Re: Why contemporary music sounds terrible

[kkissinger@kevinkissinger.com]

Quoting Krispen Hartung <khartung@cableone.net>:

> ...It's like
> compress, compress, compress, limit, limit, limit....turn that wave
> form into a solid bar, and then raise it to 0db...in your face, 100% of
> the time. Below is the first time I've seen this referred to as
> exhausting, but it makes sense. Even if you turn your stereo down,

Your thoughts help me to feel that I am not alone in the world.

Some radio stations proclaim "All music all the time" however I think  
they should say "All loud all the time".

> there might be something to be said of giving the human pyche a break
> with natural dynamics and more space.
> Tension....release....tension...release....louder....softer, etc, etc.

There is a tendency in all forms of entertainment now to "go all out  
all the time" -- give 110% all the time.  It shows up in dance.  It  
shows up in fireworks displays which, to me, is a reflection of the  
general trend in entertainment.

(off topic rant starts here)

In the not too distant past, fireworks displays were relaxing.  You'd  
sit outside on a blanket -- you'd hear a little pop -- a rocket would  
explode in a beautiful (often symetrical) design -- everyone would go  
"ahhhhh" -- the sky would again be dark -- and we'd eagerly anticipate  
the next rocket.  At the end of the show, there would be a grand  
finale wherein multiple rockets were lauched at once to fill the  
heavens with color, fire, and noise.

In recent years, fireworks displays have dispensed with the show --  
and move directly to the finale.  And the result is a numbing display  
of light and sound without any chance to appreciate the dark sky, the  
symmetry of a single display, or the "oohs and ahhs" of the audience.   
The ebb, flow, and simplicity has been lost in a never-ending quest  
for the "biggest and most spectacular show".

(end of off-topic rant -- hope you enjoyed it)

Those of us who like looping apparently like things that build up over  
time and often choose subtlety over shear power.