RollingStone.com has an interesting story on the
Death of High Fidelity. Of course we've known since the beginning that MP3 sampling is a poor substitute for CD quality sound, which itself pales next to vinyl on a high-end system. But what this article tells us is how the music industry is adjusting to the new milieu, mixing 'louder' songs with less detail that are designed to play well on iPods, car stereos, and bars. RS talk about 'ear fatigue' in relation to new albums (so
that's why I can't tolerate Arctic Monkeys) and includes a lamentation from Steely Dan's Donald Fagen, whose music isn't translating well on my iPod.
Rolling Stone prints a damning
comparison of songs waveforms -- past, present and reissued. And a link to a technical
wikipedia discussion (with more examples, and some possible solutions).
But there is one marriage of technology and music I can enthusiastically endorse: Air Karaoke, available on Channel 1017 in New York City (the Oxygen network's On Demand channel). Apparently this has been available
for ble years, but I was unaware until the week hours of 2008. Already, this new technology has impacted my life, and certainly, the lives of everyone within earshot.
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