OK, this might not be the rant you were expecting. Although most of the current music you hear on the radio these days is pretty bad, if we are honest, it has almost always been that way. I have a pretty good sampling of tunes from the early 50s to 2009 (some of my current favorites are Gossip and The XX) and it’s fair to say most top 40 music isn’t very good no matter what the year. Nostalgia and memories of what you were doing when some songs were popular goes a long way to “improve” the music, but if you suddenly suffered from amnesia and I played those same songs for you, much of the time you would be reaching for the skip button.
So if I am not going to beat the “back in my day music was good” drum what am I griping about? The recording of today’s music. This isn’t a vinyl vs. CD, tube vs. solid state or even MP3 vs. FLAC – all fun arguments but not today.
Over the years the record producers and engineers have been making recordings LOUDER. Kids have been making themselves deaf with their music since the dawn of Rock n Roll. That has not changed. That is not what I am talking about. Most of us like our favorite songs loud but turning up your stereo to 11 and recording a song at 11 are two very different things. The current Taylor Swift album is recorded WAY louder than Led Zeppelin or Black Sabbath ever was.
Hi-Fi is practically dead. It was cut off at the knees by having all your music in your pocket and ready to leap into your ears at a touch of a button. The damage done by the changes in recording strategies are far more subtle but are sealing the fate of the one mighty Hi-Fi. Forget about Wayne Newton vs. Little Wayne, if the recording trend of louder and louder continues, pop songs will have the sonic quality of a drag race and the subtlety of a dump truck.
Check out the short YouTube video and hear/see Matt’s explanation. You may have to turn it up.
Funny you posted this. You know I've been making home movies and slideshows for quite some time. I ran into this, but I didn't know the reason. I thought it was a sample rate thing. But often when I have old songs and new songs on the same slideshow, especially when one is next to the other, I have to raise (or lower) the volume of a clip to make the volume the same through the entire slideshow.
Yes, most of the disparity comes from the original recording not the rip. But ripping (digitizing) the music with its compression makes the problem worse.
Some media SW have "volume leveling" functions, it might be good for a slideshow but it degrades your music collection.
I was just listening to some late 70s Talking Heads (30 yrs old)that was ripped at a high bit rate and it sounds better than the average 2010 album IMHO
There is another explanation – maybe I just like the sound of the older music, maybe a 20yr old wouldn't care for the expanded dynamic range and subtle nuances. It’s hard to believe but I guess it is possible.
Interesting post, Fargo. It is not something I had thought about before. I honestly don't buy much music. And if I do I'm into "older" stuff anyway.