The Echo Nest Blog. The Loudness War Is Real, and We Can Prove It With Science September 25, 2013 Welcome to the fourth installment of our investigation into audio trends. To figure this stuff out, The Echo Nest data alchemist Glenn McDonald ran the 5,000 hottest songs from each year through The Echo Nest’s system for listening to music to determine its audio attributes (we also do lots of other stuff, but that’s one thing we do).
Previously, we looked into how music’s “danceability,” energy level, and tempo have changed. This one concerns loudness. "Hey, kids, turn it down! " We might more accurately aim that request towards the producers and recording engineers who have packed more and more loudness into popular music, over the course of several decades. The thing is, they aren’t doing all that loud-making in a vacuum (physical or cultural). We have the data, and it tells a fairly clear picture about loudness over time. Average But wait — how is music getting louder, then, if there’s a volume limit? Periodic Table of Rock.
Superfunk Special -- Lord Funk. The Echo Nest Blog. People Liked Their Music Fastest in the ‘80s September 19, 2013 Welcome to the third in our series of inquiries into how popular music has changed over time, based on research by The Echo Nest data alchemist Glenn McDonald. To figure this stuff out, he ran the 5,000 hottest songs from each year through The Echo Nest’s system for listening to music to determine its audio attributes (we also do plenty of other stuff, but that’s one thing we do). Previously, we looked into how popular music’s “danceability” and energy level changed over the same period. That the pace of modern life has been accelerating is taken as a given. And in some ways, it’s actually true. Last year, people took 10 percent of all of the photographs ever created in the history of the world.
One exception: music. There was, however, a time when the speed of our favorite music was accelerating. Average The “fastest” year for music was 1980, with 110 BPM. Meanwhile, the “slowest” year for music was 1960, with a BPM of 101. I am Rémi Gallego aka The Algorithm, AMA!1 : IAmA. Bruitages sons et loops gratuits.