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Tag: audio

  • Chat Podcasts Rule the Market—and Always Will

    Chat Podcasts Rule the Market—and Always Will

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    Nearly every survey of the podcast industry in 2024 agrees on one point: Chat podcasts are king. As video rises in popularity (33 percent of US podcast listeners prefer to consume this way), ad spending increases (estimated to top $4 billion worldwide), and listenership steadily grows (8 percent year-over-year), it is the chat format—in its combative, enlightening, and sometimes quite unserious splendor—that continually draws people in.

    The ecosystem is profuse and unpredictable. There are the mainstays that have become fixtures of culture: The Joe Rogan Experience, Armchair Expert, and The Read. Newer fare like I’ve Had It and ShxtsnGigs (more on that one later) have also found tremendous followings. Other chat-casts, like Club Shay Shay, seem to court controversy with every release. “Katt Williams, please close the portal,” @nuffsaidny recently joked on X, alluding to the comedian’s guest appearance from January when he prophetically proclaimed of 2024: “All lies will be exposed.”

    “That appointment—that relationship—is everything,” Eric Eddings, vice president of audio at Kevin Hart’s media company Hartbeat, says of the bond chat-casts are able to establish with listeners.

    In 2014, along with Brittany Luse, Eddings launched For Colored Nerds, a weekly gabfest about pop culture, race, and current events (full disclosure: I appeared on an episode in 2017). After Nerds, Eddings went to Gimlet Media, where he co-anchored The Nod (also with Luse) and produced for the shows Undone and Habitat, before moving to SiriusXM. Today, Eddings steers podcast development for Hartbeat. What was true of the medium when he started out, he tells me, is still true today. In a recent video call, we discussed the state of the industry and its sometimes complicated evolutions.

    JASON PARHAM: Why have chat-casts gotten so popular?

    ERIC EDDINGS: There are a few reasons. Just to be straight up, a lot of the companies wanted to figure out ways to invest less in programming. Narrative podcasts are very expensive to make. They require a large upfront investment, and then you try to figure out how to make them as successful as possible if they resonate with audiences. And a lot of companies have had difficulty bringing those types of projects to market given the struggles of the entertainment media industry.

    So it’s a money issue?

    Podcasts with chat as a focus are a little bit easier to test out, put in the market, and to create each week. You’ve seen a lot of a turn towards that. Those are the macro influences. But that also short changes a little bit of the conversation.

    How so?

    Even though podcasting has been out for a while, you’ve also seen a lot more groups of people come to podcasts in new ways. There’s more familiarity with the medium. You’ve seen comedians, you’ve seen influencers. There was a trend early in the pandemic where folks were like, “Ah, we’ve got to start a podcast.” Whereas now I think people are having ideas or finding people they want to collaborate with and see podcasting as the place to explore that. It’s a really flexible medium. Collaboration allows for experimentation. And that type of experimentation is so much easier in a chat context because the conversation is the point.

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    Jason Parham

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  • Bose’s New Earbuds Bring World-Class Noise Cancellation in a Tiny Package

    Bose’s New Earbuds Bring World-Class Noise Cancellation in a Tiny Package

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    A welcome surprise from Bose, the new QuietComfort Earbuds dip into a more affordable price range without sacrificing quality or features. They’re comfortable, last up to 8.5 hours per charge, and have Bose’s signature clean sound and top-tier active noise cancellation. They come with three pairs of ear tips and stability bands to ensure a great fit.

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    Lambert Varias

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  • De-Fi’s Platform Studio Desk Puts Aesthetics Before Ergonomics

    De-Fi’s Platform Studio Desk Puts Aesthetics Before Ergonomics

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    Nine years ago I decided to get back to making music after a very long hiatus. In the beginning, my setup was extremely humble, featuring an aging ThinkPad and a cheap MIDI controller. I didn’t even have an audio interface for properly recording my guitar.

    Since then, well, things have gotten a bit out of hand. My synth collection grew from a couple toys (a Casio VL-1 and a Stylophone) to well over a dozen instruments. I have more MIDI controllers than any human could ever need. I picked up decent studio monitors, an audio interface, and even some ADAT expansions so I could keep more of my ever growing gear collection permanently connected.

    One thing that didn’t change, however, was my desk. Up until just a couple of weeks ago, I was still making do with the same cheap Ikea Lagkapten/Alex combo ($220). It was a large desk, but it didn’t give me a lot of flexibility for laying out my setup. Now that I’ve had an opportunity to check out the updated version of De-Fi’s Platform Studio Production Desk, which has dedicated mounting points for rack gear, space for speakers, and a pull-out keyboard tray, I don’t know that I can ever go back. If you’re in the market for an affordable studio desk for your music-making and are trying to decide between cheaper options and a dedicated desk like this one, read on.

