Most people form their musical taste in high school and do not move on from there.

true. that or the records i turn to the most are the ones i loved at an early age. "Farewell to Kings" by Rush, any Zeppelin or Hendrix record, Phish's "Rift". These records stand the test of time far more than any of the indie crap i tried my first 2 years of college.

So are you saying Elk, those that listened to light pop fluff in their youth eventually just grow up and listen to Ms. Dion?

I'm not so sure. I think most people's tastes mellow a little as the age, but some seem to jump the ship and dive right into the musical syrup. Maybe the common denominator between either end (the tween pop to adult contemporary) is that they both go for the most sentimental and easily digestible expressions possible, and try and be the least threatening or innovative as possible. Nothing too deep in that, but I thought it was a funny comparison.

Ariel: Are you saying you basically stopped looking for new music after college? That is a shame IMO. Sure, not everything new will or should stay. And don't expect most good stuff to show up on the radio- it never did anyway until it was too late. For me, it's more that I'm not around a group of dedicated music lovers the way I was in college, so it's not always as easy like when someone would just hand you something and say "You have to hear this!"

Yes and no.
I've certainly discovered new artists that I really love now, that I did not know about/had no patience for when I was younger (Neil Young, Aimee Mann), but during those developmental years of music listening is when i really formed my tastes and learned what i loved. As a result, much of the music thereafter was judged on the criteria of the music I really cared about.

So when I listen to new music right now (for example, listening to The Impressions right now for the first time, good stuff), but its not going to ever have the same emotional and musical connection than the bands that formed my tastes do. To me: these bands ARE music. Like a First Love, it never goes away and continues to invade your mindspace thereafter.

This could be a far-fetched theory as to why the Bieber song and Dion song are so conceptually similar. What pop listeners liked in the 8th grade, they probably like when they're 48.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NQQcuItYtc

observe thee and weep! bwahahahahaha

"The Cowboy is Very Busy"

Pretty much.

You nicely explained it "they both go for the most sentimental and easily digestible expressions possible, and try and be the least threatening or innovative as possible."

It's the same reason "decades" stations are so popular. Most people continue listening to the pop music of their youth.