too loud

Music is too loud

"Producers and engineers call this "the loudness war," and it has changed the way almost every new pop and rock album sounds. But volume isn't the only issue. Computer programs like Pro Tools, which let audio engineers manipulate sound the way a word processor edits text, make musicians sound unnaturally perfect."

It isn't just the volume. Its the way we expect music to be.

Since the mid-1990s, engineers have used dynamic compression to make CDs louder and louder. These waveforms show how loud contemporary recordings have become:

Nirvana's "Smells like Teen Spirit" (1991)

Arctic Monkey's "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" (2006)

link: Loudness War!

music 2008

With Nat gone at her geology class this past week, I've been... bored.

I spent 6 hours yesterday recording one of a few songs that I'm hoping to finish this weekend. I was able to lay down some guitar parts, some vocals and stuff. I probably spent most of the evening messing with everything else, and using every mixing technique I could remember.

My room is a mess. I'll post a picture later.

whoa

Many thanks to branden for coming over last night and fixing all my instrument cables, and giving me the software to record some music. I cleaned my room, hooked everything up, and sat there... staring blankly at the computer screen.

There's too much pressure already!

I'm really not sure what's going to happen here. I'm tired anyway.

so yeah.

Nat is gone for the next few days.

I'm going to play some guitar, watch tv, and eat a bowl of cereal.

Big plans.

brunch burger

stupid dream

Weird dream last night:

I was hungry so I went to Wendy's. It was morning- so I can assume that I went there for a breakfast sandwich or something...

I've never really had a dream like this before- but in my dream the service at this Wendy's was terrrible! The employees were mixing up orders, ignoring cusotmers, and making people wait forever... They took my order, but from the looks of things, it was obvious that they were really backed up in the kitchen. All the angry customers were waiting longer and longer and getting madder by the minute. I began to pace around angry when I suddenly woke up.

I was mad that I never got my order. They took so long, I couldn't even get my freaking dream food!

I hate Wendy's.

funny

summer time

Something I want to do this summer:

Travel to southern Utah to take photos of Anasazi petroglyphs in the Cedar Mesa area. I've been looking at the maps for a few days, and there are many ruins down there. The petroglyphs themselves are remarkable, and the examples I've seen show incredible scenes forgotten to time itself...

Most of these glyphs and ruins are accessible by means of short hikes and some out of the way driving. The trip would be a great escape from the daily grind of utah county... I need to get out of here.

It will be hot. It will be crazy. I think it could be a good adventure.

dryer problems

So I broke the dryer this morning. I wasn't trying to break the thing- I just was trying to find a shirt before work. My shirt was underneath a mountain of towels, so I just turned the drum a bit to see where it was. There was a crunching grinding noise, so I stopped and shut the door. I turned the dryer on, and was surprised by a louder crunching grinding noise. I turned it off, and grabbed my shirt. Thinking something was lodged in the drum somewhere I kinda shook the drum and then heard a loud clunk and bang from within the mechanism. I shut the door and turned on the dryer. The drum didn't turn. oh crap! I thought. Nat is going to be PISSED!

I came home today thinking that I either blew up the motor (which would be bad) or that the belt had slipped off somehow from the drum inside the dryer. Common sense told me to unplug it before venturing inside the beast. Good thing too- all the warning labels inside the machine spoke of unspeakable and inevitable death. Peering inside it was clear the belt had come loose and the pulley that connected the belt to the motor was not where it should be. After removing some screws, cleaning out 40 some odd cents in change (which was probably why the belt skipped off in the first place) and reattaching the pulley and belt to the motor, I closed it up. I turned it on and instead of a crunching grinding noise or a lightning bolt from Zeus himself, the drum was turning like normal. With everything in place and no extra parts, I entered triumphantly into the kitchen for a victory bowl of Apple Jacks Cereal. 

The End.