    Getting Settled

    For all of its aesthetic angles and recording studio glamour, the Platform Desk, which was originally made by a brand called Output that has now rebranded to De-Fi, still goes together like Ikea furniture. It’s a piece of flatpack that you need to assemble with the aid of a screwdriver and an Allen wrench. It’s definitely more substantial than your average Malm piece (what with it being made out of plywood instead of particle board), but the basic concept is the same.

    Photograph: Terrence O’Brien

    As hard as it is to believe, one area where Ikea does have a leg up on De-Fi is the quality of the instructions. There is a video walk-through of the assembly that is OK, but it could be more detailed. The “print” version, well, don’t bother printing it. For whatever reason, it’s formatted as a single-page PDF when it should clearly be five or six. When you try to print it out you end up with a narrow, illegible strip down the middle of a single piece of paper.

    The parts list also failed to mention that there was a power drill bit for the hex screws in one of the bags. I only discovered it halfway through assembly, after my hands were aching and I’d stripped a few screws with the Allen wrench.

    It’s also worth mentioning a couple of small quality-control issues I encountered during assembly. The shelf pin holes for the top level were missing on one side, and I had to drill them in myself. And some of the edges weren’t particularly neat. I even got a pretty nasty splinter from the lip of the desktop.

    Living in Tight Spaces

    There was one pretty obvious con once everything was fully assembled: the size of this desk. I live in NYC, so space is at a premium, and fitting the 60-inch-wide by 38-inch-deep desk was difficult. Folks with a lot of space won’t have the same issue, but it’s worth looking into the size before ordering. My home studio is also my office and my guest bedroom; it was a bit cramped to begin with. Previously there was enough room to walk between the unfolded pullout couch and my desk. Now even my chair won’t fit between the desk and the foot of the pullout. In order to make room for the desk, I had to ditch my monitor stands (the desk has elevated spaces for monitors to be placed).

    Another immediately obvious con is that the Platform Desk has no drawers. Granted, studio desks generally don’t, but it did mean I had to keep around the Alex drawer unit from my old desk for typical desk-y storage. The total floor space taken up by my revamped recording area had suddenly exploded.

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    Terrence O’Brien

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  • The Cure Detail First Album in 16 Years, Share New Song “Alone”

    The Cure Detail First Album in 16 Years, Share New Song “Alone”

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    The Cure have shared new song “Alone,” and, with it, confirmation that their first album in 16 years, Songs of a Lost World, will arrive on November 1. Robert Smith produced the long-teased album with Paul Corkett at Rockfield Studios in Wales. The Cure will reveal the tracklist on their new website and their social channels in the coming weeks. Listen to “Alone” below, and scroll down to see the album artwork.

    “Alone,” said Robert Smith in a press release, is “the track that unlocked the record; as soon as we had that piece of music recorded I knew it was the opening song, and I felt the whole album come into focus. I had been struggling to find the right opening line for the right opening song for a while, working with the simple idea of ‘being alone’, always in the back of my mind this nagging feeling that I already knew what the opening line should be… as soon as we finished recording I remembered the poem ‘Dregs’ by the English poet Ernest Dowson… and that was the moment when I knew the song—and the album—were real.”

    On the path to becoming “real,” the follow-up to 2008’s 4:13 Dream has been through a cycle of ifs and maybes, starting in 2019, when Smith said the Cure had been into the studio and recorded 19 epic songs that would fill a pair of albums. “We’ll finish [an album] before we start [touring] in the summer, and it’ll be mixed through the summer,” he told Rolling Stone that March. He soon confessed to being a little off schedule but insisted he would be “extremely bitter” if the 2019 release date fell through.

    In early 2020, he refused to repeat the mistake, letting the album live in purgatory until 2022, when the band teased the Songs of a Lost World title and introduced some new songs to setlists. Two of them, “And Nothing Is Forever” and “I Can Never Say Goodbye,” are set for a live single this November.

    Read Sam Sodomsky’s Sunday Review of the Cure’s Wish.

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    Jazz Monroe

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  • Koss’ Legendary Lightweight Headphones Finally Get a Modern Refresh

    Koss’ Legendary Lightweight Headphones Finally Get a Modern Refresh

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    Koss’ bestselling lightweight and affordable headphones finally go wireless. The Porta Pro Wireless delivers the same unbeatable sound quality for its price range while adding Bluetooth 5.2 support and built-in playback and call buttons. It lasts up to 20 hours per charge and tops up via USB-C. It also comes with a USB-C to 3.5mm cord for wired listening.

