The first day of class on this week was syllabus week, so for obvious reason there is not much to report on for that day. However, the second day we discussed compression of modern day music. We discussed how the popular songs of today, like Adele’s Hello, have much less depth and range than those hits of older artists such as Frank Sinatra. I can see this compression in both a positive and negative manner. The positives would be that the music is now much easier to listen to. For example, as I am typing this, I am listening to music without actively engaging with the music. Since the compression has made the music almost a constant volume, it is much easier to for me to concentrate on my work while not having to worry about my music becoming over-bearing and distracting me. This can carry over to almost anyone who listens to music while also doing something else or other things simultaneously. However, in my opinion the main thing to focus on is the question of, Is the ability to use music as background enjoyment is worth losing ability to have much more dynamic and interesting music? This is a hard question for me to answer since I have basically listened to compressed music my entire life and have just now become aware of the difference. Though, I think the depth of the music, in this case, may weigh a little more than having compressed music, and I would end up selecting the ability to appreciate dynamic music over having a plethora of compressed background songs at my disposal.

-Gregory Purcell