we all have different musical tastes, it is fair to say that there are some musicians and bands which you only really appreciate as you get older.
Bob Dylan
When I was a hip, young dude (yes, I was once) I would gladly have strangled Dylan to shut up his stupid whiny voice. All that horrible protest singing sucked and his wheezy harmonica irritated the heck out of me. At that time I thought that music meant dance beats and lots of waving my hands in the air. One of the defining moments in my musical life came when I put on a Dylan cassette for a long journey just after turning 30. I was feeling kind of sad and Tangled Up in Blue was the first song to come on. The lyrics were just the most intriguing, amazing things I had ever heard. As I delved deeper I found incredible songs like I Want You, Just Like a Woman and Mississippi. This guy is a genius after all, and I was a fool for not appreciating him.
Bruce Springsteen
The case of The Boss is a strange one. Apart from having the worst nickname in the world of music, he is also someone I used to like when I was a kid. The difference is that when I was younger I liked the fist pumping, guitar anthems with Nils on guitar and Clarence blowing away like billy-o. It was only after a number of years that I started to appreciate the beauty of utter gems such as Nebraska, The River, Atlantic City and Thunder Road. Perhaps Born in the USA is the ultimate test of how you view the songs you listen to. Do you see it as a rocking guitar anthem with a rousing chorus or do you listen to the desolate lyrics about the tough luck of a Vietnam war veteran? There is no right or wrong answer but after a long time I joined the second group of listeners.
Bob Marley

I don’t think I had ever had the patience to listen to an entire Bob Marley in my life before I went travelling with a guy who listened to the reggae genius all the time. After the first time I heard his songs as a grown adult I realised that I had been missing something very special from my music collection. Before, I had just heard fairly repetitive reggae beats and some lyrics I never really listened to. Once I was old enough to pay attention to them and understand them I discovered a world of spirituality, hopes and dreams in them.
Nina Simone

My parents used to play old jazz stuff like this when I was a kid and I hated it. Who could sit and listen to this banal stuff for hour after hour while sitting fairly motionless in their comfy chair? Err, an older version of me actually. If you have reached the stage in which jumping up and down and waving your arms in the air is no longer an appealing way to spend some time then I can recommend some of Nina’s music. Feelin’ Good was the first song to win me over, while Strange Fruit is another classic whose lyrics transport me to a different world every time I listen to them.