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    Lambert Varias

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  • Bad Bunny Shares New Song “Una Velita”

    Bad Bunny Shares New Song “Una Velita”

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    Bad Bunny has released “Una Velita,” a polemic addressing the fallout from Hurricane Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico and other parts of the Caribbean in 2017. It is his first solo song since last year’s Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana. Listen below.

    The release comes as Puerto Rico prepares to vote in a gubernatorial election on November 5. Bad Bunny, who has been helping get out the vote, uses the recent seventh anniversary of Hurricane Maria to address the political response to the disaster. As Remezcla notes, the song includes the lyric, in Spanish, “The palm tree on which they want to hang the country, one of these days we’re going to knock it down”—apparently referring to the palm tree emblem of the governing New Progressive Party.

    Earlier this week, Bad Bunny picked up a heap of Latin Grammys nominations.

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    Jazz Monroe

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  • Indigo De Souza Drops Surprise New Wholesome Evil Fantasy EP

    Indigo De Souza Drops Surprise New Wholesome Evil Fantasy EP

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    Indigo De Souza has released a surprise three-song EP, marking her Loma Vista debut. It’s called Wholesome Evil Fantasy, and its tracks are appropriately titled “Wholesome,” “Evil,” and “Fantasy.” Listen to it below.

    “These songs come from the spiciest, most goofy, glitter gloss place in my psyche. I wasn’t really thinking very hard when I wrote them. I was just having so much fun.” De Souza said of Wholesome Evil Fantasy EP in press materials. She continued:

    I am continuously inspired by the sounds and energy brought by my collaborators, Elliott Kozel and Jesse Schuster. They are always making me laugh and bringing out the silliest version of me. I would not have discovered this new space without them. Listening to these songs fills me with gratitude for the playful musical connection we have, as well as everlasting friendship. My baseline existence can be pretty heavy and complicated, but these songs made me deeply joyous the whole time I was working on them.

    De Souza is throwing two dance parties to celebrate the new EP. The first will occur in Los Angeles, on October 3, with the other taking place in De Souza’s hometown of Asheville, North Carolina, on October 8. The Los Angeles party will feature DJ sets by Harmony, Succubus, and Azure.fm, while WiFi Mommy, Boys_Camp, and Oragami will man the decks in Asheville. De Souza will host both events.

    De Souza’s latest full-length, All of This Will End, arrived last year. Revisit Pitchfork’s 2021 Rising interview “Indigo De Souza’s Ultimate Indie Rock Glow Up.”

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    Madison Bloom

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  • Phoenix Join Forces With Angèle and Kavinsky to Release Viral Cover of “Nightcall”

    Phoenix Join Forces With Angèle and Kavinsky to Release Viral Cover of “Nightcall”

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    Phoenix have reunited with Angèle and Kavinsky to release a studio version of “Nightcall,” the cover they premiered at the Paris 2024 Olympics closing ceremony. Below, check out their take on the track, which was originally written by Kavinsky with Daft Punk’s Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and prominently featured on the Drive soundtrack.

    Angèle contributes vocals alongside Phoenix’s Thomas Mars, and Phoenix helped produced the track with Kavinsky.

    Phoenix also collaborated with Air and Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig at the Olympics closing ceremony, but it was the “Nightcall” rendition that went viral; according to their publicist, it broke the record for most Shazams in a single day.

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    Jazz Monroe

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  • St. Vincent Announces Spanish-Language Version All Born Screaming, Shares Song

    St. Vincent Announces Spanish-Language Version All Born Screaming, Shares Song

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    St. Vincent has announced a Spanish-language version of her latest LP, All Born Screaming. Annie Clark worked with filmmaker and close friend Alan Del Rio Ortiz on the project, titled Todos Nacen Gritando. Ortiz helped Clark translate the 10 tracks on All Born Screaming, tweaking phrases only slightly “for melodic reasons,” as Clark said in press materials. Below, listen to the new album’s lead single, “Hombre Roto,” a Spanish-language update of “Broken Man.”

    Clark recorded her Spanish vocals atop the foundation of the original record, which features contributions from Dave Grohl, Cate Le Bon, Mark Guiliana, Stella Mogzawa, Rachel Eckroth, Josh Freese, Justin Meldal-Johnsen, and David Ralicke.

