Has speeding up songs finally fallen out of favour?
4-Tel
Posts: 607 Forum Member
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I have been amazed to hear Heart playing out tracks at much closer to normal speed in recent weeks. I first noticed it during Club Classics (the only show I routinely listen to) last month, but from what I've heard, it is the same across the rest of the output. The Bauer Place 2 stations have also largely stopped speeding up songs.
Personally, I couldn't be happier, having detested the practice since it became commonplace in the mid-1990s. But as both parent companies and their forerunners have been die-hard pitch benders for so long, I am guessing the policy change has been driven by research into listener preference - otherwise, why suddenly change?
Personally, I couldn't be happier, having detested the practice since it became commonplace in the mid-1990s. But as both parent companies and their forerunners have been die-hard pitch benders for so long, I am guessing the policy change has been driven by research into listener preference - otherwise, why suddenly change?
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Am sure Kiss still do it ever so slightly . Play them at normal speed
Heart maybe playing songs at the correct speed, but instead they just edit them! I recently heard them play The Cutting Crew 'I Just Died In Your Arms' it edited down!
How do you justify editing a classic anthem such as this? What's the status with editing songs? Do Ofcom allow it?
In fact, I recall Radio 1 doing it back in the day, during the chart show on Sunday's!
but was they listening to the "original" that had just been sped up or was it a fast "cover" that they was listening to?
i have noticed that a lot of "covers" and "remixes" these days usually appear to be sped up to some degree especially "dance remixes".
Now for those saying Heart might pitch up tunes to chipmunk speeds thats not the case, its the tune that has been made that way. Here is another example of vocals sped up so that it runs in time with the fast tune produced, those who are familiar with Happy Hardcore music will get what I mean https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3feLszVqeQs clever sampling by producers back in the day.
What Heart do though is butcher tunes by editing parts of the tunes out so that they are shorter so their not giving the listener the full track. Heart don't speed up the tunes to insane speeds, they may pitch it up by plus 1 or 2 but nothing to insane speeds where its all chipmunked.
I hope my post explains a little of how dance music is produced as its done differently than pop music.
But it's the fact they have suddenly stopped the practice which I find curious - especially when it has, sadly, become routine over the past couple of decades. Being so brand-focussed, there has got to be some basis for the change other than the personal preference of whoever in the network is responsible for the decision.
The pitch of the tracks on Heart never seemed to alter in spite of them being noticeably fast (my guess is between 2-3%) - which ties in with something I read here about it now being possible to speed up tracks to a certain degree without affecting the pitch. For me, this was only slightly less objectionable.
When Atlantic 252 used to speed up back in the early 1990s, the pitch change was obvious to the tone deaf, as it was when the then EMAP stations adopted the policy later in the decade.
The club classics I'm listening to on Heart right now sound so much better - all we need now is some variety.....;-)
Even the Big Top 40 has stopped speeding up, having done so for about 15 years. I'd be so interested to know what is behind these sudden changes.
However, both Heart & Capital do have full and shorter edits of tracks.
They do this for timing purposes.
Usually you'll hear the full length versions, but if a show is running over, a full version may be replaced with an edited one where necessary.
Possibly Shazam related? It has major issues identifying tracks that have been mangled for pitch etc. If people can't Shazam songs from the radio these days then they and the record companies are going to get very annoyed.
House music has always been around 124bpm. Progressive House (which is what Kiss and Capital use) aims at 128bpm.
To be pedantic, the type of dance music those stations play is a mix of this so called "deep house" some tropical house tracks and general main stream dance I'm aware kiss do have other specialist shows playing other genres. now individually some of the tracks might be classed as progressive house and listed on the various websites as such but progressive house they definitely aren't. Personally i have no issue with these styles being played as i like almost all styles of dance music to a greater or lesser extent but the trend by the industry to class 1 genre of music as another when it clearly isn't is a nucence (note i don't blame the individual listener here but the music industry itself)
Do Kiss actually play Prog House? From what I hear at work its endless Rianna and Sheeran remixes.
No sadly. However years ago they would have (on the specialist shows of course, not during non-specialist shows)
I agree it's annoying when songs are sped up slightly/played at a higher pitch. The Kiss stations do this to many of the songs and it sounds horrible.
It seems they cut songs a lot more these days to the point it has become unbearable for me to listen. It drives me insane so I avoid Heart now.
While I'm sure the average listener won't have noticed, there must have been a reason for the repeated changes.