In 1970, I bought the new album by a favorite group of mine, Mountain - which was called, 'Nantucket Sleighride.' There, inside the opening cover was the admonition, "To Be Played At Maximum Volume."
Being the obedient fourteen year old that I was (yeah, right) I took this advice to heart. How many times my father came down to my room in the basement to ask/tell/scream to turn the volume down?
So I very well understand the reaction volume and good music can produce in young people.
Around the age of nineteen, I discovered a new style of music that didn't use volume to get its point across. It relied on the message of the lyrics. I also discovered Sonic II ear valves. I have been using them ever since. Preserving my hearing, which is very sensitive, is very important to me.
Tonight I was at a club in Hollywood watching a excellent young man being drowned out by his own music. I must be in the minority. Most of the people in attendance were happy to shout above the music...carrying on as though this were a basement party I attended most weekends while in high school.
A friend and I recently observed that it seems as though high school never really ends.I think this true. The cliques, the rivalries...all of it is intact at age fifty something. Could this be the reasoning behind the decibel level? Were we really just at another keg party while someones parents were absent?
I'm not sure. I also don't worry about it as far as music is concerned. I play the way I want to, and if others find it enjoyable...far out. One of the few criticisms I had to endure this year was that I play too softly. And more than once, I shot back - "Then turn it down."
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