compression and pop music

One of the more interesting quotes I came across last year was the following, courtesy of Bob Dylan:

"You listen to these modern records, they’re atrocious, they have sound all over them. There’s no definition of nothing, no vocal, no nothing, just like — static." -Bob Dylan

Pete Bilderback, who posts over at the charmingly titled Flowering Toilet blog, spotted it too but has taken the time to provide a really interesting analysis of the way that compression is used in music production. He demonstrates, by comparing and contrasting songs from artists' back catalogues and recent material, the extent to which an obsession with loudness is leading to the disfiguration of their sound. It's a fascinating article, well worth a read.

Here it is.