Corpsey
bandz ahoy
Reading an article about Taylor Swift, how she evolved her sound to fit the arenas "she was now playing" - and wondering what that means, in practice (the abandonment of subtleties that a smaller crowd might pick up on, the simplification of melodic lines, the use of more sustained, capacious chords?)
Plus the discussion in the "2000s were the worst" thread about the regression in recording standards / loudness wars, as a response to people listening to music through their phones or w/ever
All this got me thinking about the influence of the "ideal" environment to hear music on the composition of music
And also about how the "corruption" of those ideal conditions might contribute to the way music evolves
E.G. (I'm pulling this out of my arse) - Did the cheap PS2 grime sound emerge in part because garage was being listened to outside of nightclubs? (Or was it just because kids had easier access to cheap software than expensive studio kit?)
I'd hazard a guess that the "optimal" condition for music exists less than ever now that everyone can listen to everything wherever they are. Or rather, the "minimum" requirement might have changed.
One obvious example of music that was made with a certain physical space in mind is dubstep – which ofc was also listened to on the radio and so on, but which loses a fuckofalot when you can't hear and ideally feel the sub-bass.
This is just a brain-shite atm, obvs, but the influence of our physical surroundings on music is one of those subjects I'm always interested in thinking about and discussing. (E.G. does music from hot countries sound different to music from cold countries? in what ways, and are those ways expressive of some environmental difference?)
Plus the discussion in the "2000s were the worst" thread about the regression in recording standards / loudness wars, as a response to people listening to music through their phones or w/ever
All this got me thinking about the influence of the "ideal" environment to hear music on the composition of music
And also about how the "corruption" of those ideal conditions might contribute to the way music evolves
E.G. (I'm pulling this out of my arse) - Did the cheap PS2 grime sound emerge in part because garage was being listened to outside of nightclubs? (Or was it just because kids had easier access to cheap software than expensive studio kit?)
I'd hazard a guess that the "optimal" condition for music exists less than ever now that everyone can listen to everything wherever they are. Or rather, the "minimum" requirement might have changed.
One obvious example of music that was made with a certain physical space in mind is dubstep – which ofc was also listened to on the radio and so on, but which loses a fuckofalot when you can't hear and ideally feel the sub-bass.
This is just a brain-shite atm, obvs, but the influence of our physical surroundings on music is one of those subjects I'm always interested in thinking about and discussing. (E.G. does music from hot countries sound different to music from cold countries? in what ways, and are those ways expressive of some environmental difference?)