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A very interesting article about the blandness of modern, big industry Pop.

sqrlcub	Date: October 5, 2006 @ 2:40 PM http://www.austin360.com/music/content/music/stories/xl/2006/09/28cover.html
Opossum	Date: October 6, 2006 @ 2:40 AM Good article. My wife was given a compilation CD recently, which was a set of remixes relative to the favorites of a star of "Home and Away" or some such. This CD was the worst thing I had ever heard in my 40+ years. There were absolutely no dynamics or even recognizable pitches anywhere. It had that awful "breathing" effect (where the louder percussion causes everything else to completely vanish into the background) even at a lower voluem. I listened to about four songs in utter disbelief, got a serious headache, and threw it in the bin. Looking at the waveform, it was almost a solid square, top to bottom (and start to finish), with hardly any empty space or even plateaus, anywhere.
GeneHilbert	Date: October 6, 2006 @ 3:34 AM So..... who do you suppose let it get that way........? ......now where's that stump......
LiQuidMetamo...	Date: October 6, 2006 @ 3:38 AM This article is yet another call for the loudness wars to end - there are records out there that AVERAGE -5db RMS, clip all over the place and have no dynamics. It isn't anything new, it's been going on for years and has been particularly aggressive during the last 3-4 years. However, I've heard recording at -10db average rms that don't clip and sound OK, so it depends a lot on the original music. Stuff that's not too busy, like typically rap music has bass, drums and a couple of synths going on as opposed to a full orchestral production with multitracked voices etc, can sound OK at -8/-9 db RMS average. Anything with quiet phrases in it will sound appalling at this level though. Software like Soundforge and Wavelab allows you to see statistics for the audio file, including peak and average RMS db, which is why it's useful for mastering purposes. I usually try and get my average RMS to be around -12.5/-13, it sounds louder than many older CD's and loud without crunching too many dynamics. Classical music sounds better at a lower level, say around -17 db RMS to capture all the quiet and loud passages faithfully. Also set your limiters to -0.3db for .wavs to be burnt as 16/44.1 cd audio and -0.6db for mp3 mixes (mp3 compression can cause the peak level to spike by up to -0.5db, especially at lower bitrates) to avoid clipping. I did master a track at -9.5 db average RMS for a test and it fried the speakers in my car after 30 seconds... One last thing, make sure you look at the waveform magnified to at least 256:1 as be default waves in most audio editors are displayed at between 1,024:1 to 4,096:1 which even when the average RMS level is -14db can look like a solid square. When magnified you should see the peaks and troughs much clearer and see that the audio file isn't one big square blob after all !! Although these really loud CD's with an average RMS of -10 or louder db will still look pretty square ;( Dylan was right, CD's from the mid -late 90's definately sound better in most cases sonically than today's CD's...
Snoogans775	Date: November 19, 2006 @ 5:25 PM well, I am the kid listenener mentioned at the end of the article who grew up surrounded by MAXIMIZED sound, though I happily discovered a beautiful world of vinyl when I was 8, and I would NEVER mix a song like all those bastardized mastering shitstorms. I remember the first time I saw a brick, it was some song I was ripping off the net, and when I looked at it in Cool Edit Pro, all I could think of was, "where's the music?" my favorite compression experience is to look at the waveforms for "The Final Cut" Pink coughroger waterscough Floyd. You can see every musical change in the waveform. "Hold on to the dreeeeeeeeeeam"
Kalos	Date: November 20, 2006 @ 2:28 PM It's a matter of culture as far as I'm concerned. Modern day life is full of conveniences that make like instant and easy. Therefore the average person wants blood pumping, loud, easy music to match their life style. Without the little snag of emotion we would be set for automatic life control.
