The Death of Audiophilia

As compared to this genius, fuzzy ear piece:

 

I agree that "hack" musicians were plentiful back then, but they didn't have the delusions of grandeur that today's "hacks" have because they had no computers, software or internet to give them access to the world. They had little or no way to pursue a music career because of it. I will say this.... Singers like Gladys Knight, Barbra Streisand, Whitney were a lot more plentiful and had something special that I have yet to see these days in similar quantity from today's artists.

 

Not that I am even near a big fan of the Beatles, and this is just a self indulgent novelty track on the "White Album", but at least it was more inventive than just a repetitive loop of beats with an occasional synth stab and "hey, hey, hey..." vocals sample......and it was created long before computers or software were available for making music in the manner of Pro Tools, etc.

 

I on the other hand, am pretty sure the delusions of grandeur were the same. If they had the same possibilities to market themselves as today, I'm sure they would.

And there are plenty of vocalists today that are just as good as yesteryears. You just have to search for them outside the mainstream. Sure, it may take some more effort on the part of the listener, but I see that as a positive. The more you give, the more you get.
And no, I won't give you examples. Get out there and look for your self.

 

One of the little secrets about Stereophile and Absolute Sound was that 80% of their readership were doctors, lawyers, and other professional people with medium-to-high 6-figure incomes, maybe 20% into the 7-figures. They could easily afford to drop $50K-$60K on a sound system upgrade every couple of years.

Starting in the 1990s, I think one problem was the emergence of personal stereos, to the point where kids were content with headphones and earbuds (along with CD players and, later, iPods), rather than also wanting a $100,000 sound system. And another major problem was home theater, which some families believed was a better investment since they could invite friends over and have everybody watch a movie or two, rather than sitting down and listening to a favorite album.

You can make a strong point that the paradigm shift away from listening to music affected a lot of businesses. I don't think it's coincidental that the music business also started going down around 2000, just around the time many mass-market electronics stores started collapsing (Circuit City, Silo, Tweeter, etc.). That plus the rise of the internet made it harder for businesses to compete with bottom-line-oriented mail-order companies.

 

I'm not a fan of "Revolution #9," but it was a great conversation subject in 1968 and 1969. If nothing else, you could always say, "wow, that's the most bizarre thing I've heard since 'Revolution #9'!" In 1968, it was very interesting... but it was always a track I skipped when listening to the White Album. It meant something different 45 years ago than it does today.

I tend to lean towards George Martin's belief that that album might have been better with 20 really strong tracks rather than 9 more tracks that were a little marginal. On the other hand, when the album came out, it was like, "wow! TWO records! And the cover is no cover!" So it was really something then.

 

Again, not the thread for it, and he did it in a disrespectful way. There is no suppression

You sure are trying to twist things around.

 

Thing is, the "music business" is not the same as actual music. No matter what happens to "the business", the art of creating music is still going to continue. And honestly, I believe the art itself is much better off without the leeches that have made up the "business" for the past 50 or 60 years.
And if that leads to us ending up with music reproduction hardware that is based more on actual performance than status and name recognition, then that is surely a good thing.

Creating music is art. Creating equipment for reproducing recorded music on the other hand, is not. It's science and engineering.

 

What was disrespectful about his post? I haven't twisted anything...

 

Well, you posted:

He disrespected those who may like rap music by stating that it was music in quotes, then called it "crap".

 

The one thing that dilutes everyone's arguments is injecting personal opinion, and presenting it as fact, and making generalities. I

 

But that's just his opinion. He could just as easily written he hates kabuki music and it's all crap. I don't think he was going for disrespect. Should I feel disrespected when someone pans a band I like? I'm a Yes fan, plenty of negative posts about yes here on SHTV. Or prog rock.

 

Post quote: Rap "music" is proof that we quit providing music education for our students. I do like Body Count and Akon, but most is crapola.

Second sentence? Doesn't bother me. First sentence, on the other hand, throws the old "quotes" in there which basically trashes the general as a whole (ie. it's not really music). And then he further extends on that thought with the music education (or lack thereof) part. Rap listeners are...uneducated too? hmmmm.

So new poster thinks rap is not real music...but wait, he forgot the "I think" part. Now my spidey-sense is telling me that making said comment in such an extreme manner is basically trolling, and against the rules here. Or did I miss a change to the playbook?

It's really all in the presentation.

 

Music is art. Additionally, art and the enjoyment of art is not "objective." It is subjective. To say or pretend that art can or should be interpreted in some kind of measurable, objective manner makes no sense and that is not what I was doing, but seemed how you were interpreting it.

 

Yep. There's a lot of stuff I don't like too, but I'm not going to equate my personal tastes to some sort of objective "truth". Thankfully, I'm just not that arrogant.

 

The lack of context is what is driving a lot of the historical revisionism these days.

 

A very long way from the day I first went into the listening room in one of my home town's two audio shops and drooled over the fantastic looking and sounding gear I wanted so badly.
Of course, now I'm not far from 'the big city' and there are still audio shops all over the place. It takes some looking to find them, but they're there.
Hell, in the country I live in there are still lots of audio mags featuring high-end gear. I can't spend that kind of dough myself, but I still get a kick out of looking at the stuff.

 

Honestly; who cares what happened in 1969 or whatever? Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that we should forget our history, but claiming that some random occurence sometime in the past represents some sort of "pinnacle of music" is just incredibly stupid.

 

Again, it may be his opinion, but it is the way he expressed it. And, correct me if I am wrong, but isn't this thread about the death of audiophilia? Isn't this thread in the Audio hardware section? I stand by what I wrote.

 

I didn't say anything of the sort! But, people inserting subjective opinions into their argument actually weakens it.

 

With something like art or music appreciation that is subjective, it can't help but be discussed with opinions.... unless you are talking about statistics like chart or sales figures or notes or chords used, etc. And again, whether one likes or doesn't like something is subjective. When one, as you say "argues" about art, how can it be possibly be objective? One doesn't love the people they love in their lives by viewing them through total objectivity for the simple reason that no one is perfect...and so it is with music and art.

 

And there are a many who despise it and what it represents, so cool it. Lecturing people as to what they may post does not help you.

 

So what exactly does rap represent? Do you think all rap is the same? Because if you do, you're dead wrong.

 

And what, pray tell, does rap/hip-hop represent? And realize, I want you to completely generalize what the entire genre represents. So, go on with it: why does your taste in music and/or politics have any say in what "audiophilia" is or is not? I despise opera, what does that make me?

 

I liked Quincy Jones' "Back on the Block" if that soothes you a little. In America, much of Rap and Hip Hop represents gang culture and the objectifying of women. It's not a form of music I celebrate.

You guys need to grow a thicker hide and not get so upset if someone doesn't care for the same thing you do.

Meanwhile, while audiophilia shoots itself in the foot repeatedly, I'm not sure it's dead. Yet. But my kids prefer listening to their music on MP3 players and $10 earbuds. I've offered each of them a proper, basic system but they have no interest. They do like my Bose bluetooth speaker though...