Why Loud Music Mixes Suck

We live in an era of loud music mixing. Radio has done this for years, by compressing the audio and playing it back louder than it occurs on the original recording, so that when a listener comes across their station, it will stand out and grab their attention. But today's music engineers have sought loudness in original recordings, and it is ruining the sound of the music we listen to.

When recording music for playback, it seems desirable to make it loud. But this overlooks the simple fact that the LISTENER ultimately controls the volume. And loud mixes ruin one of the most important elements of music: dynamics. Like all forms of art, one of the ways music impacts us is through dynamics: louds and softs, rises and falls, emotional highs and lows. Loud mixing removes all of these qualities. When everything is loud, there is no longer loud and soft. It's the same as if YOU WRITE EVERYTHING IN CAPITAL LETTERS. When everything is emphasized, nothing is emphasized. It also creates ear fatigue.

This is a waveform (a visual representation of sound) from a track recorded in 1981:

And here is the same track, remastered in 2005:

The recording has been pushed to its limits, maximizing the loudness, but also swelling the softer parts, so that the entire track plays "loud." But of course, when I adjust the volume to listen to it at my preferred setting, it no longer seems loud, it just seems flat.

This waveform is from Metallica's 2009 release, Death Magnetic. Does this look like music to you?

There is an excellent explanation of this problem at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Gmex_4hreQ

The Last Great Film I Saw Was...

Happy Go Lucky, 2008, dir. Mike Leigh.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1045670/

Sally Hawkins gives a Golden Globe-winning performance in director Mike Leigh's original comedy about a perpetually happy woman who takes driving lessons from an uptight instructor. Leigh's custom of working without a script and developing the story by working with the actors creates realistic drama and organic storytelling.

3 Things Wrong with Hollywood Today

There are a number of things wrong with Hollywood. But aesthetically speaking, here are three of the major problems I have with contemporary Hollywood filmmaking:

1) The increasingly ADD approach to filmmaking. Championed by directors like Michael Bay and Danny Boyle, incessant pummeling of the audience is believed necessary to keep them engaged and entertained. Fast and unmotivated editing cuts, a constantly moving camera, relentlessly loud sound design, and mind-numbing action sequences are elements of this aesthetic. The experience is more akin to watching a TV commercial than a movie, which isn't surprising since many directors today come from commercials. It's understandable why a 30-second commercial competing for viewers' attention makes use of these techniques, but to incorporate them throughout a movie shows contempt for the audience, because it suggests that they won't pay attention unless they are being constantly beaten over the head. A 2-hour film is not a commercial, nor can it sustain such style without inducing audience fatigue. Unsavvy moviegoers misinterpret this as an exhilarating moviegoing experience, but really they've just had their senses overwhelmed.

2. The unnecessary sexing-up of characters. When I turn on the television, I can’t tell if I’m watching a CSI show, a medical drama, or a porn. Everyone is young, good looking, and fashionable. Which means it doesn’t look real. These people don't look like doctors or detectives. The 2009 Star Trek reboot has a cast of model-caliber 20-year-olds who flaunt their cleavage, and we're supposed to believe they are a highly-trained space exploration crew. The love interest in Slumdog Millionaire is played by a supermodel who can't act (or dance, judging by the end credits). Supposedly, really pretty girls up the dramatic stakes.

3. The remake phenomenon. If an original film has a strong premise but unworthy execution, I could understand the decision to remake it. However, most remakes in Hollywood are of classic films, and Hollywood's desire to broaden their appeal renders them bland, soulless and sterile. The other concern of mine is that the time between original and remake seems to be shortening. There are plans to remake some of my favorite films from the late 80s and early 90s: Predator and Candyman are two of them. Assuming these remakes will be filled with #1 and #2 from my list, I will not be seeing them.