MOTM

A Long Rant.

I would agree in part with all that has been said.
We have an unbelievable amount of computing power available to us at 
a very low cost.  But the power of the hardware has not been matched 
my the software except in very few cases.  Although programs such as 
PhotoShop and AutoCAD and ProTools have been around for a few years 
they certainly run better and faster on newer machines.  And the 
newer machines allow applications like 3D rendering and real-time 
video processing which were impossible until recent times.

However, programming is becoming a lost art.  It used to be that 
programs had to be efficient, both in size and in speed.  But with 
virtually unlimited memory and speed available, code no longer can 
be considered to be elegant.  In the early days of many apps code 
was precise and concise.  Now it tends to be sloppy and with so much 
excess that it is often undecipherable and certainly always bloated.

I'm beginning to think that all the action is in embedded 
controllers and devices like PICs as far as creative coding.  There 
has not been a truly new app in years for PCs.  

It is also true that it seems there is little in the way of new 
synthesis engines.  But what there is does seem to be getting better 
in implementation.  Physical modeling has improved and is still 
improving.  And there is much that can still be done with that 
method.  In my opinion physical modeling will eventually make 
sampling obsolete to a certain extent.  Certainly synths like the 
Kyma couldn't have existed without the kind of computing power 
available today.  Where a lot of synths are really lacking is in the 
user interface.

The existence of cheaper equipment has done a great deal to enable 
musicians to produce their own record albums.  But if anyone can 
record a CD, anyone will record a CD.  As the owner of a recording 
studio you would not believe some of the stuff I hear.  About 1% of 
it is incredibly good and about 99% is incredibly bad.  This ratio 
does not seem to be improving and its getting to the point where I'm 
considering changing my business model away from being a 
commercially available studio to some combination of teaching audio 
and recording arts, and recording musicians with some demonstrated 
talent at a very low rate or even for free.

And speaking of the quality of the music, back in the sixties and 
seventies there was an incredible variety of music available.  
record companies looked for groups who sounded different, not the 
same as everyone else.  And the recording industry didn't care what 
you looked like on TV.  In the Cincinnati area there were regular 
performances of electronic music.  There was even a store called 
Cincinnati Electronic Music that sold nothing but synths, mostly 
modulars.  Likewise there was an incredible variety of bands as well 
as places for bands to play.  Not anymore.

To me, what made the Beatles so incredible a band was the 
combination of truly great songwriting and singing and George 
Martin, who I consider to be the greatest producer ever.  It was a 
lucky coincidence that they ever existed.  Neither George Martin nor 
the Beatles were afraid to take risks with their music.

Although I think there is great danger for the future in this 
attitude that seems to pervade the culture, that music downloads, 
and software should be free, and the general disrespect for 
intellectual property, I think we are at the verge of a great shift 
in the way music is distributed, sold and promoted.

DEATH TO THE RECORD COMPANIES!!!
DEATH TO THE RADIO STATION CONGLOMERATES!!!

If I can get 200 channels on my TV (there are a few good ones in 
there)  why can I only get one channel on my radio?

End of Rant.