Is Music dying?

Mr Peabody said:
Kenwood made some great tuners. The last tuner I had in my main system was a Kenwood KT-3300d a FM only tuner. At one time I owned the entire 3300d series, integrated and CDP. I believe the KA-3300 was the first integrated amp to have a built-in DAC. At the time the idea didn't seem to take off, look at it now.
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All snobs aside, Kenwood made some really good gear. Accuphase was started with ex-Kenwood engineers.
 
Interesting, part of my issue may be Tidal. I knew a new Lamb of God album was released today, it didn't show on the new releases or even under Metal, I did find it when I searched their name. I may have to find a backup new release list. Or consider a new service.
 
I listen to the car radio all of the time. Especially when you're close to the transmitter, the sound is fantastic.

Mostly public radio, and not only because I love jazz and classical music. My favorites are those funded by listeners and donors, with no NPR involvement. College stations are pretty easy to find when on a road trip, the downside being that most of them have a relatively small coverage area. But they're one of my favorite new music discovery tools, for sure.

I play albums that I have downloaded from Qobuz to my phone for the stretches with no signal. I'm planning a road trip out west this summer, and I think I have about 30 albums loaded up so far.

When I was working, AM news radio was indispensable for news, traffic and weather updates.
 
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Mr Peabody said:
Interesting, part of my issue may be Tidal. I knew a new Lamb of God album was released today, it didn't show on the new releases or even under Metal, I did find it when I searched their name. I may have to find a backup new release list. Or consider a new service.
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Qobuz is the bomb for me. I kicked Tidal to the curb after having both Tidal andcQobuz simultaneously for an extended time and picking the clear winner for me.
 
As antennas go, the Magna Dynalab ST-2 is superb at a very reasonable price. I have it sitting behind the shade in the window of my music room. It pulls in all kinds of stations at very good quality levels. I know of some people who have mounted these on top of towers, the roof of their homes, etc. and have gotten ridiculously good reception. Being that they have a coaxial output it is easy to run the connection as long (or as short) as you need.

Magna Dynalabs and McIntosh still offer very high-grade tuners.
 
Randy Myers said:
As antennas go, the Magna Dynalab ST-2 is superb at a very reasonable price. I have it sitting behind the shade in the window of my music room. It pulls in all kinds of stations at very good quality levels. I know of some people who have mounted these on top of towers, the roof of their homes, etc. and have gotten ridiculously good reception. Being that they have a coaxial output it is easy to run the connection as long (or as short) as you need.

Magna Dynalabs and McIntosh still offer very high-grade tuners.
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Most radio stations broadcast at mp3 if you are lucky and even worse. Many of our stations are owned by Hubbard and the sound quality is total crap but no one seems to care. Pandora free service is better sounding if that gives you an idea. Popular radio used to play LP's then CD and now compressed files that mp3 would be an improvement. They're not struggling to remain relevant they are rolling over and playing dead. PBS and some college stations may be an exception. That limits your selection.
 
Less than 10% of what I buy these days is new music. I mostly buy old jazz, classical and rock albums that have been remastered. Occasionally, I may buy an album that’s new music.

Given the cost of vinyl, I only buy the classics that I know have been remastered properly and made by the best vinyl plants. I have not purchased a CD or even a digital file in years. It’s so easy to add a new good digital album to a Qobuz playlist that I don’t need the physical media.

Now, in terms of music quality these days, it’s not as good as it was before. I don’t like hip hop. The pop and rock music these days lacks creative elements, very little melody. Maybe I’m getting old! ;)

But, there is so much music available in vinyl and digital media for a lifetime of listening. Isn’t that what our hobby is all about?
 
I grew up in the folk era where words were important and their message was meant to be heard. Most vocalists were pleasant to listen to. They sang solo with or without harmony backup or in small groups. They had talent and did not rely on "massive distraction" from a lot of instruments and dancers in costumes. Pop singers now rely on lots of "noise" to hide the fact they have no real vocal talent. Lyrics can't be heard so it does not matter how poorly they were penned and soon forgotten.

At a Joan Baez concert I attended, Joan came out alone after the break. She sat her guitar on a chair and sang a cappella.
 
Dizzie said:
I grew up in the folk era where words were important and their message was meant to be heard. Most vocalists were pleasant to listen to. They sang solo with or without harmony backup or in small groups. They had talent and did not rely on "massive distraction" from a lot of instruments and dancers in costumes. Pop singers now rely on lots of "noise" to hide the fact they have no real vocal talent. Lyrics can't be heard so it does not matter how poorly they were penned and soon forgotten.

