Music: It's getting worse.

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Matthew74

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I love music. I didn't really pay too much attention to it until I started playing in middle school, and then I got to know it more through live music than recorded music. In college I used to just sit and play notes on the baby grand pianos to listen to the sound. I love the way playing in tune feels. I love a great recording. That's the half full part.

The half empty part is that music today sounds terrible! (I don't mean that all music in the whole world today is bad, I am generalizing.)

I have some pet peeves, like musicians using amplification when it's not necessary (try to find someone performing who's not using a mike), people playing too loud, and too much bass. At concerts things are usually so loud and have so much bass that you can't hear anything at all. I'm not talking just about rock concerts (which I don't go to because it TOO LOUD.) It's ubiquitous, sometimes even with classical or jazz. One other thing is that headphones sound terrible, they're all "bass boosting", or just plain hurt your ears. Of course all that says nothing about the volume when you go to the movies!

The reason I'm writing though, is that I got an iTunes gift card, and bought a bunch of 80s singles. There were usually 2 or 3 different "mixes" of the same recording. Almost without exception the "remastered" versions were terrible. They literally hurt my ears. You could hear some of the parts more distinctly, but there was just no blend. No dynamics. Too much bass, and the treble was piercing. So, I started googling. Apparently this is the "loudness wars", where record companies are boosting the volume levels in recordings to the point where the loudest sounds are clipped and the softest are boosted.

For example, I have a Tears for Fears CD from the early 90s. It sounds incredible. At one point I had a really good set of headphones, and I couldn't believe the stuff I heard. I have some James Taylor recordings, old and new, and they all sound incredible. You can hear all the parts, they are balanced, and the dynamics are great. I have some great jazz recordings like "Joe Henderson, Musings for Miles", or "Charlie Haden, Quartet West". They just sound good. With the tunes that I was listening to and downloading on iTunes I inevitably bought the older versions, because they didn't hurt my ears, they had dynamics, and I could hear the music.

Anyone feel the same way?
 
Their just tweaking the old to make money off of it. When has the entertainment industry not been milking the hell out of the public for every last cent they have regardless of the music sounding like crap?

Maybe this will make you feel better.
[ame="http://youtu.be/ST86JM1RPl0"]http://youtu.be/ST86JM1RPl0[/ame]
The guys dancing by the fuel pumps are my favorite...
 
well said N Sperlo. just another huge industry that siphons resources from the masses
 
I agree with the too much bass. It drowns out the nuances of the tune other instruments are contributing. Not to mention the voices: I want to hear the words of a song I like, not have them blurred and masked by instruments.
 
Matthew, I agree completely with you. Here is one of my favorite songs by Peter, Paul and Mary. I hope I have the link right. It is "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?"

I tried two times and I could not get the link right. Would someone please get it in. It is one of my favorite songs.
 
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N Sperlo, How did you embed the video? I tried with the embed link from YouTube and it just posted the code.
 
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It seems to me that most people don't listen to music anymore. We hear it all the time, like nonstop, everywhere. You forget you're supposed to listen. Back in the day people had "Hi-Fi" sets with fancy amps, equalizers, and nice speakers. Now we have earbuds and laptop speakers. When I was a kid I listened to the Beach Boys "Endless Summer" about a thousand times. I hardly listen to anything today.

Here's a video about "loudness"...

 
It did not do it for me and I had the same link as you did. Thank you, Matthew74.

I also love, Blowing in the Wind by Peter, Paul and Mary.

I like your music. Is that your music Matthew74? Are you a musician? Have you been to Speber's Auditorium here at CWE?
 
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This is Ruth's request: [ame]http://youtu.be/ZgXNVA9ngx8[/ame]
 
my submission:
[ame]http://youtu.be/fDi2XdFUy3I[/ame]
 
Thank you Shelley, This was from Peter, Paul and Mary's 25th Anniversary.

I know you have your favorites. Thank you for putting in one of your favorites.

Take care, Ruth
 
[ame]http://youtu.be/UKAp-jRUp2o[/ame]
It has a bunch of blaring lights, so please be careful.
 
Hi Shelley, Thank you.

I love the number of George Harrison's songs that were their.

I have a glare screen to keep out the blaring lights. I listened to 3 of the songs. I will be back to listen to more of them.
 
Matthew, I've found that the speakers make a huge difference -- iTunes played back on my computer is pretty tinny, but played on my car stereo system they sound a whole lot better...
 
The first few seconds may be hazardous to watch, but is a golden oldie:
[ame]http://youtu.be/vrL-bYpY9Cc[/ame]
 
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