    Speaking of her inspiration to create a Spanish-language version of All Born Screaming, Clark said:

    The origins of Todos Nacen Gritando can be traced back to some of the most memorable shows I’ve ever played, in Mexico, South America, and, recently, Primavera Barcelona, in 2023. Though separated by time and geography, and across a diverse range of settings and venues, these crowds were united in their passion—singing every word to every song in perfect English. It was truly inspiring. Eventually, I asked myself: If they can sing along in a second or third language, why can’t I meet them halfway? So I enlisted my best friend and occasional collaborator Alan Del Rio Ortiz to work on translating these lyrics, tweaking here and there for melodic reasons, making every effort to stay true to the song at hand without sacrificing accuracy. After much rewriting and re-singing every vocal track on the album, the result is Todos Nacen Gritando, equal parts labor of love and tribute to the people who inspired it.

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    Madison Bloom

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  • Glorilla Announces Debut Album, Shares New Song “Hollon”

    Glorilla Announces Debut Album, Shares New Song “Hollon”

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    Glorilla has announced a new project that’s being billed as her debut album: Glorious is out October 11. The 15-track release will include “TGIF” and a new song called “Hollon.” Take a listen to the latter track below.

    After breaking out, in 2022, with “F.N.F. (Let’s Go),” Glorilla shared her first major-label project, an EP called Anyways, Life’s Great…. She followed the EP with the April 2024 project Ehhthang, Ehhthang.

    Read the 2023 feature “Glorilla Suffers No Fools.”

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    Matthew Strauss

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  • eLearners Make eLearning a Daily or Weekly Habit, Voices’ eLearning Report Finds

    eLearners Make eLearning a Daily or Weekly Habit, Voices’ eLearning Report Finds

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    NEW YORK, September 19, 2024 (Newswire.com)
    –
    Voices, the world’s leading voice over marketplace, published Click, Learn, Repeat, a new report which found that eLearners are highly motivated to achieve their learning goals, with nearly 70% participating in eLearning at least weekly or more often to achieve their goals.

    Click, Learn, Repeat surveyed over 500 respondents who had recently participated in various forms of eLearning. The report explores current trends in eLearning, such as why learners participate in eLearning, how they prefer to consume content, their favored formats and tools, and more.

    The report found that eLearning initiative is largely driven by the pursuit of career advancement (60%) and to develop personal interests or hobbies (58%). Learners also turn to eLearning for academic purposes (45%), certification programs (32%), learning new technologies or software (34%), and learning new languages (25%).

    Other key findings from the report include:

    • Learners are willing to invest in their growth: 22% have invested up to $500 in eLearning courses, 22% have invested between $500-$999 in eLearning, and 30% have invested $1000 or more in eLearning. 26% said they only participate in free eLearning. 
    • YouTube leads the way as the go-to platform for self-directed eLearning, with 57% of learners turning to it for educational content. Social media overall is a frequently accessed educational resource, with 90% of learners said they search for or consume educational content on social media.
    • Interactive eLearning is more popular among the younger age group: 40% of respondents aged 18-29 said interactive eLearning is one of their preferred formats, compared to 27% of those aged 45-60.
    • Audio greatly assists in retaining information: 83% of learners prefer courses with audio narration alongside visual content, and 80% said they prefer one consistent narrator voice for large volumes of material.
    • AI is transforming audio in eLearning: 65% of learners report they can’t distinguish between AI-generated narration and a real human voice.

    “Technology-driven learning is finding creative ways to keep people engaged in continuous learning. Today’s eLearning landscape provides opportunities that are educational, engaging, and available in convenient and creative formats that allow learning to conform to different lifestyles,” says Tara Parachuk, Senior Manager, Brand Communications. “People care about achieving their goals and eLearning platforms that offer flexible and immersive content—whether through video, gamified modules, or even augmented or virtual reality—are empowering learners to do just that, on their own terms.”

    The full report can be read here: https://www.voices.com/company/press/reports/press-reports-elearning-trends. For more insights into the world of voice over, visit Voices at: https://www.voices.com.

    About Voices

    Voices is the world’s #1 voice marketplace, with over 4 million registered users. Since 2005, the biggest and most beloved brands have entrusted Voices to help them find professionals to bring their projects to life. Voices helps match clients with voice over professionals in over 160 countries and 100+ languages and dialects.

