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We are doomed

W 25 brings up a valid point in that there is a definite visual sensory aspect to vintage equipment. There’s an added something to sitting across the room, listening to a tune and taking a good vibe in seeing the softly glowing dials and lively meters at work. Think about it, how many times do you find vintage equipment stuffed in a closet or crammed in an out of the way nook or cranny? The equipment is part of the process; part of the listening experience in a non-listening manner.

That young folk have learned to equate convenience and volume with high fidelity is no surprise when one considers that most modern ‘music’ that fills the main-stream void does not possess the nuances that true hi-fi delivers. Over-blown bass lines, high-frequency jitters, and a voice delivering a non-rhyming chant really does not require much of a set up for an adequate delivery.

Guess I’m trying to say that the music tends to determine the method of delivery. But even at that, I don’t think ‘we’ are doomed. I’ve noticed that followers of Americana and acoustic genres really care about the sound of their music.

2¢
 
Perhaps we are doomed, but I think each generation thinks the new generation is doomed. I remember as a youth listening to Cream, Vanilla Fudge, Mahavishnu O, Zappa/Mothers, etc. and my parents did not particularly care for it (understatement). I enjoyed (and still do) Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, etc but... It wasn't until I was a bit older teen before I appreciated and subsequently desired better quality audio.
I have 2 teen boys 15 and 18 and they will listen to online music for hours and enjoy it. However, they also do appreciate good sounding audio and can hear the differences. I realized this when I was setting up various components for digitizing lps and cassettes. I would set up the system several ways and then press 2-5 copies of the song to a cd and then play it and ask then which was best. They didn't use the vernacular of soundstage, etc but their comments were excellent. I was asking for their input and they happily responded with what they could, which was good. So net I think they can hear a difference, but it isn't that important to them so they will avoid focusing on it, when possible.

I do think that 131east23 hit the nail on the head. Great quote, "Youtube is the transistor radio of our times." Brilliant.
 
audiodon said:
Frank Zappa showed up one night and called it, "listenable", which is probably as high praise as could be hoped for.
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I would've had him write that down so you can hang it on your wall! That's a great compliment from a great set of ears.
 
I am teaching my son about good sound at an early age. He already has a nice Technics amp paired with some Infinity bookshelf speakers. He also doesn't really like to listen to loud music. So there is hope.
 
Treker said:
Unless, of course, the keyboard you are talking about is attached to a computer! ;-)
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OMG no!! There's nothing like a 9 foot concert Steinway. Of course that's my snobby 10+ years of classical training coming out...:D

Seriously though, I do love digital music just as much as acoustic music. There's a ton of amazing ambient digital loopy stuff out there that just rocks.

michaelhigh: I'm not aware of this incredible music coming out of Japan. Please share! I'd love a few names/bands to check out if you have anything specific.

tdat7192: Very good points. I tend to agree.
 
wizargoz said:
So this generation doesn't care about quality music or can't hear it?

We are not doomed- they are doomed.
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They care as much about quality music as any previous generation, probably more so. They don't necessarily care about quality as a whole, just like every generation before.
 
The first time I had a glass of wine, or ate a raw oyster, or listened to Miles Davis, my senses immediately rejected the experience. Sometimes the finer things in life take time to appreciate and enjoy.
 
ieuan79 said:
I don't think we're doomed, I just think there's more options out there that provide quick access to lots of music, and not all of them good.

There will always be those that just hear music and those that actually listen to the music. Just like there's lots of people that play music, but many fewer true musicians.

The masses don't want to put in the time or effort. That doesn't mean that there aren't those of us out there that do...And there is a younger crowd that is starting to realize what can be, rather than what currently is.

Being 32 and a musician, I'm sorta in the older middle, so it's interesting both from a music listening point of vieew and performing side of things.

As a keyboard player, I can tell you, that we're ones that are truly doomed, finding a good keyboard player under 30 is harder than finding a good drummer :D
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100% true. As for the keyboard players, I don't play "keyboards", but marimba / vibraphone / etc. So, I know where you're coming from.
 
PrestigeWW said:
The first time I had a glass of wine, or ate a raw oyster, or listened to Miles Davis, my senses immediately rejected the experience. Sometimes the finer things in life take time to appreciate and enjoy.
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That's true. But a lot of the posters here seem to want the kids to only appreciate the songs and music the way they themselves enjoyed them when they were young. Rock and roll on a big stereo. Things change. Of course, my senses never really did come around to Miles Davis but I'll give them a few more shots at him.
 
JohnVF said:
That's true. But a lot of the posters here seem to want the kids to only appreciate the songs and music the way they themselves enjoyed them when they were young. Rock and roll on a big stereo. Things change. Of course, my senses never really did come around to Miles Davis but I'll give them a few more shots at him.
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Sure, let them listen in their own music in a way that's convenient. But when one attends a live concert, earbuds or ipods or docking systems can't approach the dynamics of real "live" sounding gear, which is what, I believe, most AKers try to emulate.
 
Since the music genres are all mixed up and jumbled together, how can kids have music that drives their parents up the wall? My dad got his ass kicked for wanting to play rock music the guitar.:nono:

Today:
They can listen to rock, but dad will say: "cool, turn it up!"
They can listen to rap, but most parents still say:"cool, you like all this different music!"

They have earbuds so you guys can complain about the crappy quality, and when old people complain, kids win! :D

Also, earbuds/headphones are awesome for ignoring people you don't want to talk to. At work, I sometimes wear my beyerdynamics even though there is no music playing, just to keep blondy from talking about her love life to me.

