I learned a lot I didn’t know about music in today’s class. I was unaware that there were significant differences in the sonic signatures of songs in the ’80s and songs today. I realized that music 30 years ago was produced in such a way that we were meant to pay close attention to it and we shouldn’t multi-task because there is enough going on in a song that we should focus on that. For instance, the way a song may start out quietly and increasingly become louder. We would turn up the volume, and observe its progression. Songs today possess a mostly consistent sound throughout it as there are few changes throughout it that aren’t as significant as before, so it can be background sound because there’s less to pick up on. In a generation that constantly multi-tasks, it makes sense, but it’s a bit sad and I agree with the professor’s argument that it’s a “degraded taste.” Sure, I listen to music from 30+ years ago, but I did grow up listening to highly compressed music, enjoying it, and without realizing the vast differences. It gives me a whole new perspective on music and while I’m sure I’ll always like a few compressed songs here and there, I do feel a little guilty and disappointed for taking a liking to them since it seems like they’re not thought highly of. I was happy to learn about this and glad I can share this new, valuable information with friends.