"The Death of High Fidelity"

I deeply dislike Rolling Stone Magazine. When it comes to politics and cultural commentary, it is a worthless rag and always has been. Their writers and editors will go to whatever length necessary to be edgy or radical, eager and willing to completely disregard both common sense and elementary decency for the sake of selling a few more copies. You can tell that, politically, they swing so far to the radical left not because they necessarily believe it, but because they believe that they are supposed to believe it. Because they are Rolling @#~&%$*! Stone Magazine! Give me a break.

However, credit needs to be given where credit is due and much more often than not, their reporting on modern music is very, very good. This article on modern music production in the age of the MP3 is right on, except for the typo's. I have previously blogged on this at length because I think that the decline of technical quality in an age that is resplendent in technological achievement has taken a terrible toll on art in general and music in particular. It is a grim reflection on the poverty of our collective soul. One of the reassuring things about this article is that it suggests that other people are feeling the same way and that some artists, engineers, and producers are starting to resist the recording industry marketing forces that have exacerbated this problem.