Woof	Date: November 20, 2006 @ 10:06 PM I'm afraid about this. Not because mainstream stuff strikes me as bland and unimaginative, but because so very many of the hopeful bands that have formed over the last couple of years seem to be emulating the popular stuff in the hopes of hitting it big. I've also noticed a conspicuous absence of actual bands here on DM. There are many individuals doing inventive and interesting things, but that individuality seems to have retreated into the shadows that are the realm of the one-man-band; a difficult act to popularize. And popularize it must, in order to develop as a language. I get a distinct feeling that the individuals who are intent on grouping for the purpose of performance are only doing so in the hopes of winning a contract, and so the band era has become a business like any other business. I've learned to cherish the songs I like, and I've learned not to analyze 'em too much, 'cause doing that ruins the enjoyment of listening. Every generation has felt the death of rock & roll, and maybe, for every generation, it has died. I've been through a good number of generations by now, and have heard and seen some incredible performances. I thought to myself that there would always be something out there that would do it for me. But as the years have gone by, those moments seem fewer and farther between. This might be the end, or it might be the calm before the storm. Either way, it's really, really dead out there right now. The problem as I see it, is not that bands need to stop trying to make a living out of performing. The problem appears to be that there's only one stage for them to play on, and it's owned by the RIAA cartel. To get in the door, you have to meet with the cartel's approval. This is bad for our culture. The reason it's bad for our culture, is that people have forgotten how good music can feel, when there's some degree of personal thought and imagination behind it. We listen to the radio and try to wring some feelgood out of what's on, but it's become about as difficult to do that with the material we're offered, as it is to have sex when you're just plain f*ed out. I hope that evenyually the RIAA will see that their abhorrence of fresh thinking and lack of artistic idealism leads their product down a path that benefits no one. It ruins the bands, it burns out the fans, and it just ain't fun anymore. Thank you, corporate America, for convincing us that there's something wrong with us for not appreciating the mindless crap on the airwaves. It's the biggest mindf* of all. We've been done dirt. And I'm pissed about it. The punchline is, tomorrow morning I'll go to work and the radio will be playing again, and I'll be all numbed out by 5pm as usual. Every day is an effort to regroup now, and I fear it will only be a matter of time until listening to the commercial radio is mandatory... like that scene when they're attempting to "cure" Alex in "Clockwork Orange". Goodbye, people... hello, clones. How pathetic.
Snoogans775	Date: November 20, 2006 @ 11:27 PM I dont' think it's that bad yet. Musicians have said similar things aobut popular music ever since recordings were being dished out. Rachmaninoff to Glassjaw, it's not bad music, it's conventional for it's time. I think you've given a little bit of an exaggeration on the more concrete issues woof(though just a little bit). Overcompression, artistic suffocation, A&R deception; these things have changed the world we live in, and have shaped our culture, moreso than how much they've been shaped by the culture. the overcompression issue is important, because it shows how these simplistic ideas are not grounded in a practical mode of thought, and they physically and coceptually hurt the people of the world. I believe that there could be a good music industry without totally abolishing the concept of the industry behind our music production and distribution. People haven't forgotten how good music can feel, they just have less chances to let music into their hearts and minds without the interruption of the bussiness's effects. That doesn't mean that "people" have attained any absolute distance from the power of music. We like to think that every major label has some gigantic herpes ridden cock at the ceo's desk. But just like any corporation, the problems come from the little syphillis cocks, when they're all put into that single corporation they mix together to create an effect of earth rattling proportions, like the Paris Hilton shenanigans. Excellent music comes out of the same record sompanies that make excrement in the shape of Pop Star Beta. And this is where the compression issue explodes, because these excellent musicians, sound engineers and producers are held captive by the big herpescock that owns them. Eliminating the need for expertise with some asinine idea like "if it's louder, you'll like it more" i like the word asinine, it has all the same toxic nature as a curse word without the ambiguity.
Opossum	Date: November 21, 2006 @ 12:38 AM Asinine? Poppycock! Yes, there is a huge difference in the volume alone on some commercial CD releases. Just today, I was playing a Jimmy Cliff CD at nearly full volume on an older stereo (fairly large real wooden speakers spaced about 12 feet apart) and after that, put in The Fixx Elemental album, and (forgetting about volume differences) literally had to turn it to half the volume after it being so loud, the jalousie windows literally made a crackling sound against each other. Walls are still standing, though.
CarvinAbuser	Date: November 23, 2006 @ 12:48 PM I think the bass on modern recordings and stereo systems is over-boosted. I like realistic/equalized sound, so it doesn't do anything for me.
PrincessTast...	Date: November 23, 2006 @ 2:15 PM I know what you mean. Gives me a headache.
LiQuidMetamo...	Date: November 23, 2006 @ 6:52 PM Bass is definately more prominent in many modern recordings, as is high end 10-20 Khz which was hard to capture using old analog tape machines and older technology giving the headache throbbing ear piercing high end crash cymbals and excessive 'air'. Too many people just slap on a volume maximizer/limiter at the highest level without setting their speakers on fire. Compression can be your friend if used sparingly and appropriately and passing through a chain where it gets a little hotter each time rather than whacking on one huge amount. The studio engineers know this but it's just a race to be louder, the dynamics doesn't come into it any more. Even CD's mastered by renowned mastering engineers are clipping due to them being told to make it so !
