邁入三十歲后，很多人會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)，自己已經(jīng)聽不進(jìn)新歌了，總覺得還是老歌更好聽。
究竟是現(xiàn)在的歌變難聽了，還是自己變老了？研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，大多數(shù)人三十歲以后就不再聽新歌是因?yàn)槟且欢慰梢詿o限接收音樂的“海綿期”已經(jīng)過去了。
It’s a simple fact of life that older people reminisce about the glory days. You might believe you’ll stay young and free-spirited forever, but one day you’ll find yourself grumbling about not understanding the latest slang words and asking a young person what a meme is.
年紀(jì)大的人愛懷舊是人之常情。你也許以為自己會(huì)永遠(yuǎn)年輕，永遠(yuǎn)自由奔放，但總有一天你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)自己已經(jīng)不懂年輕人玩的梗了。
For some it might be happening earlier than they thought. That’s according to a new survey from Deezer, which suggests people stop discovering new music at just 30 and a half.
對(duì)一些人來說，這個(gè)過程可能開始得比想象的更早一些。音樂流媒體服務(wù)網(wǎng)站Deezer的新調(diào)查稱，人們?cè)?0.5歲之后就不再聽新歌了。
The music streaming service surveyed 1,000 Brits about their music preferences and listening habits. 60% of people reported being in a musical rut, only listening to the same songs over and over, while just over a quarter (25%) said they wouldn’t be likely to try new music from outside their preferred genres.
該網(wǎng)站對(duì)1000名英國人的音樂喜好和聽歌習(xí)慣進(jìn)行了調(diào)查，發(fā)現(xiàn)60%的人喜歡重復(fù)聽同樣幾首歌，而超過25%的人稱，他們不會(huì)去試聽自己喜愛的音樂類型以外的新歌。
he peak age for discovering new music, the results suggested, was 24. This is when 75% of respondents said they listened to 10 or more new tracks a week, and 64% said they sought out five new artists per month. After this, though, it seems people’s ability to keep up with music trends peters off.
調(diào)查結(jié)果顯示，搜索新歌的高峰年齡是24歲。這個(gè)年齡的調(diào)查對(duì)象中，有75%的人每周會(huì)聽10首以上的新歌，而有64%的人稱他們每個(gè)月會(huì)搜索5位新的歌手。自此以后，人們跟隨音樂新潮流的能力就開始下降了。
Some of the reasons the survey revealed were people being overwhelmed by the amount of choice available (19%), having a demanding job (16%), and caring for young children (11%). Nearly half of respondents said they wished they had more time to dedicate to discovering new music, so at least for that 47% it wasn’t due to a lack of interest.
至于其中的原因，調(diào)查顯示，有19%的人是因?yàn)楦枨啵噶诉x擇困難癥，16%的人是因?yàn)楣ぷ魈Γ灿?1%的人是因?yàn)樾枰疹櫤⒆印４蠹s有47%的調(diào)查對(duì)象稱，他們希望自己能有更多時(shí)間聽新歌，所以對(duì)這一部分人來說，他們至少還是有興趣的。
In 2015, the Skynet & Ebert blog looked at data from US Spotify users and Echo Nest. On average, teen music taste was dominated by popular music, then this steadily dropped until people’s tastes “matured” in their early 30s. By age 33, it was more likely they’d never listen to new music again.
2015年，Skynet & Ebert博客對(duì)美國聲破天和回音網(wǎng)的用戶數(shù)據(jù)進(jìn)行了分析。分析發(fā)現(xiàn)，青少年的音樂口味受流行音樂影響最大，在這之后，流行音樂的影響將穩(wěn)步下降。到了30歲出頭時(shí)，他們的音樂品味會(huì)趨于“成熟”。到了33歲，人們基本就不再聽新歌了。
Rather than having less time, some research suggests we listen to the same songs over and over again because of musical nostalgia. For example, one major study, published in the journal Memory & Cognition, found that music had a very powerful effect on the mind to evoke memories, conjuring up old echos of the past at school or university.
一些研究顯示，30歲以后不再聽新歌并不是因?yàn)闆]有時(shí)間，人們不斷地聽同幾首歌是因?yàn)閼雅f。一項(xiàng)發(fā)表在《記憶與認(rèn)知》期刊上的大型研究報(bào)告發(fā)現(xiàn)，老歌能夠有力地喚醒人們對(duì)校園或大學(xué)時(shí)光的記憶。
Earlier this year, economist Seth Stephens-Davidowitz analysed Spotify data in the New York Times. Essentially, he found that if you were in your early teens when a song was first released, it will be the most popular among your age group a decade later. Radiohead’s “Creep”, for example, is the 164th most popular song among 38-year-old men, but it doesn’t even reach the top 300 for those born 10 years earlier or later. It’s because men who are 38 now were in that musical sweet spot when the song was released in 1993.