At a Joan Baez concert I attended, Joan came out alone after the break. She sat her guitar on a chair and sang a cappella.
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Great example!
 
Dizzie said:
I grew up in the folk era where words were important and their message was meant to be heard. Most vocalists were pleasant to listen to. They sang solo with or without harmony backup or in small groups. They had talent and did not rely on "massive distraction" from a lot of instruments and dancers in costumes. Pop singers now rely on lots of "noise" to hide the fact they have no real vocal talent. Lyrics can't be heard so it does not matter how poorly they were penned and soon forgotten.

At a Joan Baez concert I attended, Joan came out alone after the break. She sat her guitar on a chair and sang a cappella.
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True, somewhat, but also not true. I would have a hard time listing Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen as being "pleasant" voices :). And some very renowned current pop/rock singers have amazing voices.

Amy Lee (Evanescence) has one of the better voices I have ever heard. Billie Eilish re-released her most recent album in an isolated vocals version. It blew me away how good of a voice this young lady actually has, Halsey has a really great voice. So yes, many are pure "noise" but many are not.

Ignore all the hype and "pop" and actually read Taylor Swift lyrics. Much of it is fairly amazing poetry. Some at the levels that folk singers I grew up with, some even better. Think about it with an open mind, she wrote, recorded, released a chart-topping duel-double album with 31 songs, all while doing the largest world tour in history. Read the lyrics. Some of the best poetry I have seen in folk albums even though this certainly would not be classified as "folk" :).

The art has changed, sure, but much of it is still extremely high-level art. A great example, I have been recently taking guitar lessons from this guy who has his own band and subs in with two others. He is actually going to be doing a summer East Coast tour subbing in a friend's band. I purchased and listened to the most recent EP his band has out. Like much of new band's material, available on Bandcamp. While I am not a fan of some of this new heavy metal screaming vocals, the few songs that he actually sings shows an amazing voice. I asked him how he can do this "screaming vocals" and still be able to talk after the show :). He related his background. He went to school for music theory, classic guitar and has years of vocal training. This new "screaming vocals" has a very definite method to not damage vocal cords. There are now college level classes on this type of vocal training. Therefore, it may not be my favorite type of music, but I cannot dismiss that there is true artistry involved. Adam proves this to me over and over when he shows me (that I cannot do I might add) some guitar methods. Incredible talent even though his band is extreme heavy metal.
 
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Randy Myers said:
True, somewhat, but also not true. I would have a hard time listing Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen as being "pleasant" voices :). And some very renowned current pop/rock singers have amazing voices.

Amy Lee (Evanescence) has one of the better voices I have ever heard. Billie Eilish re-released her most recent album in an isolated vocals version. It blew me away how good of a voice this young lady actually has, Halsey has a really great voice. So yes, many are pure "noise" but many are not.

Ignore all the hype and "pop" and actually read Taylor Swift lyrics. Much of it is fairly amazing poetry. Some at the levels that folk singers I grew up with, some even better. Think about it with an open mind, she wrote, recorded, released a chart-topping duel-double album with 31 songs, all while doing the largest world tour in history. Read the lyrics. Some of the best poetry I have seen in folk albums even though this certainly would not be classified as "folk" :).

The art has changed, sure, but much of it is still extremely high-level art. A great example, I have been recently taking guitar lessons from this guy who has his own band and subs in with two others. He is actually going to be doing a summer East Coast tour subbing in a friend's band. I purchased and listened to the most recent EP his band has out. Like much of new band's material, available on Bandcamp. While I am not a fan of some of this new heavy metal screaming vocals, the few songs that he actually sings shows an amazing voice. I asked him how he can do this "screaming vocals" and still be able to talk after the show :). He related his background. He went to school for music theory, classic guitar and has years of vocal training. This new "screaming vocals" has a very definite method to not damage vocal cords. There are now college level classes on this type of vocal training. Therefore, it may not be my favorite type of music, but I cannot dismiss that there is true artistry involved. Adam proves this to me over and over when he shows me (that I cannot do I might add) some guitar methods. Incredible talent even though his band is extreme heavy metal.
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Randy,

Dylan was firmly in my mind when I qualified by writing "most vocalists were pleasant to listen to". But at least you could hear the lyrics in Dylan's songs. The best song writers (Dylan, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, and others) were covered by a variety of other performers. Sometimes the covers were better than the original. Amazing lyrics don't mean anything if the words are unintelligible.

Imagine Taylor Swift covering "Woodstock". 😱 Thank you for suggesting other artists for me to check out. What is the title of the Billie Eilish album you recommended.
 
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