Blaster CD

[Slither]

I've still been playing Blaster non-stop and absolutely love Blue Eyes, but has anyone noticed the kind of buzzy sound in the background during the chorus? My apologies if someone already mentioned this...I almost kind of like the sound I just can't tell if it's intentional or not

Yes, I was going to mention that buzzing too. I doubt it's intentional, it sounds like they should've used a de-esser on one or more tracks to avoid it. This, the vocal skip in the chorus of Hotel Rio, the aggressively audible autotune right before the choruses of Beach Pop, and the low vocal levels in Modzilla, are things I'm surprised Rick Parker and the band let get to the final cut. I wonder how much they paid him.

Yes, it's a little bothersome at low volumes. I think when it's cranked, there's so much other sound that is competing but at a low volume (for me) the buzz is extra buzzy.

The production on this album is the only thing that makes me miss Doug. I thought the mix on HIG was excellent, whereas with Blaster there's a noticeable issue on almost half the tracks. Amethyst still bothers me the most production-wise, would be my favorite song on the album if not for the audible massacre that occurs in the chorus.

[Sklashboombash]

The production on this album is the only thing that makes me miss Doug. I thought the mix on HIG was excellent, whereas with Blaster there's a noticeable issue on almost half the tracks. Amethyst still bothers me the most production-wise, would be my favorite song on the album if not for the audible massacre that occurs in the chorus.

Can you elaborate on the "audio massacre"? I'm not heckling either. It's a serious inquiry.

[Slither]

The production on this album is the only thing that makes me miss Doug. I thought the mix on HIG was excellent, whereas with Blaster there's a noticeable issue on almost half the tracks. Amethyst still bothers me the most production-wise, would be my favorite song on the album if not for the audible massacre that occurs in the chorus.

Can you elaborate on the "audio massacre"? I'm not heckling either. It's a serious inquiry.

It's that whole "loudness wars" thing. I could be totally wrong, because I'm not an expert on sound engineering at all, but this song totally goes off the deep end on sound compression for me. All the instruments just blend together into a loud mush. It's difficult to explain, but if you google it there's probably an article out there that can it explain it much better than I.

[Sklashboombash]

The production on this album is the only thing that makes me miss Doug. I thought the mix on HIG was excellent, whereas with Blaster there's a noticeable issue on almost half the tracks. Amethyst still bothers me the most production-wise, would be my favorite song on the album if not for the audible massacre that occurs in the chorus.

Can you elaborate on the "audio massacre"? I'm not heckling either. It's a serious inquiry.

It's that whole "loudness wars" thing. I could be totally wrong, because I'm not an expert on sound engineering at all, but this song totally goes off the deep end on sound compression for me. All the instruments just blend together into a loud mush. It's difficult to explain, but if you google it there's probably an article out there that can it explain it much better than I.

Gotcha. I'm familiar with the whole "brick-walling" thing. I understand. I thought you were referring to something else in the mix. Maybe you're looking for more dynamic in the mix?
I think with the amount of fuzz on some of these songs, it's tricky to place everything in its own sonic space. No excuses, because it CAN be done, but there's a distinct difference in the mix clarity (especially vocally) from "Modzilla" to "Way She Moves".
But overall, I'm very happy with the album...predominantly from the song-writing and tonal point of view. 

[Slither]

The production on this album is the only thing that makes me miss Doug. I thought the mix on HIG was excellent, whereas with Blaster there's a noticeable issue on almost half the tracks. Amethyst still bothers me the most production-wise, would be my favorite song on the album if not for the audible massacre that occurs in the chorus.

Can you elaborate on the "audio massacre"? I'm not heckling either. It's a serious inquiry.

It's that whole "loudness wars" thing. I could be totally wrong, because I'm not an expert on sound engineering at all, but this song totally goes off the deep end on sound compression for me. All the instruments just blend together into a loud mush. It's difficult to explain, but if you google it there's probably an article out there that can it explain it much better than I.