    Source: Voices

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  • Talking Heads Announce Debut Album Reissue, Share Acoustic “Psycho Killer” Featuring Arthur Russell

    Talking Heads Announce Debut Album Reissue, Share Acoustic “Psycho Killer” Featuring Arthur Russell

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    All products featured on Pitchfork are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

    Talking Heads: Talking Heads: 77 (Super Deluxe Edition) (2024 Remaster)

    Talking Heads – Talking Heads 77:

    01 Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town
    02 New Feeling
    03 Tentative Decisions
    04 Happy Day
    05 Who Is It?
    06 No Compassion
    07 The Book I Read
    08 Don’t Worry About the Government
    09 First Week/Last Week… Carefree
    10 Psycho Killer
    11 Pulled Up
    12 Sugar on My Tongue
    13 I Want to Live
    14 (Love Goes To) Building On Fire
    15 I Wish You Wouldn’t Say That
    16 Psycho Killer (Acoustic Version)
    17 Uh-Oh Love Comes to Town (Alternate “Pop” Version)
    18 New Feeling (Alternate “Pop” Version)
    19 Pulled Up (Alternate “Pop” Version)
    20 Stay Hungry (1977 Version)
    21 First Week/Last Week… Carefree (Acoustic Version)
    22 I Feel It in My Heart
    23 Psycho Killer (Alternate Version)
    24 (Love Goes To) Building On Fire (Live at CBGB’s, New York, New York, 10/10/77)
    25 Don’t Worry About the Government (Live at CBGB’s, New York, New York, 10/10/77)
    26 Take Me to the River (Live at CBGB’s, New York, New York, 10/10/77)
    27 The Book I Read (Live at CBGB’s, New York, New York, 10/10/77)
    28 New Feeling (Live at CBGB’s, New York, New York, 10/10/77)
    29 A Clean Break (Live at CBGB’s, New York, New York, 10/10/77)
    30 No Compassion (Live at CBGB’s, New York, New York, 10/10/77)
    31 Thank You for Sending Me an Angel (Live at CBGB’s, New York, New York, 10/10/77)
    32 Who Is It? (Live at CBGB’s, New York, New York, 10/10/77)
    33 Pulled Up (Live at CBGB’s, New York, New York, 10/10/77)
    34 Uh-Oh Love Comes to Town (Live at CBGB’s, New York, New York, 10/10/77)
    35 Psycho Killer (Live at CBGB’s, New York, New York, 10/10/77)
    36 Stay Hungry (Live at CBGB’s, New York, New York, 10/10/77)

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  • Our Favorite Audiophile-Grade Gear for Serious Listening

    Our Favorite Audiophile-Grade Gear for Serious Listening

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    I’m a pretty lazy listener, which is why I love modern streaming amps. These amps have controls for Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, and other streaming services built directly into easy-to-use interfaces. Streaming amps have gotten really great over the last few years. It used to be that anything with an internet connection sounded terrible, but that’s not the case with the latest models. My high-end favorites right now are the Cambridge Audio Evo 150 ($2,999) and the Naim Uniti Atom ($3,799), which both feature gorgeous color displays and some of the best fidelity (and most glorious knobs) I’ve ever experienced. Both work with every major streaming service imaginable, and you can connect to them over Bluetooth too.

    A good step-down option is Yamaha’s R-N1000A ($1,800) stereo network receiver. It’s loaded with high-end components like a SABRE ES9090Q DAC for high-resolution digital audio and enough A/B amplification for nearly any pair of speakers in your arsenal. Just as important, it provides rock-steady performance and loads of connection options, from tons of streaming services and internet radio stations to a turntable input and HDMI ARC for connecting to your TV. Its retro design, which skips a color screen for a slim digital display set below tactile knobs, stokes nostalgia while delivering excellent sound quality.

    If you don’t have that kind of money, I highly recommend checking out the Canadian brand NAD. Its amps, like the NAD C 316 V2 ($399) aren’t the flashiest, but they sound amazing for the money. Like the Yamaha above, the C 316 even comes with a phono channel on board so you can hook up a record player—a nice touch, seeing how NAD’s model doesn’t have built-in streaming. If you want to stream, you can find the proper dongle to connect your phone to it.

    Pro-Ject’s turntables are handsome, and they offer top-tier sound.

    Photograph: Pro-Ject Audio

    Vinyl is back! And turntables are more fun—and better-sounding—than ever. If you’re looking for a starter deck with audiophile-grade sound quality, I would check out options like the Pro-Ject T1 ($499) or Debut Carbon Evo ($599). On the higher end, we like the Rega Planar 2 ($775), which has a bit more open and dynamic sound, and U-Turn’s Orbit Theory ($999), which sounds fantastic thanks to extras like a custom-made magnesium tonearm, the part that sets the needle to the groove.

    project phono box s2

    Get a phono amp to hook up that turntable.

