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From: merchant@dartvax.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.music
Subject: Re: Albums and 45's in Top 40 stations - there aren't any!
Message-ID: <1813@dartvax.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 9-Jun-84 12:40:12 EDT
Article-I.D.: dartvax.1813
Posted: Sat Jun  9 12:40:12 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 13-Jun-84 01:44:56 EDT
References: <186@ssc-vax.UUCP>
Organization: Dartmouth College
Lines: 43

{ }

Well, yes, many stations tend to use carts.  However, I believe the
sound quality isn't quite so good, but you make up for it with longer
lasting music.  (Nothing is worse than "Orville Redenbacher's greatest
popcorn hits)

When I refered to "singles", however, I should have been a little
clearer.  "Singles", sometimes, are edited forms of the album cut.
If the cut is too long or has a very loud section (lots of heavy  
guitars, for example) it may be cut so that it is, in theory, more
pleasing.  Sometimes it works: Robert Plant and "In The Mood" is a
very nice single.  I found the album cut boring.  There's a minute
and a half of him just kind of humming "I'm in the mood" while music
plays in the background.  Snore city.

But, as we all know, this isn't always true.  I don't like the 
editting job that they did on "Another Brick In The Wall".  They
left out the marvelous little tinkling noises on Alan Parson's
"Damned if I do" and they really chopped up Michael Jackson's
"Thriller".  I'll admit, they weren't going to release it as a
single and changed their minds at the last minute, but...

The best example, though, is the new Duran Duran single, "The Reflex."
The album cut I rather like.  At the radio station I was at, I talked
with the music director while we were listening to the song for the
first time, from the album.  We hadn't received the single.  It's a bit
lengthy for Top 40 play (5:35) and we were trying to figure out how
they would edit it.  But even with all the revisions and edits that we
came up with, the best we could knock it down to was about 5:00.
 
So what do they do?  The remix it at about 2% the normal speed and
stick some reverbs in at strategic points and the song is 4:22.
And it sounds like something an engineer would do to show off what
a multitrack mixing board can do.  As I say, it's not a song, it's
a "techno-toy."
--
"Stop!                                  Peter Merchant
 Son!
 What are you doing?!
 That's no way to treat an expensive
 musical instrument!"  -- Jim Steinman