:music:
 
ev13wt said:
Since the music genres are all mixed up and jumbled together, how can kids have music that drives their parents up the wall? My dad got his ass kicked for wanting to play rock music the guitar.:nono:

Today:
They can listen to rock, but dad will say: "cool, turn it up!"
They can listen to rap, but most parents still say:"cool, you like all this different music!"

They have earbuds so you guys can complain about the crappy quality, and when old people complain, kids win! :D

Also, earbuds/headphones are awesome for ignoring people you don't want to talk to. At work, I sometimes wear my beyerdynamics even though there is no music playing, just to keep blondy from talking about her love life to me.

:music:
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You have that right. But there are some really great earbuds out there. I've been using them since the mid-80s.
My daughter is 23. I don't like her Lady Gaga and other schtuff, but I don't tell her that. It would close the door to the communication we get thru listening to music. She gets equal time when we enjoy it together. Even though I'm gritting my teeth (and she probably is, too!).
I can't help it, though. I think the stuff I like is way better than what's being made today. At least in most catagories, like rock and jazz. Not that "their" music is "bad". It's just that my music is better. I don't pay much attention to their music, though.
 
We are doomed? Hard to say. They are doomed? Again, hard to say.

I consider myself to be very lucky , I grew up listening to the Beatles, and the Stones, Aerosmith. My mother took us to symphony concerts, and ballets. My father listened to both types of music (Country AND Western!). My grandfather listened to Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and many more. My grandmother didn't like any of it, for her, unless it came out of a hymnal, it was no good.

What do I listen to now? ALL of it, some more than others, but there are very few songs that I won't listen to. :scratch2: Ok, there is actually a lot I won't listen to. :no: But that is just my tastes.

When my daughters were young, my mother took them to symphony concerts ( I went too :D), my father still played both types of music, but had expanded somewhat into "that damned noise". And me? I played them everything I could, be it from the radio, vinyl, tape, cd, mp3, whatever was available. And as they got older, I have taken them to many "vintage" rock concerts.

What was their preferred music when they were younger? Whatever was popular. What do they listen to now? A hell of a lot more than me. My 2 oldest's play guitar, and my youngest plays violin.

They can however tell the difference between analog and digital music. All of them have mp3 players, or iPhones, but when they are here for a visit I find them looking through my vinyl, popping in a cassette, or (with assistance) putting a tape on the r2r.

They say that it sounds better, more "live" but can't really describe why. None of them are really technically inclined, more artistic really, and don't fully understand sampling rates, or digital to analog conversion, harmonics, or why cd's, and mp3's sound the way they do.

Some of their friends are the same way, but most could listen to finger nails on the chalk board and as long as it was put out by one of their favorites groups, would think it was good.

So are we doomed? Nope! Are they doomed? Again, nope! There always have been, and always will be those who can't tell the difference, and those who can. This does not mean that we, as a civilization are doomed. It just means that some can listen to any music, however bad it sounds, and some have more discerning tastes. (pass the Gray Poupon please :smoke:)

As far as YouTube goes, I listen to it quite often, I find it is a great way to hear new music. And if I like it, I will buy the cd. Or if I really like it, and it's available, the vinyl.
 
ieuan79 said:
Being 32 and a musician, I'm sorta in the older middle, so it's interesting both from a music listening point of vieew and performing side of things.

As a keyboard player, I can tell you, that we're ones that are truly doomed, finding a good keyboard player under 30 is harder than finding a good drummer :D
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My son is 20, he's a talented, gigging keyboard player and drummer. He also digs hi-fi, using both digital and analog sources, and is an EE major at a top university. BUT, just like us, he's an anomaly.

Like many of you, I grew up with hi-fi and listening to music, a lot. We all did, right? (I'm 55) But think back.... everyone had a "stereo", but most of the time you'd see a clapped out cartridge with a mouse-sized ball of dust on it, tracking at about 7 grams since it had never been set up, tone controls (or worse, a graphic eq) jacked to max, and speakers connected out of phase. Few understood it or really cared, they just bought a hi-fi because, well, that's what you did.

Personally, I'd rather see young folks seeking and finding new music and creating their own musical space, via youtube, earbuds, ipods, craptop speakers, or anything else, than I would seeing them to listen to the same 1/2 dozen AOR bands from the '70's, comparing reissues of "DSOTM", and railing against modern music production values. As I've said before, reminds me of my dad! "Turn that crap down, you're gonna ruin yer hearing! That ain't music, it's just noise!............"
 
KI4UJO said:
100% true. As for the keyboard players, I don't play "keyboards", but marimba / vibraphone / etc. So, I know where you're coming from.
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Yup, you guys too. When I was in NY last year I caught a couple marimba guys playing together in the subway. They were sick.

I'm not sure what happened to all of us key type players?!? Seems like all the kids want to play guitar now days.

Tapehead47 said:
Sure, let them listen in their own music in a way that's convenient. But when one attends a live concert, earbuds or ipods or docking systems can't approach the dynamics of real "live" sounding gear, which is what, I believe, most AKers try to emulate.
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Exactly (at least for me).
 
Rapidan said:
My son is 20, he's a talented, gigging keyboard player and drummer. He also digs hi-fi, using both digital and analog sources, and is an EE major at a top university. BUT, just like us, he's an anomaly.
"
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A keyboard and a drummer! Wow. That's awesome. I should have went to school for music....yet I stray.
 
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