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Thread: The Fade-Out of the Fade-Out in Popular Music

  1. #1
    Member NebraskaRed's Avatar
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    The Fade-Out of the Fade-Out in Popular Music

    http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/m..._reducing.html

    The fade-out—the technique of ending a song with a slow decrease in volume over its last few seconds—became common in the 1950s and ruled for three decades. Among the year-end top 10 songs for 1985, there’s not one cold ending. But it’s been on the downturn since the ’90s, and the past few years have been particularly unkind. The year-end top 10 lists for 2011, 2012, and 2013 yield a total of one fade-out, Robin Thicke’s purposely retro “Blurred Lines.” Not since the ’50s have we had such a paucity of fade-out songs.
    Interesting article about the history of the fade-out, and its decline in recent years.

    And this one of the better fade-outs:



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  3. #2
    Charlie Brown All-Star IslandRed's Avatar
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    Re: The Fade-Out of the Fade-Out in Popular Music

    Fade-outs were a godsend to inexperienced disc jockeys in the age of vinyl. A hard stop meant you either had to anticipate and hit the turntable for the next song at the exact split-second early, or you had a brief half-second of dead air that was the giveaway of the rookie. When the first song faded out, you didn't have to be nearly as precise.

    Not that I, uh, was doing radio stuff that long ago. Noooo, no way.
    Reading comprehension is not just an ability, it's a choice

  4. #3
    Potential Lunch Winner Dom Heffner's Avatar
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    Re: The Fade-Out of the Fade-Out in Popular Music

    Quote Originally Posted by IslandRed View Post
    Fade-outs were a godsend to inexperienced disc jockeys in the age of vinyl. A hard stop meant you either had to anticipate and hit the turntable for the next song at the exact split-second early, or you had a brief half-second of dead air that was the giveaway of the rookie. When the first song faded out, you didn't have to be nearly as precise.

    Not that I, uh, was doing radio stuff that long ago. Noooo, no way.
    I loved board work when I was a DJ. I did a 5 hour shift at WCKY just so I could practice to help me for my show where I talked.

    I tried to line up songs that would sound great back to back.

    Best days of my life.

  5. #4
    Charlie Brown All-Star IslandRed's Avatar
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    Re: The Fade-Out of the Fade-Out in Popular Music

    I never even got to the paying-job part, I did a few shifts a week on college radio and an internship at a local AM coffeepot, but yes, those were great times. A few things in particular stand out:

    * From being the production director at the time, one of the hourly ID bumpers I recorded was used for years. It was surreal returning to campus and hearing my voice coming out of someone's car passing by.

    * The antenna was on the roof of the classroom building, right above the studio. Lightning hit it around 6:20 one morning, causing a spark shower out of the transmitter right next to the board. Fortunately, there were affirmative responses to my next action: "Hey, if we're still on the air, can you call and let me know?"

    * Showing up at 5 a.m. to prepare for 6:00 sign-on, sleepy and/or with a headache, pounding a six-pack of Diet Coke by 8:30 and practically snarling into the microphone. That's right, (censored), hurt some more. Although, come to think of it, that wasn't a moment so much as a routine.

    Do you have the dead-air dream when you're feeling anxious about some other aspect of life? I do.
    Reading comprehension is not just an ability, it's a choice

  6. #5
    Potential Lunch Winner Dom Heffner's Avatar
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    Re: The Fade-Out of the Fade-Out in Popular Music

    Dead air... oh man.

    One time I was rushing to get a reel to reel on the air. The program I was supposed to play was on a 12" reel and for some unknown reason I grabbed a 6" take up reel.

    About midway through the show I realize that isnt going to work very well...so in one commercial break I rewound the reel, put it on a new spool and cued it up with seconds to spare. That feeling, though, stayed with me, that nervous knot you get in your stomach trying to beat the clock...I relive that in my dreams all the time.

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    IslandRed (10-08-2014)


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