Perfecting Sound Forever: An Aural History of Recorded Music

Perfecting Sound Forever takes readers on a journey through the history of sound recording, from Thomas Edison's early attempts to capture live performances with absolute fidelity to the digital age's creation of performances that never were. The book delves into the major breakthroughs and setbacks in the art and science of recording, highlighting the ongoing debate between capturing reality faithfully and enhancing or transcending it. /n/n The narrative weaves together the stories of key figures and technologies, such as the discovery of magnetic tape by a soldier monitoring Nazi radio transmissions and the development of the compact disc by Japanese and Dutch researchers. It also explores the cultural and industrial impacts of these innovations, including the 'loudness war' of the 1990s and the shift from vinyl to digital formats. Through these stories, the book challenges readers to reconsider how they think about and experience music.