Back Issues

A few weeks back, Rolling Stone ran an in-depth feature about dynamic range compression and the ongoing “loudness war.” This video primer is the best illustration of what’s happening, but here’s the gist for the vid-disabled: since the mid-90s music producers have mixed for loudness over range and clarity. The loudest elements of the original recording are tamped down—drum hits are clipped off or pulled closer to the rest of track—so that the entire mix can be pumped as loud as the format allows. Essentially, the peaks are trimmed to allow the mix to rest flat against the upper threshold for volume. The resulting mix is exactly that: loud and flat.

The logic behind the emphasis on volume is fairly obvious. In a crowded marketplace, records need to catch our attention, and volume demands this attention. So every band ends up shouting to be heard. Confronted with an unending assault of loud songs, listeners cannot adjust to a quieter, more complex recording. So, if a record comes on with the body of the song lower in the mix, the listener will be deaf to the different standard the song is aspiring to, and will dismiss it as uninteresting or weak. I know Pixies and Violent Femmes records to bear this yoke. It’s how I can listen to Doolittle and go ‘meh,’ and then put on Tapes ‘n Tapes or Bloc Party and consider that dynamic and compelling, at least until I’m aurally concussed.

There are a ton of worthwhile resources on the loudness war and ear fatigue, enough to overwhelm my time and limited patience for technical, esoteric details. What I don’t see a lot of, though, is discussion about the loudness war’s impact on our listening habits. Compression practices extend past mainstream radio—flat recordings are now the norm in modern music. If we’re listening to music differently, we must be developing different tastes. I wonder if we have come to favor certain genres or styles of music that play well loud and flat. What I’m saying is that dominant trends in modern music (the growing importance of the producer and the use of elaborate beats in rap and rock, to name two) coincide with the increasing reliance on compression in the mixing process. Compression is one of a handful of influences that have shaped modern music. Yes, I have examples. But, since I fear I’ve already kind of weighted down this blog with dry content, I’ll hold off for the moment. Expect installments throughout the week. First up: Nirvana…

-Ryan