FAO to whom it may concern

[Tenyu]

Are you still here? Haven't checked the board for a while. Let me make this perfectly clear once and for all -- to my ear the current state of music recording SUCKS! Of course most everyone is doing it the digital way and then measuring it with a new and inferior standard. If you want to call that success....

Credibility? What are you talking about? This is an analog forum for analog fans and interested parties.

I don't like the sound of digital. People in the industry that don't hear the difference have an auditory deficiency or are in denial because they've invested so much in the technology. The masses accept it because they don't know any better -- most young listeners have never heard anything else. There is something else wrong -- something bigger. Humans seem to be collectively regressing. The things that pass as music these days -- mental illness set to some semblance of a beat -- no soul, no life, and no form -- unbelievable!

I don't know what it is -- other than the obvious crack-baby syndrome, maybe something in the water, air pollution, NutraSweet, childhood vaccines gone bad... Popular music is mostly rage, lust and despair -- nothing higher than any animal could feel.

I suppose in the final analysis the "music" itself is so bad it really doesn't matter what it's recorded on.

I'm no one of consequence, certainly no one famous. However, the respected masters in the recording industry that share my analog views are highly regarded. They stand out even more against this cold digital no-talent backdrop.

[the crackhouse]

Tenyu,
i do understand what you mean.
I'm not disturbed by the digital aspect in itself, but by the poor use made of it.

Damn', when electric guitars or synths were born, we have gone very far in their use.

I'm more annoyed by the "sampling" fashion. What will be the next "sampled disco song that makes a good remix/now song" ?

People loose the sense of melody, music writing, drums programming, vocals, song structure, etc...

Another fact which i find annoying, is that most new producers believe that they can do a track by their own. But when CPUs and synths were far from being created, people were mostly in bands and even if there was an inpirational leader, things were created and executed by a GROUP of people, not only one stupido who thinks he's the shit.
Genius can come from some heads, but it's really rare.

DON'T BELIEVE THIS ILLUSION THAT EVERYBODY CAN BE THIS MAN :
http://hasbeen.free.fr/img/philarmo1.jpg

What makes me feel bad is that i would like to turn into my days music, but it's hard to find the right grooves, and Lord knows i'm not a nostalgic.

Maybe i'm only a prick who fantasm on an idea of house and techno that will never see the light.

About the power of music today... well, the revolution will not be televized. Too much money artists, not enough musicians or singing artists. Our generation is struggling for a louder and louder music, more basses, more kicks...

[ August 10, 2004, 02:53 AM: Message edited by: the crackhouse ]

[journeyman]

focus on the negative and you will only see the negative.

there are PLENTY of real musicians in the world making music.

focus on your creations. don't focus on what other people are doing.

[Nege]

Originally posted by deep_n_thought:
focus on the negative and you will only see the negative.

there are PLENTY of real musicians in the world making music.

focus on your creations. don't focus on what other people are doing. what he said.

[<bassghost>]

i have to chime in here. my man just put me on to this page as i am usually spouting the same stuff.
the state of music today is a deliberate effort by the industry to regain the control over the artists that they lost after the early 60's. musicians went from demanding creative control to financial control. the industry responded by creating a cloneanble,controllable,assembly line product.cant fault them,theyre here to make money.
And poor artists are realizing they can be paid fairly well for meeting a fairly low standard.the industry has set up a reward system to encourage creative persons to be puposely vapid.there have always been these type of "artisans", those that fashion, but not create.the problem is the growing extinction of creative envirironments due to the removal of childhood exposure to the arts and a disciplinineless parentless paternal society
designed to produce consumers not citizens

