Quality VS Quantity!

Quality VS Quantity! Who wins?
 
This is something that I am sure concerns most generations as we gradually evolve into the "modern" times of mankind within the music industry. What is quality? Where is the truly "good" stuff? And what is the "good" stuff really?

I am sure what I find legit now regarding music, is something that my grandparents could never understand, however, we are to understand that as times evolve and we evolve with the times, that what we might find "good" now, most "old timers" find crap.

The Unkindness of Ravens had an interview this evening with Quietus.com, a very well respected online music magazine, and after chatting with our interviewer on skype, interesting subjects were raised which got me thinking about a lot of things, one subject in particular was regarding sound quality in MP3's, CD's and Vinyls.



Ben and I come from a background of quite reasonably classical music, that's Beatles, Led Zepplin, Pink Floyd and anything to Vivaldi and Mozart and so on. What influences us and what we find quality now, is most likely lost within the young generation of our time. However, this begs the question, is it really for us, us "old timers", to say what quality is and what isn't? 



Maybe, if you want to remain bitter, I can see an "old timer" rocking in his chair saying things like 'back in the day we believed…' But I see it differently. I know where my influences have come from, I understand how I have evolved and where I have managed to create my identity through my nature and nurturing. But in this time, all I can really do is make sure that, somehow, I can set some kind of example to the younger folk, of where all my 'goodness' has come from. 



Yes, I could worry about the next generation, that they won't know what true quality music is or even where great music originates from… But like I said earlier, my grandparents were probably equally concerned for the generation after them. Fact is, things move forward (or downward or sideways..), either for the right reasons or for the wrong reasons, but surely that's for the individual to decide. If you are self aware enough to know what is out there, what has been out there and its prior influences, surely you're a little bit ahead of most people.



True, we are in a time where information is produced fast, super fast, almost light speed; today's news was yesterdays, the pop band you see on NME today is already a year old blablabla... And where's the end? Supposedly studies have shown that the attention span of the majority of folk in today's time has, indeed, shortened. YIKES.



So what do we do? I doubt any corporation will ever step up to change, after all they're saving enough pennies and want to keep it that way, so really it's down to the individual to make the change; the change within themselves not to be tempted, not to be seduced by whatever is lurking in the shadows that seems sweet.



I ask you - which would you buy? An MP3 Album from iTunes that's 5quid? Or a CD for 10quid? (or best yet a Vinyl version for maybe 15quid)… although an MP3 Album on iTunes is cheaper, the sound quality is seriously so low and compressed that comparing it to older mediums you would be surprised at the sonic difference in quality…

Which would you choose?

I already know what you would say - your heart will say CD or Vinyl, but your wallet will say MP3. 


And you know what? I won't fight against you or your wallet or your principles. But you have to tell yourself this, that time is money but time is also made up of quality time… that is, if you use it wisely...
 


And
to 

take
time
means
you care.