Woof	Date: November 23, 2006 @ 11:32 PM Snoogans, I do love discussion with you! And you're right... I am being a shade too pessimistic. Let's say I was right, and I was wrong... both. Right about the mainstream being dead as a doornail here in America, and wrong about the lack of great material out there overall. And I couldn't be happier about being WRONG! I do think it's a mindf*** that we're convinced that what's on the popular airwaves has redeeming value... either by its' production standards, or in its' musicality. There's a world of difference between making music, and hitting the right notes. It's what's behind those notes. Sincerity, conviction, exuberance, real pain or joy... the alarming lack of all of the above in mainstream American pop is as conspicuous as a black hole. It's full of pretense, and powered by nothing. I used the term "lack of artistic idealism" in my earlier post, and I think lack of creative vision would be more appropriate. What can one expect, when the only objective is to sell units? No art or emotion can come out of that. Selling units is fine... but it's about time we had something more than that inspiring our commercial artists. Like ideas. Feelings. The desire to share with the public, those things that deeply move the artist. It ain't happening, folks. But if you look really, really hard... or just get lucky... those qualities are around us. And I can still be thrilled by a great pop song when it's done right, and it doesn't have to be an "oldie", either. Thank God for that! HAPPY THANKSGIVING
Opossum	Date: November 23, 2006 @ 11:54 PM On 23rd Nov 2009, CarvinAbuser said: I think the bass on modern recordings and stereo systems is over-boosted. I like realistic/equalized sound, so it doesn't do anything for me. Plus, the gazillion cars that go by my house where ALL I ever hear is the "bass" (sometimes from as far away as 5 or 6 blocks), which honestly doesn't even sound at ALL anything like actual bass, either drum or electric bass (even synth bass), or even music, but like an extremely amplified recording of someone whacking a large wet towel over a metal washtub! And it always sounds EXACTLY the same, same tempo, same rhythm (or lack thereof); same sound. I wouldn't mind if I sometimes got to hear the midranges or highs, or even anything but the "clomping", but I rarely do. What's funny is, my younger children have actually turned their head when out for a walk and asked "what's wrong with their car"? Hahaha.
Woof	Date: November 23, 2006 @ 11:58 PM Maybe, for mainstream America, it's all happening over in Hip Hop, and we're just missing it... I'm not saying it is, mind you... just wondering....
PrincessTast...	Date: November 25, 2006 @ 10:39 AM On 23rd Nov 2009, Opossum said: [QUOTE info=CarvinAbuser,November 23, 2006 @ 12:48 PM]I think the bass on modern recordings and stereo systems is over-boosted. I like realistic/equalized sound, so it doesn't do anything for me. Plus, the gazillion cars that go by my house where ALL I ever hear is the "bass" (sometimes from as far away as 5 or 6 blocks), which honestly doesn't even sound at ALL anything like actual bass, either drum or electric bass (even synth bass), or even music, but like an extremely amplified recording of someone whacking a large wet towel over a metal washtub! And it always sounds EXACTLY the same, same tempo, same rhythm (or lack thereof); same sound. I wouldn't mind if I sometimes got to hear the midranges or highs, or even anything but the "clomping", but I rarely do. What's funny is, my younger children have actually turned their head when out for a walk and asked "what's wrong with their car"? Hahaha. [/QUOTE] In Boston it was always the relentless "boo-ba-chee-bah" reggaeton beat, so stupid!
RocShaman	Date: December 21, 2006 @ 7:33 AM Bob Katz is one of the most respected mastering engineers in the business and has a great book (Mastering Audio - The Art and the Science) out on all aspects of that process. He also has a web site that covers a lot of what he goes over in the book: http://www.digido.com/ He talks at length about the loudness wars of today and how it makes most mastering engineers sick, but of course they are paid to do a job and if they want to eat, have to go with what the client wants. Anyway, for anyone interested in mastering their own music I highly recommend the site and the book.
Jazzmary2U	Date: January 14, 2007 @ 1:58 PM Thank GAWD I am into jazz.. for the most part, this isn't happening in this genre so much!
Jazzmary2U	Date: January 14, 2007 @ 2:01 PM To maintain your average RIAA-Crackhead.. ya gotta audibly freebase the music/crap to the point where you literally kill it.. it is all about the and it aint gonna stop no time soon..
celtaidd	Date: January 15, 2007 @ 8:09 PM Is it the classic case of Betamax versus vhs? In the sense that it isnt the qualty but the marketing? RIAA rules ok (because, They say they are so therefore its a given truth). Captalism is great dont you think? No I am NOT a Communist
LiQuidMetamo...	Date: January 15, 2007 @ 8:14 PM Yes Jazzmary, although this has been going on since FM radio got huge in the mid-late 70's as their compressors pumped out the dB to try and get an audible advantage over weaker stations, psychologists have run tests that show people more often than not skip over quieter stations to get to louder ones subliminally, even at the expense of better songs on a quieter station in many cases.

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