Why does the music played at AXPONA suck so bad?

[HalSF]

The music played at AXPONA sucks so hard because old, rich white guys have terrible taste.

OK but what *specifically* is this music that sucks so badly? Let’s have some names. Everybody here seems clued in on the infamous suck’s ID but me.

 

[kyuu]

I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that it consists of a lot of "girl singing to solo guitar accompaniment" and "elevator music jazz".

 

[Zgrado1970]

OK but what *specifically* is this music that sucks so badly? Let’s have some names. Everybody here seems clued in on the infamous suck’s ID but me.

Diana Krall, Sting, Suzanne Vega, Dave Brubeck, Stevie Ray Vaughn, boring small combo jazz, endless boomer classic rock, that annoying Daft Punk track, Taiko drumming, twee covers (e.g. Norah Jones doing Black Hole Sun). It is less that it sucks, but more that it is boring and played-out.

 

[amirm]

Diana Krall, Sting, Suzanne Vega, Dave Brubeck, Stevie Ray Vaughn, boring small combo jazz, endless boomer classic rock, that annoying Daft Punk track, Taiko drumming, twee covers (e.g. Norah Jones doing Black Hole Sun). It is less that it sucks, but more that it is boring and played-out.

I haven't seen these tracks get much play in the last 5+ years. With advent of streaming, much wider set of music is played. LP guys being somewhat an exception.

 

[Chrispy]

Maybe it's be but I don't think the music is weird at all, it's also decently recorded.

Costumes a bit stranger than the music, I like Glass Beams' approach better on both counts

 

[Robin L]

Some specific example of music at AXPONA that sucks so bad would be super helpful. Thanks.

You mean something that would expose flaws? I nominate the brass-soaked symphonies of Anton Bruckner, just the kind of really loud horn playing that can make a speaker's midrange curdle.

 

[Multicore]

OK but what *specifically* is this music that sucks so badly? Let’s have some names. Everybody here seems clued in on the infamous suck’s ID but me.

I too would like OP to name and shame.

 

[Robin L]

Diana Krall, Sting, Suzanne Vega, Dave Brubeck, Stevie Ray Vaughn, boring small combo jazz, endless boomer classic rock, that annoying Daft Punk track, Taiko drumming, twee covers (e.g. Norah Jones doing Black Hole Sun). It is less that it sucks, but more that it is boring and played-out.

A lot of Suzanne Vega' songs have very interesting/unusual arrangements and mixes.

However, "Tom's Diner" is the audio equivalent of watching paint dry.

 

[Soniclife]

However, "Tom's Diner" is the audio equivalent of watching paint dry.

It's hard to separate all the baggage attached to that track from the music, but recently I've come around to it, and I no longer skip it when I play the album, I can't say the same for the instrumental version, that's awful.

 

[Soniclife]

To the OP, or anyone else being subjected to dull hifi show music, why not enquire why they are staying in the music safety lane? I'm guessing their response will tell you how much confidence they have in the dem system.

 

[Talisman]

I hate almost all "hi-fi" music.
It goes against my morals. I want a good system to make my music sound good, and I don't want to have to listen to music that makes my system sound good.

 

[DanielT]

You mean something that would expose flaws? I nominate the brass-soaked symphonies of Anton Bruckner, just the kind of really loud horn playing that can make a speaker's midrange curdle.

That would be something.

One more tip. Holst should be a good fit. Dynamic music and people who haven't heard Mars before might wonder what it reminds them of.

Spoiler: Inspiration to:

The Imperial March can of course also be played. Which I actually heard at a Hifi fair a decade ago.

 

[Robin L]

It's hard to separate all the baggage attached to that track from the music, but recently I've come around to it, and I no longer skip it when I play the album, I can't say the same for the instrumental version, that's awful.

A Suzanne Vega track you probably won't hear at an audio expo, certainly not one demo-ing small speakers or Magnapans. I remember first hearing "Nine Objects of Desire" thinking that I never heard this much deep bass on a singer/songwriter track:

:

 

[Mart68]

I don't think I've ever been to a show - and I've been to lots - where at least one room I went in did not play Chris Isaac 'Wicked Game.'

Although musically I don't think it sucks, it's one of those recordings that sounds good on any system from the best to total junk. I think such recordings tend to be the staple at shows for obvious reasons.

In fairness at least some exhibitors will take requests which show they have confidence in their system/product even if, amusingly, that confidence is sometimes misplaced. Throat singing, death metal, the sort of music that most people find unlistenable on any equipment.

The only music I really object to and makes me leave the room, is the 'Breathy female singer, backed only by very sparse percussion, with tons of artificial reverb' stuff. No idea of any artists names for that. Why would I bother to find out?

To really separate the good systems from the poor - pretty much anything non-acoustic by Led Zeppelin. Funny enough you very rarely get any of that played at shows.

 

[mhardy6647]

A Suzanne Vega track you probably won't hear at an audio expo, certainly not one demo-ing small speakers or Magnapans. I remember first hearing "Nine Objects of Desire" thinking that I never heard this much deep bass on a singer/songwriter track:

:

Along the same lines, and FWIW, I like her song As a Child.

 

[Robin L]

Along the same lines, and FWIW, I like her song As a Child.

Another really quirky mix, love it. I'm listening to this You Tube stream via the Crinicle Zero 2s, hearing layers in the mix I never heard before:

 

[mhardy6647]

Thanks for posting the YT @Robin L I am bandwidth-choked at the moment.

PS at least for me, the song is a serious earworm. Sounds great on the Altecs, too.

 

[jcarys]

I went last year. I think the biggest problem with the music is hearing the same set of 3-5 songs over and over again. Many of them are the "audiophile" mainstays. The most annoying music for me was some of the electronic stuff, most of it from video games or composers that started in that field. It's good for testing bass and sub-bass capabilities, but so much of it is just vapid musically.

I most enjoyed the rooms that were playing songs and artists I had never heard of. I made a pretty long list and added them to my Tidal playlist for follow-up. I will tell you what you will not hear much, and that is the big orchestral pieces that I use to judge speakers. When classical was played, it was typically small ensembles or just piano. I had a conversation with one exhibitor who claimed that if he wanted to clear out his room and take a break, all he had to do was put on a classical piece and wait a minute.

 

[kyuu]

The most annoying music for me was some of the electronic stuff, most of it from video games or composers that started in that field. It's good for testing bass and sub-bass capabilities, but so much of it is just vapid musically.

Obviously not all of it is great, so it depends very much on what exactly was being played, but video games are where many of the most talented modern composers ply their trade IME.

 

[Torin Krell]

The music played at AXPONA sucks so hard because old, rich white guys have terrible taste.

Um - over generalizing and a bit pejorative here. However its true that much of the music played at audio conventions caters to a certain assumed demographic, and assumed music taste. As Amir has pointed out, this is now finally changing with the availability of audiophile streaming services. At a recent audio show I attended, a confident exhibiter (with an excellent near million dollar system) and I enjoyed trading off on choosing modern exhilarating bass and dynamic range challenging tracks on Tidal that we both enjoyed, when the room cleared near the end of the exhibition day.