    Photograph: Pro-Ject Audio

    If you have a vintage stereo, it likely has a phono preamp built-in, meaning you can plug a turntable directly and get straight to listening. But if you have a modern stereo, you may need to buy a dedicated phono preamp to play your records through your headphones or speakers. Check both your turntable and your stereo, because setups differ, and some turntables come with phono amps inside them that you can activate by flipping a switch. Still, while some built-in options like the one inside the Orbit Theory above perform well, others may not sound as good as you’d like.

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    Parker Hall

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  • The Music Industry’s ’90s Hard Drives Are Dying

    The Music Industry’s ’90s Hard Drives Are Dying

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    One of the things enterprise storage and destruction company Iron Mountain does is handle the archiving of the media industry’s vaults. What it has been seeing lately should be a wake-up call: Roughly one-fifth of the hard disk drives dating to the 1990s it was sent are entirely unreadable.

    Music industry publication Mix spoke with the people in charge of backing up the entertainment industry. The resulting tale is part explainer on how music is so complicated to archive now, part warning about everyone’s data stored on spinning disks.

    “In our line of work, if we discover an inherent problem with a format, it makes sense to let everybody know,” Robert Koszela, global director for studio growth and strategic initiatives at Iron Mountain, told Mix. “It may sound like a sales pitch, but it’s not; it’s a call for action.”

    Hard drives gained popularity over spooled magnetic tape as digital audio workstations, mixing and editing software, and the perceived downsides of tape, including deterioration from substrate separation and fire. But hard drives present their own archival problems. Standard hard drives were also not designed for long-term archival use. You can almost never decouple the magnetic disks from the reading hardware inside, so if either fails, the whole drive dies.

    There are also general computer storage issues, including the separation of samples and finished tracks, or proprietary file formats requiring archival versions of software. Still, Iron Mountain tells Mix that “if the disk platters spin and aren’t damaged,” it can access the content.

    But “if it spins” is becoming a big question mark. Musicians and studios now digging into their archives to remaster tracks often find that drives, even when stored at industry-standard temperature and humidity, have failed in some way, with no partial recovery option available.

    “It’s so sad to see a project come into the studio, a hard drive in a brand-new case with the wrapper and the tags from wherever they bought it still in there,” Koszela says. “Next to it is a case with the safety drive in it. Everything’s in order. And both of them are bricks.”

    Entropy Wins

    Mix’s passing along of Iron Mountain’s warning hit Hacker News earlier this week, which spurred other tales of faith in the wrong formats. The gist of it: You cannot trust any medium, so you copy important things over and over, into fresh storage. “Optical media rots, magnetic media rots and loses magnetic charge, bearings seize, flash storage loses charge, etc.,” writes user abracadaniel. “Entropy wins, sometimes much faster than you’d expect.”

    There is discussion of how SSDs are not archival at all; how floppy disk quality varied greatly between the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s; how Linear Tape-Open, a format specifically designed for long-term tape storage, loses compatibility over successive generations; how the binder sleeves we put our CD-Rs and DVD-Rs in have allowed them to bend too much and stop being readable.

    Knowing that hard drives will eventually fail is nothing new. Ars wrote about the five stages of hard drive death, including denial, back in 2005. Last year, backup company Backblaze shared failure data on specific drives, showing that drives that fail tend to fail within three years, that no drive was totally exempt, and that time does, generally, wear down all drives. Google’s server drive data showed in 2007 that HDD failure was mostly unpredictable, and that temperatures were not really the deciding factor.

    So Iron Mountain’s admonition to music companies is yet another warning about something we’ve already heard. But it’s always good to get some new data about just how fragile a good archive really is.

    This story originally appeared on Ars Technica.

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    Kevin Purdy, Ars Technica

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  • Special Interest Share New Song “Nothing Grows Here”

    Special Interest Share New Song “Nothing Grows Here”

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    Special Interest are back with the new song “Nothing Grows Here.” The New Orleans band’s Ruth Mascelli mixed the track, and it was mastered by Kassian Troyer. Take a look at the song’s visualizer, made by guitarist Maria Elena, below.

    Special Interest’s lead singer, Alli Logout, said, in a press statement, that the group’s new track is about “stagnancy, over-stayed welcomes and the moment you decided to confront your complacency.” She continued, “It’s about opening yourself to feel the earth dying underneath your feet. How do we stand and what do we stand for? It’s a song about the reeling in this moment. The next step? A call to arms.”

    Earlier this summer, Logout and DJ and producer Margo XS released two songs from their duo deBasement: “Front Left Speaker” and “FTDJ (Thank God).”