Gotcha. I'm familiar with the whole "brick-walling" thing. I understand. I thought you were referring to something else in the mix. Maybe you're looking for more dynamic in the mix?
I think with the amount of fuzz on some of these songs, it's tricky to place everything in its own sonic space. No excuses, because it CAN be done, but there's a distinct difference in the mix clarity (especially vocally) from "Modzilla" to "Way She Moves".
But overall, I'm very happy with the album...predominantly from the song-writing and tonal point of view. 

Exactly. The fuzzy undertone definitely has something to do with it. And I agree, I think it's worse on some songs than others, Amethyst being the prime culprit. The inconsistency in the production from track to track is really what bothers me, i.e. the low vocals in Modzilla, high compression in Amethyst

I actually just found this quip from a review of the album from AllMusic that corroborates my criticism of the way it can sound at times, though I disagree with the "Much of it" designation - "Much of it churns at crackling digital overdrive, sounding brutal, loud, and ugly"

[STP92]

Yeah, it sounds like some clipping going on in the chorus of "Blue Eyes", chorus and bridge of "Amethyst", and drum intro of "Youth Quake". It's annoying because like others have mentioned, "Way She Moves" and "Bleed Out" sound great and don't have any issues.

Nothing is worse than the clipping on Californication by RHCP, though. The original issue of the record is unlistenable.

[TinyPenisMusic]

I can't help but think that 'Blister on my soul' would've fit nicely on this album and perhaps 'Spay' as well. To me, this album is almost like a cross between Tiny Music and Libertad in terms of vocals, melodies, and the somewhat occasional loopiness (I can't think of the correct word). I'm digging it more and more.

[wickedgarden23]

I agree TinyPenisMusic, I've found myself thinking about Libertad a lot while listening to Blaster (which is a good thing imo). She Mine sounds like a song that could've been on Blaster to me

[The Legacy]

i have been thinking the same thing guys haha i think Youth Quake sounds like it could be on Libertad

[Pingfah]

I'm familiar with the loudness war stuff, but what I have never understood is why they do this? What is the advantage? Surely when songs get played on the radio, tv etc all this stuff is normalised anyway?

[NakedSundayCrackerman]

I bought the record.

Put it in the player, the first song, Modzilla, sounded awesome. I thought it was off to a good start. But man, the more I listened to it, I started thinking...these songs all sound the same.


Well, maybe not the same. But Scott's melodies all sound essentially the same. He's got that nasally smoker voice from track to track, goes back to the same scales/song structures from song to song. I hate to say it, but I just found the record bland.


Not impressed, maybe the CheSTP record will do better. :/

[Stop That Pigeon]

Each to their own but I'm not getting the "samey-ness" criticism at all. Plenty enough variety of tone, structure and content for me. The lyrics also have that pleasing randomness that Scott does so well.

The good news in the Pigeon household is that my wife, who doesn't care for STP at all, really digs Blaster. She's big on Dylan, Johnny Cash, Nina Simone, Nirvana, Adele, Patsy Cline - she likes to feel an honest voice speaking to her. So I take her praise for the record ("I really quite like that") as a real positive. And I think it backs up the thought that Scott may be more himself on this record than he's ever been.

Hoping for a good tour, tributes to Jeremy and a positive vibe for the summer. 

[IMJ]

I bought the record.

Put it in the player, the first song, Modzilla, sounded awesome. I thought it was off to a good start. But man, the more I listened to it, I started thinking...these songs all sound the same.


Well, maybe not the same. But Scott's melodies all sound essentially the same. He's got that nasally smoker voice from track to track, goes back to the same scales/song structures from song to song. I hate to say it, but I just found the record bland.


Not impressed, maybe the CheSTP record will do better. :/

The album is growing on me for sure, but it didn't grab me as past STP or VR albums have either. Give it a few listens and you'll pull out a few catchy singles, but not much "soundtrack to your life rock".

[HelloItsLate]

a few listens and you'll pull out a few catchy singles, but not much "soundtrack to your life rock".

Sums it up perfectly for me. I think this one is going to fade quickly.

[DankoJones]

Each to their own but I'm not getting the "samey-ness" criticism at all. Plenty enough variety of tone, structure and content for me. The lyrics also have that pleasing randomness that Scott does so well.

Agreed