Random music news for Wednesday, December 17, 2025
Need a USB stick for something? You can try this one–or not. Music news for December 17, 2025, is much less weird. Mostly. BONUS: They punched a couple of donkeys?
Read MoreLoudness Wars
Have you noticed this new strange trend with vocals in songs?
One of the most maddening things about music over the quarter century (well, for me, anyway) is The Loudness Wars this insane practice of making the apparent volume of music
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Is Today’s Pop Music Really That Bad? Yes–and Here’s Why.
Ever get the feeling that so much modern pop music is really quite, well, terrible? I mean, truly, honestly awful? That it all sounds the same? That there’s no innovation
Read MoreSpotify Has Turned Down the Volume–and That’s a Good Thing
You may have found yourself turning up your Spotify stream recently, depending on where you are and what software build you’re using. But if you are using version 1.0.54.1079.g3809528e, something is
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Today is Dynamic Range Day. Death to The Loudness Wars!
Today is very important for anyone who believes that high-fidelity music is something that everyone should care about. It’s called Dynamic Range Day, the day when music fans stand up
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Who Is Louder: Lemmy or Justin Bieber? (Warning: Trick Question)
Here’s another example of insanity in the Loudness Wars, the crazy notion that cranks up the apparent volume of a recording to absurd levels with the use of compression. This
Read MoreWhy Is Today’s Music SO LOUD?
I was reminded of the insanity of the Loudness Wars the other day when I put on an Elvis Costello CD I bought in the 80s. The level at which
Read MoreBefore We All Move to High-Res Audio, There’s One Thing We Need to Do First
Having experimented with listening to High-Res audio over the last few weeks, I’m a convert. A return to proper high-fidelity! I will, however, point out something rather odd: the best-sounding
Read MoreWhy You Might Not Listen to Music As Much as You Used To
Spoiler: Because it’s too loud. I’ve discussed the insanity of The Loudness Wars many times in this space and it’s a battle I believe that needs to be fought. Here’s
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