I couldn't agree more with the sentiment in this article on the volume of modern rock CDs. As much as I love music that jumps out of my speakers and can sound huge, music seems to have lost a lot of its dynamic range. That isn't to say that there isn't something to complain about with older recordings that have maybe too much range. One of my peeves about my favorite Bob Dylan recordings is the harmonica levels. I turn up the song so it is loud enough to hear and then that harmonica comes in and rips my face off.

So can we go back at this point? Can a modern rock recording come out today that has dynamics and be a hit? This isn't so much a question for the bands that are out there doing what they want to do but for the mainstream major label acts.

"There's something . . . sinister in audio that is causing our listeners fatigue and even pain while trying to enjoy their favorite music. It has been propagated by A&R departments for the last eight years: The complete abuse of compression in mastering (forced on the mastering engineers against their will and better judgment)."

This compression thing has been a topic of discussion among audiophiles and music fans for nearly a decade. But hearing a music industry executive cop to it was pretty unusual.

The letter was almost immediately reprinted online in audio discussion forums.

"The mistaken belief that a 'super loud' record will sound better and magically turn a song into a hit has caused most major label releases in the past eight years to be an aural assault on the listener," Montrone's letter continued. "Have you ever heard one of those test tones on TV when the station is off the air? Notice how it becomes painfully annoying in a very short time? That's essentially what you do to a song when you super compress it. You eliminate all dynamics."


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