Do you ever wonder why some music isn’t as much fun to listen to as it used to be? It’s because it is literally straining your ears to hear it.
This is a screen shot I took comparing the waveform for two releases of the SAME recording of the SAME song, “Terrible Lie” by Nine Inch Nails.
The top waveform came from the original 1989 CD release. It’s pleasing to hear. It’s dynamic. There are loud parts and there are quiet parts, and it lets you feel the music breathe.
The bottom waveform came from the remastered 2009 CD release celebrating the 20th anniversary. Sure, it’s louder, but take a look at the “brick wall” the signal runs into as it builds. When this happens, the music no longer kicks, it just all levels out. It’s flat. It’s boring. And it fatigues your ears very quickly.
This is a VERY common problem with most CDs recorded and (re)released over the last decade.
I won’t write up a 10 page rant here, I’ll just leave you with this brief introduction, and a link to the Loudness Wars page on wikipedia for further reading, if you’re interested.
Reblogged after seeing this post on Hank Green’s blog.
The Loudness War WP article is fascinating.
attn: Carissa!
oh heyyyyyyy thesis we meet again
bwahahaha
remember senior sem at the ungodly-ly early (HA) hour of 9am? back in the day!
bahaha, yes! I overslept through that class so much and now have to wake up at 4am to go to work. College prepares you for the real world, kids.
