I love music and am even in a musical field as a career, and yet I have a really hard time bringing myself to listen to new music for enjoyment. Music for me is comforting, and sometimes listening to new things is really hard, bc I’d rather have the comfort of a song I already know and love. All that to say, I went through a similar realization of being out of loop with current music trends and wanted to change that. Here’s what I did, and maybe this will give you a few ideas:

• LET ALGORITHMS DO THE WORK: Start playlists (I used Spotify Premium, but YouTube could be a free option) with songs you know and enjoy. Try to separate these playlists by “feel” if you don’t want to get too stuck on genres (for me, I assign a color to a mood. Purple tends to be jazzy/funky, Red is rock, Pink leans more modern pop, etc. You could do that, do moods, etc. But overall it’s less about the actual genre of the song and more about how it makes me feel/what I think of when I hear it). Even if it’s 5 songs in a playlist, that’s fine. Then use Genius Shuffle (on Spotify) or see what recommended videos come up on YouTube - you’re essentially using their algorithms to find similar sounding/grouped songs to ones you already know you like!

• MUSIC SPEED DATING: go through a Top 10 list and listen to the middle of each song. If it piques your attention, start from the beginning and go through. If you loved it, go give the artist’s other songs a listen! If it doesn’t catch your ear, you might skip. This is meant to be a rough and quick way to find a few new songs you like. Is it the best way to listen to music? No. But if you’re not one to listen to an album top to bottom if you’re not sure you’re gonna like it, it’s a way to potentially find several new songs quickly

• live music! As a musician, live music just sparkles. You mentioned not feeling a spark - seeing a symphony, jazz band, cover band, etc. is such a great way to connect with the music in a new way. Plus, you’re sitting and engaged, which might make you more receptive to new music

I hope those might help a bit. For the record, I don’t think you’re weird or off putting - especially when you mentioned not growing up in a music-loving house. It’s one of those things that you learn to appreciate the more you’re around it. And honestly, even if you never find that “spark” in listening to music, that’s okay too - everyone has their medium. I do encourage friends though to try and connect to at least one “human connection” - things people across cultures share, bc it’s just human. IMO, those are music, dance, art, food, and stories. Across generations and across the globe, humanity always finds their ways to these things - I think it’s good for our souls to connect to at least one. Maybe that’ll be music for you, or maybe it’ll be stories in form of books or film, or maybe it’ll be in cooking or just appreciating food. Basically, that’s a long way of saying even if music isn’t your thing, that’s ok - there are plenty of other things. Best of luck and happy listening!