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Foo Fighters new cd SUX!

B

BalthazarFM

Guest
Did I get your attention? Kept hearing this crappy distortion whenever the Foo's new 1 played. Dropped it into a wav form and VOILA! Punishingly, ear splitting, listening ruining over modulation. The needles BARELY left the right side of the meter. WHY must this go on? I asked a big time mastering guy that and he says that's what the lables want. To be the loudest thing on the radio. But wouldn't you rather have people turn UP your song instead of DOWN because it sounds like crap? Then there's the whole 'listener fatigue' thing. Pair the over modulated cd/mp3/whatever with a stations 110% processing (cc?) and people are going to bail out. And they won't even know why. Its just the constant distortion of frequencies banging on their eardrums and the TSL's drop.

Put the latest cd's from anyone into a wav form and look at it. Solid as a 4x6. Then turn down the volume and try to listen. Any better? When will music be allowed to breath again? Cause this stuff just sux.
 
First off, shouldn't the title of this thread be "The mastering on the Foo Fighters' new cd SUX!" instead of the actual CD itself? Secondly, I disagree with you, I think the new Foo disc is amazing, and Dave has outdone himself and his band again. But that's just me, I'm a Foo Fighters fan (it sounds like you don't like them or rock in general) and the record has gotten great reviews. Thirdly, I do agree you have a point about the mastering however. What you have brought up is called "the Loudness War" and has been touched upon in numerous internet blogs and youtube videos over the last few years. Check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Gmex_4hreQ

The mastering on albums has just gotten louder and louder over the years and squashed together so the dynamics of the actual song get compromised for a louder overall volume. That video says it the best: "without quiet, there can be no loud". If a drum solo is recorded at a louder volume than a guitar intro, that is what is going to stand out. If they're both squashed together at the same volume it's all a distorted loud mess without any dynamics. Hopefully this trend goes away but unfortunately I don't see it in the near future.
 
WBIMDJ said:
Thirdly, I do agree you have a point about the mastering however. What you have brought up is called "the Loudness War" and has been touched upon in numerous internet blogs and youtube videos over the last few years.
Click to expand...

It might be a different conversation altogether if they'd listened to the vinyl version - usually, vinyl releases are mastered to include the dynamic range that's been squeezed out of CDs. Not sure if that's true of the new Foos, but just about eveything I've wound up with on vinyl in the past ten years has had more dynamic range than its CD counterpart.
 
Um...the new FF album was recorded on analog equipment, including tape. You might want to check your source you are using to play the CD.
 
FlyersPhilliesFan said:
"Um...the new FF album was recorded on analog equipment, including tape."


It could have been still been mastered digitally.
Click to expand...

Exactly. I'm sure the original analog master sounds fantastic. Love the album. It's the digital meddling that is done by the engineers afterward that screws everything up...
 
In my opinion....The Foo Fighters have been seriously over played the last few months.....Songs that I used to like, I now can't stand after listening to them from the 5,000th time.
 
jwhite6069 said:
In my opinion....The Foo Fighters have been seriously over played the last few months.....Songs that I used to like, I now can't stand after listening to them from the 5,000th time.
Click to expand...

That's my exact opinion of the Foo. Very talented musicians and they play an amazing live show. Too bad radio has all but ruined this band for me.
 
So I'll say you are correct, OP about your title of this post, their new CD does suck. However, I picked up the vinyl copy and it's the most amazing rock record I've heard in a while.

The vinyl version does circles around the loudly mastered CD. The album is even cut at 45rpm on two records.
 
New Five Finger Death Punch and Volbeat are a million times worse in terms of compression and overmodulation.
 
hubcity said:
WBIMDJ said:
Thirdly, I do agree you have a point about the mastering however. What you have brought up is called "the Loudness War" and has been touched upon in numerous internet blogs and youtube videos over the last few years.
Click to expand...

It might be a different conversation altogether if they'd listened to the vinyl version - usually, vinyl releases are mastered to include the dynamic range that's been squeezed out of CDs. Not sure if that's true of the new Foos, but just about eveything I've wound up with on vinyl in the past ten years has had more dynamic range than its CD counterpart.
Click to expand...

That's why when you look in most stereo/audiophile magazines these day and read the ads - LO AND BEHOLD! TURNTABLES! NOT CD PLAYERS! It's like the '70s all over again!

Granted most of these new turntables are ridiculously priced ($3,999? Kiss my.....) People are better off buying vintage equipment anyway. They perform better too.

I heard something about the Foo's new album being mastered on analog. But the trouble is most major labels have completely forgotten the ART of mastering an album. And it is an ART, not a race to see who can be the LOUDEST heard on 2 inch laptop speakers, cell phones and 'earbuds'.

The last time I bought a CD, it was Little Voice by Sara Bareilles and I damn near blew out my speakers with the volume on 4! Same thing with my friend's MP3 of "Animal" Neon Trees. It's just obscene how the labels get away with this. Which is why I found this article interesting:

http://stereogum.com/1098892/old-albums-outselling-new-albums-for-the-first-time-ever/news/

Now this is what's gathered by Soundscan for today's sales. But you have to wonder how many more than what's being reported here are being sold by vintage vinyl/CD shops. Maybe people are tired of not just having their ears ripped off, but their wallets too with most of the new narcissistic TMZ show off "stars" in pop music in general that comes out today.

I guess it really does come down to ART. You either got it or you don't. But in a way, it's kind of sad. Young people SHOULD have music that speaks to them and THEIR generation - Not SCREAMS at them. and almost NONE of today's pop music (which often gets thrown carelessly into Alternative radio playlists on a lot of stations) does. Maybe for 13 year olds, but not for everybody else.
 
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