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Q102 back to speeding up the music

W

whitenoise

Noticed it recently when scanning around. Not really into pop music as much anymore but a song that I do like was playing and I noticed it sounded a little different. Loaded up the original on my computer and messed around with the speed while syncing it up to Q102’s version and noticed they had sped the song up by exactly 3% in both pitch and tempo. Listened for an extra 15 minutes and occasionally would test against the original songs and confirmed that it was being done on a consistent basis.

If I remember correctly, they used to do this exact same thing back in the late 90s up until 2008 when they started playing music back at their normal speeds. Pretty sure it was a tactic used to sound more “energetic” thus making the competition sound slower. Pretty interesting to hear them do it again 13 years later.
 
Always drives me nuts. One thing I don't like is that producers work pretty hard to get these songs "just right" and tempo, is of course, a big part of that. Sometimes they play with the speed themselves before finishing the song. A lot of times, a radio edit is already pitched up, so when a station speeds up an already sped-up song, the vocals just sound ridiculous. I remember way back in like 1991(?) hearing Q102 play a Paula Abdul song ("Vibeology") and she didn't even sound like a human being. (And I love that song! I still listen to it!) And aside from all that, this practice has never sounded "energetic" or "bright" to me. It sounded silly and annoying.
 
There are actually a couple dance remixes of "Set Fire To the Rain" that are quite good!
 
CTListener said:
I can see "Rolling in the Deep" working as a dance track, too.
Click to expand...
Actually, that's the one I've heard more mixes of. I misspoke earlier. There's a Downtown London Remix Radio Edit of "Rolling in the Deep" that is really good. I've also come across a Ken C Remix, SpectraSoul Bootleg mix, and D&H Remix. The remix I've heard of "Set Fire to the Rain" is called Moto Blanco Edit.
 
Its even weirder when they speed up the tempo but not the pitch. You can always tell. You can hear the beats sounding off. or when a note is held at any point.
I'm not a fan of either one!
WTDY does this for a lot (but not all) songs.
Same with WIOQ>
WIOQ started doing this in 1999 when they went from a more Dance leaning CHR to Mainstream CHR.
 
whitenoise said:
Noticed it recently when scanning around. Not really into pop music as much anymore but a song that I do like was playing and I noticed it sounded a little different. Loaded up the original on my computer and messed around with the speed while syncing it up to Q102’s version and noticed they had sped the song up by exactly 3% in both pitch and tempo. Listened for an extra 15 minutes and occasionally would test against the original songs and confirmed that it was being done on a consistent basis.

If I remember correctly, they used to do this exact same thing back in the late 90s up until 2008 when they started playing music back at their normal speeds. Pretty sure it was a tactic used to sound more “energetic” thus making the competition sound slower. Pretty interesting to hear them do it again 13 years later.
Click to expand...
As a teen back in the 70s I used to tape record songs off the radio. For some reason, maybe because my batteries were weak when I recorded a particular song, whenever I played it back, it was faster than the versions on the radio. I was used to "my" version and couldn't listen to the radio version after that, as it sounded so slow.

Once on the juice, it's hard to get off it!
 
flybynight said:
As a teen back in the 70s I used to tape record songs off the radio. For some reason, maybe because my batteries were weak when I recorded a particular song, whenever I played it back, it was faster than the versions on the radio. I was used to "my" version and couldn't listen to the radio version after that, as it sounded so slow.

Once on the juice, it's hard to get off it!
Click to expand...
I have the same issue except it's caused by the stations that speed up the song. I got used to the slightly sped up radio version of "Stay" from Kid Laroi and Justin Beiber. When I went to listen to it on Spotify it sounded slower and not as energetic.
 
tvk5195 said:
I have the same issue except it's caused by the stations that speed up the song. I got used to the slightly sped up radio version of "Stay" from Kid Laroi and Justin Beiber. When I went to listen to it on Spotify it sounded slower and not as energetic.
Click to expand...

That dive me nuts them doing that.
it also sounds weird when they change the tempo and not pitch.
 
I wonder if this was a company wide edict for CHR, at least in major markets?

WKQI in Detroit sounds more "sped up" than I've ever heard it.
 
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