INTERVIEW: Why Is Quincy Jones Worried About Music’s Future

- open
Post Reply
User avatar
John Clees
mnml admn
mnml admn
Posts: 7708
Joined: Mon Mar 07, 2005 4:21 am
Location: walk the e[art]h : detroit-metro.
Contact:

INTERVIEW: Why Is Quincy Jones Worried About Music’s Future

Post by John Clees »

INTERVIEW: Why Is Quincy Jones Worried About Music’s Future And The

http://www.vh1.com/music/tuner/2014-08- ... bshare_web
mp3s have become so compressed that the vast majority of the sound quality -sometimes up to 90 percent- is lost.

contends that a generation of music lovers are being raised on low-grade sonic sludge

Nadia Boulanger. “She said to me, ‘There are only 12 notes, until God gives us 13. And Quincy, I want you to know what everybody did with those twelve.’ Bach, Beethoven everybody- it’s the same 12 notes. Isn’t that amazing? All we have are twelve notes and you have to find your own sound through rhythm, harmony and melody. You have to find a way to make that your personal sound.”
The Distortion of Sound [Full Film]: http://youtu.be/mDZcz-V29_M
Themis
mnml moderator
mnml moderator
Posts: 2690
Joined: Fri Nov 14, 2008 10:27 pm
Location: Vienna

Re: INTERVIEW: Why Is Quincy Jones Worried About Music’s Fut

Post by Themis »

the film quite exaggerates the problem

i dont buy compressed music also, but the examples that they used are quite deceptive.
for example when they compare compressed vs uncompressed. it never sounds that shitty if you buy from a regular store.
i also laughed about the head nod test.

you cant solve the audio equip problem, people will never have the money to buy the best headphones to just listen at the bus.
its also not necessary, you dont have to have the best experience possible in every moment of your life, the little increase in audio quality does most of the time not justify the costs.

also there are concerts, clubs, festivals where you can get the "real deal".

which brings me to the professional side of the business.
in my opinion there is absolutely no reason why a professional DJ/Artist/Musician should ever use compressed material when playing on a stage/club.

there is a whole industry who works every day to build the most accurate/best sounding speakers and soundsystems, mixers, cables, turntables, needles you name it.
clubs/festivals/concerts put huge money in to buy these soundsystems that cost up to millions, and at the end of all the DJ/Artist comes in with his definitely totally convenient usb stick full of mp3s and shits on all of this, cause he heard somewhere that they did a blind test in a little room and nobody could tell the difference between mp3 and a WAV.

so when most of the people sacrifice a little audio quality for convenience at the bus or underground, i dont have a problem with it.
its not okay for me if DJs/Artists do that, the fees are ridiculous today, if i pay more than 1500 euro for 2 hours work, i think i can expect that they put in the effort to deliver the best possible product they can.

that being said, as a promoter today if you would limit your bookings to that standard, you could probably only book 20% of the artists you like and these 20% probably would be more of underground artists not some big names. thats how accepted it is today.
User avatar
John Clees
mnml admn
mnml admn
Posts: 7708
Joined: Mon Mar 07, 2005 4:21 am
Location: walk the e[art]h : detroit-metro.
Contact:

Re: INTERVIEW: Why Is Quincy Jones Worried About Music’s Fut

Post by John Clees »

I think the point was (if) your always listening to the lower mp3's...

How many of those take the time to listen to the original quality? If you car plays mp3's, you listen to it in a mp3 player, listen to youtube, then get youtube mp3s and it starts over again. Of course techno is a bit different that full on commercial radio air play album...

But it ends on the idea to put energy into enhancing sound vs. accepting less... which i think is finally due..

And coming from him, is a monumental source for light in that direction.
Post Reply