He said: “The brain is not geared to accept buzzing. The CDs induce a sense of fatigue in the listeners. It becomes psychologically tiring and almost impossible to listen to. This could be the reason why CD sales are in a slump.”
That's a quote I pulled from
here While I sympathize with the message of the article over all (music all sounds the same, and that sucks!), the logic fell off that thought train. CD sales aren't lagging because listeners are psychologically tired, it's because they download music. Which is why all the music sounds the same, because producers are responding to mp3 formatting. It's just a function of what the consumers want.
The article goes on to compare television test tones to compressed songs. What? These people are clearly not well verse in earth logic or much else. The test tone annoys people because of the actual frequency to which it is pitched, and that is intentionally annoying to people. It's supposed to get your attention in case of zombipocalypse or alien invasion. The tone is not annoying because it is undynamic. Sheesh.
Further: Val Weedon, of the UK Noise Association, called for a ceasefire in the “loudness war”. She said: “Bass-heavy music is already one of the biggest concerns for suffering neighbours. It is one thing for music to be loud but to make it deliberately noisy seems pointless.” And get off my lawn, you damned kids before I throw my cane at you!
I don't think anyone would make the claim that limiting the dynamic nature of a recording is a GOOD thing, but how about a workable solution, like a new sort of digital file, rather than attempting to promote cd sales which is doomed to epic failure? Surely there's a genius 14 year old out there who can invent something better.
For one thing, we're all spoiled by mp3 players and I doubt people are going to be willing to give that up just because the sound quality sucks. Most people can't differentiate poor quality producing anyway. Frankly, I'm not giving up my frickin' iPod because Bob Dylan sounds better on vinyl. I'm not giving up my iPod until the next revolution in music delivery happens, and I'm not holding my breath for that.
Cds are simply cumbersome and annoying in an age when you can utilize a device that plugs into your home stereo, your car stereo, and functions on it's own perfectly fine as well. Sure, Charlie Parker sounds better on vinyl (and who knows, even The Eagles might) but didn't we already discuss this to death in the '90's? We acknowledge that the sound quality is better on vinyl, but if everyone gave in and bought record players, what would music snobs have to be snobby about? Enjoy your snobitude and listen to compression-free Dylan on your turntable and leave the rest of us alone to enjoy the music revolution going on on that pesky new-fangled Internet.
3 comments:
Man not the Eagles, Man I hate the fricking Eagles. The dude does not abide.
Yeah, that definitely screams of "I'm OLD and DON'T GET IT." Most kids I know these days have never even HEARD what music on vinyl sounds like, so they're clearly not going to care. Aside from that, when did our society ever value quality over convenience? *clings to ipod*
so i just went through and read the article and comments that were left regarding it and i gotta, say, it's absurd to think that that's why CD sales are down.
on the other hand, the guy who commented with "No wonder people are stealing the music, it isn't worth buying anymore at this quality..." has a point. i don't own a record player anymore, but back home, several of my friends do and i always make it a point when i visit to sit around listening to some for awhile to get that feel. it takes me back to when i first discovered music and what it meant to me then. i don't know if kids are quite getting that experience anymore with garage band and a mac book.
Post a Comment