Stylus magazine recently came up with this list of the "worst-sounding records of the past 10 years." It's kind of a mixed bag, some of which you may agree with, some not. The issue is about sonics as opposed to the music itself, but it's hard to separate the two, isn't it?
What records would you add to this list of the worst, and what might you nominate as an example of the best?
10. Keane - Under The Iron Sea
09. Massive Attack - Collected
08. Radiohead - Kid A
07. Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
06. Cocteau Twins - Heaven Or Las Vegas
05. Phoenix - It's Never Been Like That
04. The Shortwave Set - The Debt Collection
03. Arcade Fire - Funeral
02. The Flaming Lips - At War With The Mystics
01. Oasis - Be Here Now
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Comments (6)
I feel that Kid A sounds pretty good. Crazy in some ways, but not bad sounding. On the contrary, Hail to the Thief sounds mushy and harsh in the top end. Same goes for the first Metric record compared to Live It Out, and also Rush of Blood to the Head vs. XXY. In each case, the older record sounds warmer and has more depth than the recent follow-up. Thoughts?
Posted by Inaam | November 22, 2006 5:24 PM
Posted on November 22, 2006 17:24
I think the article is dead on in some examples, like Funeral, which is a collection of great songs that sound so bad that even my mother commented on the muddy sound.
I have to disagree with the author's assessment of Phoenix's last record. On first listen I hated the extremely gated drums and precise production, but try listening to that album with tiny headphones on a busy street and it's much easier to hear than a more dynamic record. Rather than making a record that sounds good on great speakers they made one that sounds fine on bad speakers, which is more important to the average ipod owner than perfect fidelity.
Posted by Jack | November 28, 2006 1:32 PM
Posted on November 28, 2006 13:32
It's true that in a world of ipods, computer speakers, and speakers in shopping malls and cars, etc. that more compression helps the music poke through against the background noise in these cases but I think that long term listening and enjoyment suffers as a result.
Posted by Inaam | November 30, 2006 10:44 AM
Posted on November 30, 2006 10:44
I bought the Oasis "Be Here Now" album when it was first released in 1997. At the time I was 14 years old, and I still remember how terribly it sounded. It was by far the worst sounding record in my collection.
Posted by Christopher | December 1, 2006 12:55 PM
Posted on December 1, 2006 12:55
Oh man, I agree 100% with the fact Bloc Party is on there...I can't believe I bought that thing.
Posted by Djen | December 2, 2006 5:14 PM
Posted on December 2, 2006 17:14
Bloc Party sounds intense on first listen, but it becomes fatiguing very quickly.
Posted by Inaam | December 4, 2006 2:09 PM
Posted on December 4, 2006 14:09