今年早些時(shí)候，經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家賽斯·斯蒂芬斯-大衛(wèi)德威茨在《紐約時(shí)報(bào)》上發(fā)表了一篇研究聲破天平臺(tái)數(shù)據(jù)的文章。他發(fā)現(xiàn)，如果某一首歌最初發(fā)行的時(shí)候，你剛好處于青少年早期，10年之后，這首歌將成為你的同齡人中最受歡迎的一首。舉例來說，英國搖滾樂隊(duì)Radiohead的歌曲《Creep》在38歲男性最喜愛的歌曲中排名第164位，但是對(duì)于早10年或晚10年出生的人來說，這首歌甚至無法擠進(jìn)前300名。這是因?yàn)楝F(xiàn)年38歲的男性在這首歌1993年發(fā)行的時(shí)候正好處于音樂接收的黃金期。
As for why this happens, research has shown how our favourite songs stimulate our pleasure responses in the brain, releasing dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and other happy chemicals. The more we like a song, the more of these chemicals flow through our body.
研究揭示了其中的原因：喜歡的歌曲會(huì)讓我們的大腦產(chǎn)生愉悅的反應(yīng)，釋放出多巴胺、血清素和催產(chǎn)素等“幸福”物質(zhì)。我們?cè)较矚g一首歌，就意味著這首歌讓大腦產(chǎn)生的“幸福”物質(zhì)越多。
This happens for everyone, but during our adolescent years our brains are going through a lot of changes. We’re also incredibly hormonal and sensitive, so if we hear a song we really love, it’s more likely to stay with us forever.
每個(gè)人都會(huì)有這種反應(yīng)，但在青少年時(shí)期，我們的大腦會(huì)經(jīng)歷很多變化。除此以外，青少年會(huì)分泌大量荷爾蒙，而且極其敏感。因此，我們?nèi)绻谶@時(shí)候喜歡上一首歌，那么它很有可能會(huì)伴隨我們一生。
That isn’t to say you won’t hear a new song you love in later life – it just might not elicit the same strong response because you aren’t such a sponge anymore.
這并不是說你以后就不可能喜歡上別的歌曲了，只是那些歌曲所引起的反應(yīng)不如老歌強(qiáng)烈，因?yàn)槟悴辉偈且粔K可以無限吸收的“海綿”了。
Another reason we listen to the same songs over and over could be because of something called the “anticipation phase.” If you get goosebumps when you hear your favourite songs, it could be because of the hormonal responses, but it could also be because you know the good part is coming up.
我們喜歡反復(fù)聽一些歌曲的另一個(gè)原因是心理預(yù)期的作用。當(dāng)你聽到喜愛的歌曲時(shí)會(huì)心潮澎湃起雞皮疙瘩，這也許是因?yàn)楹蔂柮煞磻?yīng)，但也可能是因?yàn)槟阒雷詈寐牭牟糠志鸵霈F(xiàn)了。
For example, just before the song peaks, or there’s a dramatic chord change, our brain perceives it as a reward and releases dopamine. However, over time we start to lose the same feeling of euphoria because we musically gorge ourselves.
比如，在歌曲即將進(jìn)入高潮或者和弦出現(xiàn)戲劇性變化時(shí)，我們的大腦會(huì)將其視為獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)并釋放多巴胺。不過，長此以往，歌曲高潮帶來的愉悅感就會(huì)越弱，因?yàn)槲覀円呀?jīng)麻木了。
If you haven’t heard a song for several years, the euphoria may return, particularly if you first heard it when your brain was soaking everything up between the ages of 12 and 22.
如果你聽到了一首好幾年沒聽的歌，而這首歌剛好是你12到22歲“海綿期”階段第一次聽過的，大腦可能會(huì)再次經(jīng)歷當(dāng)初這首歌曲帶給你的歡愉。
So if you have a penchant for music from your youth, it’s probably wired deep into your psyche. You can indulge in the old songs without shame because it will make your brain happy – it deserves it.
所以，如果你愛聽年輕時(shí)聽過的歌，這些歌很可能已經(jīng)根植于你的心靈了。愛聽老歌不是罪，只要你的大腦開心，那就值得了。
（來源：中國日?qǐng)?bào)雙語新聞編輯部）
