So,
Its MP3 downloads now, eh? This is where most of people music collections come from? Its a sad reality - No more album artwork, and completely INFERIOR sound quality. MP3 is a file format for music. And its 'quality' is pretty low. Sure technology has made is simpler to get songs, and that is ok for some situations. But, its odd that the quality of sound we here in our music is getting worse.
I get sent MP3 to learn a song or hear a song. I find it very hard to pick insturments out. Why? Becuase they are all squashed into the same frequencies. The ride cymbal is with the bass all of a sudden. When the vocals come in, other instruments disspaear from the mix (this also has to do with the current and awful trend of too much compression in mastering). Cheaper and cost effective, but the quality is below what people heard in the 70s..NO LIE. Get a REAL turntable, and old reciever and great speakers and put a well produced record on and you will freak at how dynamic and full it sounds. You'd think there was a band infront of you. Thats stuff from 30+ years ago. Then, of course a well produced and mastered CD through a good system. Night and DAY!
I think its the smae for Television sets and radios (and lets throw in guitar amps, too). All cost effective. But, disposable. They aere all like Bic lighters. If your TV stopped working, what would you do? Buy another, right? They aren't designed to be fixed. The bill would run way too high. Back in the day, people had jobs as TV repair men. You had a problem, you would drop it off to someone and in a day or 2, it would be fixed. SAME with older amps -with the point to point wiring of the older days, they sound far better and last a lifetime. Far better parts used back then as well. FAR better. Its cost cutting now. So, we get more efficent, but again, the product becomes more and more inferior.
Another sad truth is food in this country. Just look at the lables yourself. I was having a discussion with a few people and realized that our food is also cost effective and inferior. Food processing to keep things cheap. How do they cut costs? Just add as many cheap fillers into food to process the hell out of it and don't use so much 'expensive' whole food. Oh yea, we eat plastic, vile chemicals and in some cases, crushed bugs-beetles to be exact (used for coloring in food, usually red, for example-called cochineal, carmine or carnmic acid). I went to Italy again 2 summers ago and it was all basic ingredents. All good stuff. Maybe that is why Europe isn't having weight challenges?
This goes along with drugs/pharmacy..generic VS brand name. There IS a big difference. The generic uses cheap fillers. The cheap fillers will give you side effects (never mind the active ingerdiant). Any time I need anything from the pharmacy, I get brand name. Much cleaner. Better results. By the way, I have tried both the generic and brand name of a few things, and it is a world of difference.
Think of it like BEER. Drink a 6 pack of Bush beer, or drink a 6 pack of oh say...Sam Adams (there are better beers, but lets use these). Same effect? No, Bush usually makes people sick and gives them a worse hangove..or "Cheap Beer Hangover"..but wait, they are both beer, right? They are the same thing, aren't they? Not only are the side effect different, but it would take more Bush beer to get buzzed (I am not encouraging this, I am just pointing out the amount you need to have an effect).
hmmm, are things getting better? Or just easier and cheaper?