This class set an interesting precedent on what to expect from the next few lectures. Then again, perhaps it would be more accurate to them discussions.
As expected, we were required to read and watch material to be prepared for the discussion that would take place in the class. The first of these was a Wikipedia article on the Loudness War, which delved into the history and controversy of increasing the audio levels in recorded music. The article was accompanied by a video titled “The Loudness War”, a short demonstration of the effect that compression has on music. We were also required to read “Has pop music gotten worse?”, which touched on many criticisms and observations made of modern pop music. It was difficult for me to truly understand the topic of compression, but this article was interesting in the way it pointed out many facets of modern pop music, such as the rather reflective nature of pop music and the repetitive lyrics that seem common in modern music.
I will admit that I dismissed the claim in the “Has pop music gotten worse?” article about how pop music isn’t as good as it was in the old days. I never considered old music to be inherently better than modern music, as I have heard similar claims about movies and television shows. I have always believed that nostalgia was a strong influence on someone’s tastes, which I consider true for certain songs that I personally enjoy.
This was something that we discussed in length during class. Why did we consider the old songs to be better? Professor O’Malley took the role of a disgruntled man from the previous generation, one that looked down on our music and what we did to older music when we compressed it for broadcasting.
I was amused by this at first, but the discussion quickly grabbed my interest when we discussed how compression actually does more to music than merely making it louder. We discussed how music can be simple, easily absorbed, something that we didn’t want to think too hard about. Someone brought up how we could be driving when listening to music, and a driver would want something that could be entertaining but not distracting while driving.
Professor O’Malley brought up a point that was simple and clear. “You should pay attention to something you’re listening to.” An piece of rather obvious advice, but advice that one might need to hear.
The topic of compression was covered in dynamic range. Professor O’Malley brought up a chart that showed the dynamic range of modern day singers is quite low, even with a well-regarded artist such as Adele. He did admit that he thought Adele had a good voice, but she was hampered by compression, unable to allow her voice range to shine when it was downplayed by effects.
I wished that I had asked more questions about the issue of dynamic range and compression, but the monotony of current music is something that I agree with on some level, even if I feel it is overblown in some cases. The way that music remains static in terms of volume throughout a song is noticeable, but I wonder if we could find similar examples through the ages, and if modern technology allowed the issue of compression to be more apparent.