I've grown to hate the "loudness trend" in music production, but I was listening to the radio today and found what IMHO is a particularly egregious example.
The song was "Say Something" by A Great Big World feat. Christina Aguilera. I was listening in the Jeep, with the top down, on the freeway, and even then I could tell how much they'd crammed the tune into the top of the range. Because I had it turned up to deal with all the wind and road noise, the demands it was placing on the speakers was easily discerned. I tried a few other songs alongside it without changing the volume, and the distortion and strain on the speakers was absent.
But what makes it so egregious is that this song is an acoustic piano and vocal track. Aguilera is an amazing singer. If you want a song to really show dynamic range, this is an excellent example. But no, they pushed up the loudness and compressed everything into the top of the range.
This needs to stop.
The song was "Say Something" by A Great Big World feat. Christina Aguilera. I was listening in the Jeep, with the top down, on the freeway, and even then I could tell how much they'd crammed the tune into the top of the range. Because I had it turned up to deal with all the wind and road noise, the demands it was placing on the speakers was easily discerned. I tried a few other songs alongside it without changing the volume, and the distortion and strain on the speakers was absent.
But what makes it so egregious is that this song is an acoustic piano and vocal track. Aguilera is an amazing singer. If you want a song to really show dynamic range, this is an excellent example. But no, they pushed up the loudness and compressed everything into the top of the range.
This needs to stop.