Always know the prospects, learn to expect nothing, nothing

I managed to acquire the new Coldplay album the other day. I've listened to it 3 times now & I'm very sorry to say I've found it extremely underwhelming. There's not a hint of the sort of genius found in, say  "the Scientist" or "Speed of Sound" or even "Viva la Vida". It just plods by with little to offer & nothing really sticks in the memory. I'm a big fan of Coldplay & I personally believe they've made some outstanding music before this, so I am naturally quite disappointed.
Though not entirely surprised.

See, here's the thing; Very little has really excited my musical taste buds lately. I'm wondering if it's just me, a predictable part of the ageing process perhaps? After all, the vast majority of what I hear from the charts is exceptionally bad to my ears. And that just reminds me of my Dad's regular grumblings every Thursday night during Top of the Pops. However, even bands & artists that are part of my musical DNA are now starting to disappoint with alarming regularity. So far this year I have got 26 new albums, some of which, such as the Kooks, Hard Fi & Beady Eye, came with little expectation anyway & proved me right. Some (Kasabian, Noah & The Whale, Noel Gallagher) have some truly great tunes but don't really cut it as a whole. I quite like the Arctic Monkeys album but then I wasn't expecting much having been disappointed by the last one, on a similar note I've been very pleasantly surprised by Duran Duran's latest effort. Didn't see that one coming!
And don't even get me started with "the King of Limbs".

The only albums that have got me really going & have warranted many repeat listens are Miles Kane's "The Colour of the Trap" & my own masterpiece-in-waiting "The Baggage Carousel" (which I'm sure I'll ramble on about another day)

The saddest thing is, I really do suspect that it's because I'm getting older. And if that's true & the enjoyment I get from my one true lifelong source of pleasure is really diminishing; Well, that really does make me a very sad panda indeed.