[dennis f]

hmmm....3/4 of me agrees with your post Tenyu. That is why I have decided to not mix ITB. I keep my large format console because of this. But...the other 1/4 of me feels like the guy who said midi would never be a big thing. uhhh...looks like he was real wrong on that one! While I do believe the quality of recordings has suffered, I still maintain that eventually this technology will catch up to a more audiophilic quality that us old die hards love. That's why if you head over to the George Massenburg forum on PSW they all agree to using both technologies. But that's how the big ballers are rollin'. See the reason why they call this house music is because we can only afford to make this shit in our house!! Nobody is making money...it's more out of the love for your craft. All of the music making industry has suffered since manufacturers made it easier to jump in to the fray of music making by not intentionally lowering the standards(you want baller sound? pay baller prices) to make it affordable and by adding features which most people only dreamed of having to increase their bottom line. So now because of this everyone is a producer. The big studios who gave us beautiful sounding records on analog consoles and tape are now going out of business because of this. They now have to cater to marginal personnel who bring in their songs on Logic, PT or SX to track but not mix down. With everyone thinking "I'll mix it down at home". I've seen this happen gradually from the time I used to work at Rogue Music. While yes I agree to the steady disintegration of quality, you kind of have to look at it as an exciting time. Though there might be a whole bunch of crap coming out you have to figure that some kid who would never have had the chance to make something meaningful because of the $ involved might now have that chance because of the affordability. The next Stevie Wonder is surely to turn up soon...trust me because in the end shit smells like shit...whether it's analog or digital.

peace

[<Mr Anonymous>]

I agree what was said about "how it is used". Digital is brilliant. You can do more with digital than you can with tape, and a lot easier. But what has come out of it is a lot of spliced tracks (I am talking thousands upon thousands per song) and "corrected" recordings that draw from the raw performance energy you felt on older tracks. You think Chaka Khan had to use an Auto-Tuner? Hell no!

I personally don't think the digital world has 100% reached it's possibility yet. Running all digital from amp and mic-pre simulators to digital tracking and all digital plugins is not the best. But the last studio I worked for had a Radar24 and I would never go back to using tape. But, we used great mics and mic-pres to nice compressors and eq's (all outboard) before it hit the Radar24 (which also has some of the highest rated convertors).

I think what is hurting the digital market is the CD. If they would just burn this old crap technology and finally settle on a better format (which there are plenty out there - they just can't decide which one to standard) then you could hear the greatness of digital.

Tape is like vinyl imo. It has a quality that cannot be duplicated and I don't think it will ever go away. The recording world is at this crossroad where it seems like analog is disappearing, but its not. A good mix of digital and analog is where it's at. But to call all digital crap does not make sense. Having software based recording/mix/master has opened a whole genre of talent that may not have been able to fork up the money it costs to book out a studio. Who the hell has $100K sitting around to buy "professional" gear to get a decent studio started? or at least $20K to get a decent producer's gear list?

[Nege]

Originally posted by &lt;Mr Anonymous&gt;:
A good mix of digital and analog is where it's at. But to call all digital crap does not make sense. Having software based recording/mix/master has opened a whole genre of talent that may not have been able to fork up the money it costs to book out a studio. Who the hell has $100K sitting around to buy "professional" gear to get a decent studio started? or at least $20K to get a decent producer's gear list? ditto
i can't even afford to buy a Neve strip!
never mind pay $100 an hour for studio time....

[numovez]

This is an argument no one can win !

Are we to compare a new production to something produced at Sigma Sound in the 70's perhaps? - YOU CAN'T.

I've been buying records for over 15 years (my dad the 15 yrs before that).

The records i buy today (say 5 to 10 out of 100 audiioned) I am happy with as I am with listening back to some of the classics.

The beauty is is that there's new records coming out that you can marvel at - but just as always you gotta find them - its the same old same old regarding trashy releases.

Personally I don't care how the records produced and what the instruments are - It comes down to how it sounds to the ear, the message and vibe it gives.

I am not going to critisize releases made by "coders" rather than musicians. If these types are that good to make something I buy without using analogue gear and having a musical (formal or otherwise) background GREAT!

Flippin it around a cat with a full analogue set up and musical background puts out a crap record I am not going to buy it.

[altrrdst8]

make spiritual music, and there is always some lizard waiting in the wings to dilute it. its happened for decades.

either dont listen or laugh. i eventually learnt to laugh

st8