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Is the genre Lo-fi, just low quality songs, or something else?

post #1 of 6
8/1/09 at 7:49pm
Thread Starter 
Or do they have that static, bad Vinyl sound in th ebackgroun for some kind of wayward? I've listened to some of it, which mostly seem to be electronic music.
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post #2 of 6
8/1/09 at 8:06pm
Some of it is intentional. The is something of a lo-fi movement, especially with indie rock. They use old microphones, 4-track units and record in a garage to make the sound more "authentic" or something. I don't entirely understand it - high quality recording is inexpensive these days. Other times, noise is intentionally added to music just for the effect.

Another problem is that some professional recordings are intentionally compressed. Google for "Loudness War" and you should pull up a terrific video that explains compression.

Finally, the "vinyl sound" you refer to is not representative of quality vinyl. If you have a good setup and a clean record, there is no noise. You just get pure music. Try it some time.
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post #3 of 6
8/1/09 at 8:19pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle Erik View Post
Some of it is intentional. The is something of a lo-fi movement, especially with indie rock. They use old microphones, 4-track units and record in a garage to make the sound more "authentic" or something. I don't entirely understand it - high quality recording is inexpensive these days. Other times, noise is intentionally added to music just for the effect.

Another problem is that some professional recordings are intentionally compressed. Google for "Loudness War" and you should pull up a terrific video that explains compression.

Finally, the "vinyl sound" you refer to is not representative of quality vinyl. If you have a good setup and a clean record, there is no noise. You just get pure music. Try it some time.
Thanks. I was referring to a bad vinyl sound as the sound you get when playing a vinyl with scratches and fingermarks etc. I've heard it on my fathers system (loudspeakers), but not high end enough for there really to really be a difference. And his having some grounding issues, so until he fixes that I'm on cd
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post #4 of 6
8/2/09 at 12:24am
I don't really get it either. I am a big fan of indie rock, and I do enjoy lo-fi when it is authentic, such as some old mountain goats cassettes and some of the live neutral milk hotel shows from the mid 90s. That said, I don't really understand the whole lo fi movement, either, other than to say that maybe they are trying to replicate the kind of thing I already mentioned. Most of the time it just bugs me. See Wavvves by Wavves.
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post #5 of 6
8/2/09 at 9:02am
I thought this thread was going to be about black metal.
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post #6 of 6
8/2/09 at 2:33pm
As I attempted to take part in this "movement" while in High School I can certainly see the haze of punk inspiring kids to start recording their own songs with whatever they have (Devendra Banhart's Oh Me, Oh My was partially recorded on answering machine tapes). The idea is not always to effect a certain sloppiness or low fidelity but rather to capture thoughts and ideas as they come.
Hope that helps,
NICK
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