    Revisit the review of Special Interest’s Endure.

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    Matthew Strauss

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  • The $129 AirPods 4 Have Features the $549 AirPods Max Don’t

    The $129 AirPods 4 Have Features the $549 AirPods Max Don’t

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    If Apple wanted to bury the fact it’s leaving its most expensive headphones as the least technically capable in its lineup, it didn’t do a very good job.

    It all started promisingly. At Apple’s September Glowtime event, CEO Tim Cook teed up VP of hardware engineering Kate Bergeron for the big reveal by stating that the company’s much-loved AirPods family had “significant updates across the entire lineup.” And with four years under their belt since their debut, it felt like the supposedly flagship AirPods Max had to be top of the billing.

    Instead, that honor was bestowed upon the AirPods 4—Apple’s cheapest AirPods at $129, and now with the option of noise cancellation for an additional $50. Among other additions, Bergeron announced they would now come with the “power of the H2 chip,” the most advanced headphone chip from Apple, which was first introduced in the AirPods Pro 2 in 2022.

    That chip delivers some significant upgrades, too. Apple said at the time that the H2 chip in the AirPods Pro 2 cancels “twice as much noise” compared to the original Pro. Now, in the AirPods 4, Apple writes in its press release that H2 delivers a “major improvement in sound quality” and that it unlocks a whole host of “intelligent features that change the way users take calls, interact with Siri, and so much more.”

    A lot of these features are down to the advanced machine-learning capabilities of the H2 chip, and Bergeron touched on a few of them in her enthusiastic introduction of the AirPods 4. Features like Siri Interactions, which allows you to respond to Siri by nodding or shaking your head; “the magic of Adaptive Audio,” said Bergeron, which blends noise cancellation and transparency modes to best suit your environment; and also Conversation Awareness, which dips your audio down when it hears you talking to someone, then raises it again after.

    That’s not even all of them. There’s also Personalized Audio, shorter “Siri” summoning and Voice Isolation for clearer calls.

    Better sound, better ANC, better features? That sounds like a very tempting package indeed. But when it came to the H1-packing AirPods Max, Apple quickly swept all that good stuff under the carpet, throwing a handful of new colors and a USB-C connection our way in the hope we’d forget about everything that had just come before.

    Photograph: Courtesy of Apple

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    Verity Burns

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  • Listen to Joey Bada$$ and Chlöe’s New Song “Tell Me”

    Listen to Joey Bada$$ and Chlöe’s New Song “Tell Me”

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    Joey Bada$$ and Chlöe have come together on the new song “Tell Me.” It’s the artists’ second collaborative track, following “Happy Without Me,” from Chloe x Halle’s The Kids Are Alright. They made “Tell Me” with producers Boys Are Rolling, Grant Lapointe, and Larrance “Rance1500” Dopson. Listen to the new single below.

    Beyond their collaborative recordings, Joey Bada$$ featured in Chlöe’s “Cheatback” music video. The two musicians also both featured in the television series Grown-ish.

    Joey Bada$$ released his latest studio album, 2000, in July 2022. Chlöe more recently issued the project Trouble in Paradise in August.

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    Matthew Strauss

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  • Mastodon and Lamb of God Share New Song “Floods of Triton”

    Mastodon and Lamb of God Share New Song “Floods of Triton”

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    Mastodon and Lamb of God recently wrapped up a co-headlining tour, and the metal bands are celebrating the feat with a new song “Floods of Triton.” Find the single below.

    Mastodon produced “Floods of Triton” with Tyler Bates, the composer and musician known for scoring the John Wick films, Deadpool 2, and more. They recorded the track at Mastodon’s West End Sound in Atlanta.

    Lamb of God most recently shared Omens in 2022. A year earlier, Mastodon issuedd Hushed and Grim.

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    Matthew Strauss

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  • Soccer Mommy Announces Tour, Shares New Song “Driver”

    Soccer Mommy Announces Tour, Shares New Song “Driver”

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    Soccer Mommy has shared a run of tour dates behind Evergreen, her new album, along with a song, “Driver,” which you can check out below. After a handful of previously announced dates this month and next, the tour kicks off in earnest in January, taking in much of North America before a trek across Europe. Find all the dates below.

    In press materials, Soccer Mommy’s Sophie Allison said that “Driver” is “a love song that’s really about someone being there for you in spite of your shortcomings. It’s more light hearted than some of the other songs I’ve put out this year, using my distractedness as a bit of a punchline.” The new album arrives October 25 via Loma Vista.

