Is Lo-Fi Actually Music? The Debate Won't Die

Emberlyn called it 'a scented candle' on her podcast this week, and the reviews section promptly caught fire. So let's have it out.

The case against

Lo-Fi Society's Study Hall is the most-played record in half our users' libraries and the lowest-rated relative to its plays. That gap is the whole controversy: music you use more than you love.

The case for

But 'functional' isn't an insult. A lullaby is functional. Ambient is functional. The craft is in disappearing — and disappearing well is harder than it sounds.

The best lo-fi is invisible on purpose. Rating it on 'memorability' is like rating a window on how much you notice the glass.

Where we land

Score it on its own terms and it's an 8. Score it against 'Golden Hour' and it's a 6. Both are true. That's why we let you weight the categories yourself.