Quote:
Originally Posted by flameswin
I stopped listening to Jack FM for this very reason. This new stupid trend of the measure of a radio stations success being how many songs they play, not how many minutes of music they play.
So stupid, Jack 96.9 has cut down all my favourite songs and they always take out the best parts. Best example is November rain. It's a 9 minute song, but one of their staples, so they took out the first guitar solo and the epic ending of the song, making it about a 5 minute song. It's unbelievably stupid to even play that song if you're taking the best parts out.
There's a whole list of songs they have cut huge parts out of, so they can say 'We play more songs than anyone!". Who gives a ****? They're not complete song and you lost a listener. Losers.
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I understand your dismay in not playing the full song. Personally, I always play full versions whenever possible.
But I also fear long songs, from an entertainment perspective. In a world of 140 character news info, how long can you expect someone to stay tuned in if they
don't like a song?
It's easier to lose an audience than it is to gain one.
There are a ton of songs that have entrances or dénouements that are detrimental to playing the entirety of the song. Couple examples:
2 Pac - California Love. Great tune but the last minute is, well... stretched.
Prince - Let's Go Crazy has 35 seconds (or a min depending on your perspective) of intro that can kill a crowd.
As noted prior, song lengths tended to fit in the media available, i.e. 45 singles. KTel had an influence on song length as well.
Obviously there are classics from the likes of Elvis or Jerry Lee Lewis that are quite short, but there are also other modern day songs that also can fit that length:
Blur - Song 2
Georgia Satelites - Hippy Hippy Shake
Wait, what? After typing these, I realized they are classics too.... now.
Bottom line is that song lengths adapts to the media that is prevalent. Current dwindling listenership seems to be forcing a return to shorter songs.
Time will tell.