SydLexia.com - The Forums :: View topic - Pop music too loud and all sounds the same: official

Joined: Dec 06 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 11244

Reuters wrote:

Comforting news for anyone over the age of 35, scientists have worked out that modern pop music really is louder and does all sound the same.

Researchers in Spain used a huge archive known as the Million Song Dataset, which breaks down audio and lyrical content into data that can be crunched, to study pop songs from 1955 to 2010.

A team led by artificial intelligence specialist Joan Serra at the Spanish National Research Council ran music from the last 50 years through some complex algorithms and found that pop songs have become intrinsically louder and more bland in terms of the chords, melodies and types of sound used.

"We found evidence of a progressive homogenization of the musical discourse," Serra told Reuters. "In particular, we obtained numerical indicators that the diversity of transitions between note combinations - roughly speaking chords plus melodies - has consistently diminished in the last 50 years."

They also found the so-called timbre palette has become poorer. The same note played at the same volume on, say, a piano and a guitar is said to have a different timbre, so the researchers found modern pop has a more limited variety of sounds.

Intrinsic loudness is the volume baked into a song when it is recorded, which can make it sound louder than others even at the same volume setting on an amplifier.

The music industry has long been accused of ramping up the volume at which songs are recorded in a 'loudness war' but Serra says this is the first time it has been properly measured using a large database.

The study, which appears in the journal Scientific Reports, offers a handy recipe for musicians in a creative drought.

Old tunes re-recorded with increased loudness, simpler chord progressions and different instruments could sound new and fashionable. The Rolling Stones in their 50th anniversary year should take note.

(Reporting by Chris Wickham)

Wizard Joined: Jun 12 2009 Posts: 4209

Well...

Nothing I haven't been saying to my sister, not that she listens.

Posted: Jul 26 2012 04:12 pm

Drew Linky wrote:

Well...

Nothing I haven't been saying to my sister, not that she listens.

Yeah, I heard your sister is a hardcore bitch.

Posted: Jul 26 2012 05:14 pm

Klimbatize wrote:

Drew Linky wrote:

Well...

Nothing I haven't been saying to my sister, not that she listens.

Yeah, I heard your sister is a hardcore bitch.

What, did she insult his mom or something?

Wizard Joined: Jun 12 2009 Posts: 4209

No, she's just nine.

Posted: Jul 27 2012 05:31 am

lol 9?! and you are whining about her?!

Posted: Jul 27 2012 05:51 am

username wrote:

lol 9?! and you are whining about her?!

LOL.

Yeah, man. She just doesn't get music.

Posted: Jul 27 2012 07:09 am

Quote:

They also found the so-called timbre palette has become poorer. The same note played at the same volume on, say, a piano and a guitar is said to have a different timbre, so the researchers found modern pop has a more limited variety of sounds.

This part seems to contradict itself: "Pianos and guitars sound different, even when playing the exact same note, leading to a less varied array of sounds."

Posted: Jul 27 2012 09:57 am

You know what I listened to when I was 9?

Nothing

I didn't start listening to any music of my own until I was 13, and even that really, really sucked.

Posted: Jul 27 2012 11:12 am

I remember liking really shitty music when I was 9. I am glad I grew up.

Posted: Jul 27 2012 11:43 am

I started listening to the local Oldies station when I was eleven to troll my parents, because they were listening to alternative stations aimed at hipster college students.

Posted: Jul 27 2012 12:10 pm

Wasn't that when Grunge, which you hate, was popular?

Wizard Joined: Jun 12 2009 Posts: 4209

You guys laugh at me, I would like to see you live with her on a regular basis.

I wish I could say I was kidding. It's hell.

I've seen some shit, man.

I think I started listening to music around 13, but I didn't have a good basis in it and didn't know where to look for it.

Then, I discovered that things called radios exist, and they're typically available in cars.

Posted: Jul 27 2012 01:18 pm

Instead of telling your sister that her music sucks (which everyone loves hearing), you should show her some music you like. Surprised

Don't show her something super hardcore unfriendly to someone who's unfamiliar with the genre; ease her into something accessible.

Wizard Joined: Jun 12 2009 Posts: 4209

Cameron wrote:

Instead of telling your sister that her music sucks (which everyone loves hearing), you should show her some music you like. Surprised

Don't show her something super hardcore unfriendly to someone who's unfamiliar with the genre; ease her into something accessible.

No, you don't understand. I've tried to do this, but she responded by wailing like a cat and cutting my arm up.

Posted: Jul 27 2012 02:19 pm

Drew Linky wrote:

You guys laugh at me, I would like to see you live with her on a regular basis.

I wish I could say I was kidding. It's hell.

I've seen some shit, man.

Hey man, I'm on your side. I think it's totally appropriate to call a nine year old a hardcore bitch.

LOL, "I've seen some shit, man." You're too much.

Posted: Jul 27 2012 02:45 pm

Drew Linky wrote:

Cameron wrote:

Instead of telling your sister that her music sucks (which everyone loves hearing), you should show her some music you like. Surprised

Don't show her something super hardcore unfriendly to someone who's unfamiliar with the genre; ease her into something accessible.

No, you don't understand. I've tried to do this, but she responded by wailing like a cat and cutting my arm up.

lol, um...maybe you should just avoid her, then.

Posted: Jul 27 2012 04:12 pm

lol.... shes 9

thats... eh nevermind

the only music i listened to when i was 9 was music my older brother played or my parents played. i didnt get my own taste in music until much much later

Posted: Jul 27 2012 05:47 pm

jprime wrote:

Wasn't that when Grunge, which you hate, was popular?

Yessir.

Posted: Jul 27 2012 05:55 pm

username wrote:

lol.... shes 9

thats... eh nevermind

Well you obviously haven't seen some shit, man.

Wizard Joined: Jun 12 2009 Posts: 4209

I have Vietnam-style flashbacks whenever I try to sleep, I haven't slept in years.

Posted: Jul 28 2012 08:37 pm

Drew Linky wrote:

I have Vietnam-style flashbacks whenever I try to sleep, I haven't slept in years.

If you really do have flashback and stuff, you should see a doctor and get that checked out. You know, before you get set off by some random little girl and end up with her blood on your hands.

Posted: Jul 28 2012 09:24 pm

My brother is eight, and this is what he's been listening to for the past couple weeks, constantly whenever he's on the computer. His computer is located in the basement, directly next to my room. Don't even talk to me about siblings with poor music taste.

All in all, you're just another brick in the wall.

Posted: Jul 28 2012 10:53 pm

Both my little sisters came of age right at the time when Britney Spears, N+Sync, and the Backstreet Boys were huge.

I heard that shit all over the house, from two different sources, 27/7 for like two years.

Hammer Time!

Posted: Jul 29 2012 12:40 am

Crazy_Bastard wrote:

My brother is eight, and this is what he's been listening to for the past couple weeks, constantly whenever he's on the computer. His computer is located in the basement, directly next to my room. Don't even talk to me about siblings with poor music taste.

The idea of an eight year old sitting at a computer listening to this is both hilarious and adorable. Also, that song is ten hours long?!

Also, the very first album I got was Daft Punk's Discovery, at age 11, so I guess I lucked out and never had a Crappy Pop Phase.