邁入三十歲后，很多人會發現，自己已經聽不進新歌了，總覺得還是老歌更好聽。
究竟是現在的歌變難聽了，還是自己變老了？研究發現，大多數人三十歲以后就不再聽新歌是因為那一段可以無限接收音樂的“海綿期”已經過去了。
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.
年紀大的人愛懷舊是人之常情。你也許以為自己會永遠年輕，永遠自由奔放，但總有一天你會發現自己已經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.
對一些人來說，這個過程可能開始得比想象的更早一些。音樂流媒體服務網站Deezer的新調查稱，人們在30.5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.
該網站對1000名英國人的音樂喜好和聽歌習慣進行了調查，發現60%的人喜歡重復聽同樣幾首歌，而超過25%的人稱，他們不會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.
調查結果顯示，搜索新歌的高峰年齡是24歲。這個年齡的調查對象中，有75%的人每周會聽10首以上的新歌，而有64%的人稱他們每個月會搜索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，調查顯示，有19%的人是因為歌曲太多，犯了選擇困難癥，16%的人是因為工作太忙，也有11%的人是因為需要照顧孩子。大約有47%的調查對象稱，他們希望自己能有更多時間聽新歌，所以對這一部分人來說，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博客對美國聲破天和回音網的用戶數據進行了分析。分析發現，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步下降。到了30歲出頭時，他們的音樂品味會趨于“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為沒有時間，人們不斷地聽同幾首歌是因為懷舊。一項發表在《記憶與認知》期刊上的大型研究報告發現，老歌能夠有力地喚醒人們對校園或大學時光的記憶。
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.
今年早些時候，經濟學家賽斯·斯蒂芬斯-大衛德威茨在《紐約時報》上發表了一篇研究聲破天平臺數據的文章。他發現，如果某一首歌最初發行的時候，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，但是對于早10年或晚10年出生的人來說，這首歌甚至無法擠進前300名。這是因為現年38歲的男性在這首歌1993年發行的時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：喜歡的歌曲會讓我們的大腦產生愉悅的反應，釋放出多巴胺、血清素和催產素等“幸福”物質。我們越喜歡一首歌，就意味著這首歌讓大腦產生的“幸福”物質越多。
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.
每個人都會有這種反應，但在青少年時期，我們的大腦會經歷很多變化。除此以外，青少年會分泌大量荷爾蒙，而且極其敏感。因此，我們如果在這時候喜歡上一首歌，那么它很有可能會伴隨我們一生。
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不如老歌強烈，因為你不再是一塊可以無限吸收的“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.
我們喜歡反復聽一些歌曲的另一個原因是心理預期的作用。當你聽到喜愛的歌曲時會心潮澎湃起雞皮疙瘩，這也許是因為荷爾蒙反應，但也可能是因為你知道最好聽的部分就要出現了。
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，在歌曲即將進入高潮或者和弦出現戲劇性變化時，我們的大腦會將其視為獎勵并釋放多巴胺。不過，長此以往，歌曲高潮帶來的愉悅感就會越弱，因為我們已經麻木了。
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，大腦可能會再次經歷當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，如果你愛聽年輕時聽過的歌，這些歌很可能已經根植于你的心靈了。愛聽老歌不是罪，只要你的大腦開心，那就值得了。
（來源：中國日報雙語新聞編輯部）
