Ryan: Backstroke

As long as we're slagging the record industry I might as well offer up the classic of the genre: "The Problem With Music", from '90s indie superproducer Steve Albini. Apparently, the problem with music is that it's like swimming a shit-filled river. I am barely even paraphrasing:

Whenever I talk to a band who are about to sign with a major label, I always end up thinking of them in a particular context. I imagine a trench, about four feet wide and five feet deep, maybe sixty yards long, filled with runny, decaying shit. I imagine these people, some of them good friends, some of them barely acquaintances, at one end of this trench. I also imagine a faceless industry lackey at the other end holding a fountain pen and a contract waiting to be signed. Nobody can see what's printed on the contract. It's too far away, and besides, the shit stench is making everybody's eyes water. The lackey shouts to everybody that the first one to swim the trench gets to sign the contract. Everybody dives in the trench and they struggle furiously to get to the other end. Two people arrive simultaneously and begin wrestling furiously, clawing each other and dunking each other under the shit. Eventually, one of them capitulates, and there's only one contestant left. He reaches for the pen, but the Lackey says "Actually, I think you need a little more development. Swim again, please. Backstroke". And he does of course.

Why yes, this guy was involved in the recording of "Rape Me." Why do you ask?


-Ryan

Lenny Kravitz’s Sex Life to Imitate Art

I don’t have a problem with celibacy. Some of my best friends are celibate (if not by choice). It just warms more heart when a rock star actively advertises his vapidity. Tell us more about matters of the spirit, Lenny! In other news, I love The Onion and all of its affiliates.

Jukebox Future – Your Source for Kravitz News and Commentary,

Ryan

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