Perfect Music... annoying?

Yes. I love Metal and Electronic music. However I find myself listening to more and more to laid back and acoustic music because of all the clear detail a lot of it has. I find production value "almost" as important as the actual music now. That and the "Loudness wars" has affected lots of the genres I like.

Hell, I can't even play music on my work PC because it sounds like mud to me now. Went to audition some Grado 225s but sadly too loud to be used at work.

The recent Legacy Edition of Miles Davis' Kind of Blue sounds great. Also check out The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings Boxset by The Bill Evans Trio.

Overproduced music just doesn't feel 'real' to me. I've really gravitated towards more intimate works lately.

Another benefit of going acoustic is that you get to use better gear. Alright, I'm speaking subjectively here, but a lot of the really killer hardware does best with acoustic. For example, you wouldn't want to use electrostatic speakers with electronica - they don't kick hard enough in the low end for the genre. But put on some folk, jazz or classical and you'll be immersed in some of the purest sound imagineable. Single-ended triodes (and especially directly heated ones) aren't the best match for electronic music. However, if you use one with vocals, you will be bowled over by the magic a DHT amp lends to the mids. They almost sound better than the real thing. Finally, you can start appreciating some killer formats. Vinyl also lends magic to acoustics and vocals and about 90% of SACDs are either classical or jazz. Once you get hooked by those, it's difficult to go back to ordinary CDs or running off a computer.

I know this is sorta evil in a music thread, but you might want to try some new hardware if you get deeper into acoustic. You might be surprised at what a K-501 or DT48 will do with an acoustic guitar.

As for some jazz albums, three of the great classics are Miles Davis' Kind of Blue, Bill Evans' Waltz for Debby and Dave Brubeck's Time Out. Everyone seems to love those and I've given them many spins over the years.

Another album you should consider is Leo Kottke's 6 & 12 String Guitar, which is sor of a folk/bluegrass album. It's just Kottke playing his guitar, that's it. Trust me, you'll love it.

All of those are available on SACD, as well.

Another vote for Kotke's 6 and 12-String Guitar. I always second that. Add to that sublist, John Fahey-Best of the Vanguard Years.

But if you like electronica but hate its sterility, have you tried out Classical Minimalism? It's all the elegant repetition with real Juilliard-schooled vocalists and instrumentalists--instead of some pimply jerk who's just cracked Fruity-Loops.

Highly recommended for starders: Steve Reich's Music for 18 Musicians and Philip Glass' Glassworks. Or go rent Koyaanisquatsi and see what the demolition of Cabrini Green does fur yr sole. (Ya gotta gitit in yr sole.)

Perfection kills music. That is why you don't have a MIDI orchestra playing symphonies. The end result is not something you would want to listen to. They do use MIDI orchestras for things like movie scores and they do try tricks like randomizing the rhythm so notes don't always start and end exactly where they mathematically should. But that still doesn't work. You need humans involved in the playing in order to get the actual emotion and music in the music.

Rock music with live musicians isn't completely immune either. In rock you have the problem of some bands using click tracks for the drummer. The drummer has to stay exactly on the beat. That kills the music. The beat needs to wander as needed and as the drummer feels the music. Music that is allowed to wander is more interesting to listen to.

I've never quite been able to put my finger on why I enjoy music that has realistic flaws over a perfect track. I suppose it boils down to the fact that when I hear a vocalist slightly miss a note, or a guitarist hit the wrong chord, I know that I'm hearing a real human being. There really is something about a living, breathing, feeling human playing music that is irreplaceable.

Haven´t exactly thought it that way, but for sure I don´t give any credit for perfecting something like music. Often it indeed adds to the feel when the players mess up. I find that very honest and it shows that the musicians are making music for the right reason in my opinion.

I also hate electronic music for other reasons than the "perfection".

Jose has often been compared to Nick Drake as far as the feeling of their work goes. If you don't have any of his stuff, you'd probably like it. Five Leaves Left is a good starting point. It's not all just Nick and his guitar, though. A lot of his recordings include other musicians. A fair amount of Richard Thompson's work is also acoustic guitar with minimal backup. Rumor and Sigh, or Mock Tudor might fit the bill.

If you can pass on the singing, check out Leo Kottke's 6 and 12 String Guitar.

But Nick is probably your first stop.

- Ed