    All products featured on Pitchfork are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

    Soccer Mommy:

    09-13 Nashville, TN – Musician’s Corner
    09-28 New York, NY – All Things Go Festival
    09-29 Washington, D.C. – All Things Go Festival
    10-12 Little Rock, AR – Hillcrest Harvest Fest
    01-22 Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse *
    01-23 Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel *
    01-24 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle *
    01-25 Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer *
    01-27 Washington, D.C. – 9:30 Club *
    01-30 Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Steel *
    02-02 Montreal, Quebec – Théâtre Beanfield ^
    02-04 Toronto, Ontario – The Concert Hall ^
    02-05 Detroit, MI – The Majestic Theatre ^
    02-06 Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall ^
    02-08 Louisville, KY – Headliners Music Hall ^
    02-18 Birmingham, AL – Saturn %
    02-19 New Orleans, LA – Tipitina’s %
    02-20 Dallas, TX – The Studio at the Factory %
    02-21 Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall %
    02-22 Austin, TX – Radio-East %
    02-24 Santa Fe, NM – Meow Wolf %
    02-25 Tucson, AZ – Rialto Theatre %
    02-27 Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern %
    02-28 San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore %
    03-03 Seattle, WA – The Showbox %
    03-04 Vancouver, British Columbia – Vogue Theatre %
    03-05 Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom %
    03-07 Boise, ID – Treefort Music Hall %
    03-08 Salt Lake City, UT – The Depot %
    03-10 Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre %
    03-12 Kansas City, MO – The Truman %
    03-13 Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue %
    03-14 St. Louis, MO – Delmar Hall %
    03-15 Nashville, TN – Brooklyn Bowl %
    04-26 Lisbon, Portugal – Lisboa ao Vivo
    04-27 Madrid, Spain – Sala Copernico
    04-28 Barcelona, Spain – Sala Apolo 2
    04-30 Zurich, Switzerland – Papiersaal
    05-01 Fribourg, Switzerland – Fri-Son
    05-02 Milan, Italy – Legend
    05-03 Munich, Germany – Ampere
    05-04 Cologne, Germany – Artheater
    05-06 Brighton, England – Chalk
    05-07 Bristol, England – SWX
    05-08 London, England – Hackney Church
    05-09 Leeds, England – Project House
    05-11 Dublin, Ireland – Vicar Street
    05-13 Glasgow, Scotland – SWG3 TV Studio
    05-14 Manchester, England – New Century Hall
    05-16 Paris, France – Le Trabendo
    05-17 Amsterdam, Netherlands – London Calling Festival
    05-20 Hamburg, Germany – Nochtspeicher
    05-21 Berlin, Germany – Lido
    05-22 Warszawa, Poland – Klub Hybrydy

    * with L’Rain
    ^ with Tomberlin
    % with Hana Vu

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    Jazz Monroe

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  • Dwight Yoakam and Post Malone Share New Song “I Don’t Know How to Say Goodbye (Bang Bang Boom Boom)”

    Dwight Yoakam and Post Malone Share New Song “I Don’t Know How to Say Goodbye (Bang Bang Boom Boom)”

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    Country veteran Dwight Yoakam has enlisted Post Malone for his first piece of new music in nine years. “I Don’t Know How to Say Goodbye (Bang Bang Boom Boom)” leads the Kentucky-born singer-songwriter’s forthcoming studio album, Brighter Days—out November 15. Yoakam wrote the new song specifically for a duet with Post Malone, who recently went country on his new LP F-1 Trillion. Check it out below.

    Brighter Days is Yoakam’s first full-length since 2016’s Swimmin’ Pools, Movie Stars…. The 12-track release features 10 originals, as well as covers of “Bound Away,” by Cake, and the Carter Family classic “Keeping on the Sunny Side.”

    Earlier this year, Post Malone and Dwight Yoakam performed together at Stagecoach. And, years back, they hung out in Los Angeles and played a handful of songs, like Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right,” Yoakam’s “A Thousand Miles from Nowhere,” and Merle Haggard’s “The Bottle Let Me Down.”

    Read “6 Takeaways From Post Malone’s New Album F-1 Trillion” on the Pitch.

    Brighter Days:

    01 Wide Open Heart
    02 I’ll Pay the Price
    03 Bound Away
    04 California Sky
    05 Can’t Be Wrong
    06 I Spell Love
    07 A Dream That Never Ends
    08 Brighter Days
    09 I Don’t Know How to Say Goodbye (Bang Bang Boom Boom)
    10 If Only
    11 Hand Me Down Heart
    12 Time Between
    13 Keep on the Sunny Side
    14 Every Night

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    Madison Bloom

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