Radio Stations and cutting out segued songs

[roadman65]

Many Classic Rock Stations, prominently with Pink Floyd, that has albums with all the songs segueing into each other, makes ending a song real challenge to program directors especially with Next Gen, the program that plays the songs from a pre set queue.

Most notably the songs played from the Dark Side of the Moon such as Breath and Us And Them where the songs have no fade outs or outros.  Many times you will hear both tracks quickly end to avoid playing the next tracks. Though on Wish You Were Here songs like the Title Track and Shine On You Crazy Diamond at least have long  fade outs  or instrumental endings so the abrupt end is not created, but on Dark Side of The Moon you have to stop Breathe before the first sound effects of On The Run which is the song that immediately starts from Breath's last line. Ditto for US And Them as Any Color You Like starts pronto after the " The Old Man Died"  verse of the aforementioned track.

However WPLJ in New York would let On The Run and Any Color You Like play for a few bars before a quick slow fade or let On The Run's first line play to make it sound like both songs actually have a little bit of an outro.   That IMO is how it should be done, but WMMO in Orlando drops the song end quickly for the next song on the station playlist.

Considering that Speak To Me is played with Breathe, another song before it, IMO itwon't hurt to play part of On The Run either.

On Chicago It's Hard To Say I'm Sorry most stations seem like the end of that which segues into another track afterwards, has trouble finding the right spot to quickly fade that one out.  Each on air personality ends the song at various points or some play the next track completely ( which is a rockety tune sort of like the band's roots before going to ballads) to avoid the hassle.

Then on Another Brick In The Wall Part Two most stations I hear, play Happiest Days Of Our Lives ( the preceding song on the album) to avoid the abrupt start that has. However, I have heard some versions actually play an intro to Another Brick In The Wall Part Two and WPLJ when they were a Classic Rock Station were able to mix perfectly Another Brick Part One into Part Two without any problem to make all three song parts as one whole song sacrificing the end with the child crying and the " How can you have any pudding"  line for the part three song to end it all.

So how does most stations you know handle ending a song fading directly into the next song?

[kevinb1994]

Many Classic Rock Stations, prominently with Pink Floyd, that has albums with all the songs segueing into each other, makes ending a song real challenge to program directors especially with Next Gen, the program that plays the songs from a pre set queue.

Most notably the songs played from the Dark Side of the Moon such as Breath and Us And Them where the songs have no fade outs or outros.  Many times you will hear both tracks quickly end to avoid playing the next tracks. Though on Wish You Were Here songs like the Title Track and Shine On You Crazy Diamond at least have long  fade outs  or instrumental endings so the abrupt end is not created, but on Dark Side of The Moon you have to stop Breathe before the first sound effects of On The Run which is the song that immediately starts from Breath's last line. Ditto for US And Them as Any Color You Like starts pronto after the " The Old Man Died"  verse of the aforementioned track.

However WPLJ in New York would let On The Run and Any Color You Like play for a few bars before a quick slow fade or let On The Run's first line play to make it sound like both songs actually have a little bit of an outro.   That IMO is how it should be done, but WMMO in Orlando drops the song end quickly for the next song on the station playlist.

Considering that Speak To Me is played with Breathe, another song before it, IMO itwon't hurt to play part of On The Run either.

On Chicago It's Hard To Say I'm Sorry most stations seem like the end of that which segues into another track afterwards, has trouble finding the right spot to quickly fade that one out.  Each on air personality ends the song at various points or some play the next track completely ( which is a rockety tune sort of like the band's roots before going to ballads) to avoid the hassle.

Then on Another Brick In The Wall Part Two most stations I hear, play Happiest Days Of Our Lives ( the preceding song on the album) to avoid the abrupt start that has. However, I have heard some versions actually play an intro to Another Brick In The Wall Part Two and WPLJ when they were a Classic Rock Station were able to mix perfectly Another Brick Part One into Part Two without any problem to make all three song parts as one whole song sacrificing the end with the child crying and the " How can you have any pudding"  line for the part three song to end it all.

So how does most stations you know handle ending a song fading directly into the next song?

Sirius XM has no problem with segues.

[Rothman]

Huh.  When was the last time I listened to the radio?  Outside of tuning into traffic advisories...three years ago or so.

[ErmineNotyours]

XTC's "Dear God" ended with a rhythm pattern at the end (back when I still heard it on the radio).  I thought that was how the song ended until I heard the album and found out that was the start of the next song.  There are other examples out there that I can't remember right now.

[JoePCool14]

Huh.  When was the last time I listened to the radio?  Outside of tuning into traffic advisories...three years ago or so.

People still listen to radio. I still turn on the WDRV Chicago when I'm at home sometimes. I usually just want a slightly different mix than my own playlist. Also, if I'm on my own playlist, I skip so many songs that I always hear a similar selection, wearing me down on those specific songs. Listening to the radio forces me to listen to songs (or ads) I don't necessarily want to hear in order for the good songs to stand out.

Yes, it's a bit odd, but somewhat true.

[kphoger]

Back when I was making mix tapes, I would either fade in or fade out in such cases.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

On SiriusXM when they play Us and Them, their way out is to loop the "died" from the final line "the old man died" and fade it out.

[michravera]

On SiriusXM when they play Us and Them, their way out is to loop the "died" from the final line "the old man died" and fade it out.

I haven't heard either pair on the radio lately, but back in the day, I never heard "This Beat Goes On / Switching to Glide" by the Kings or "HeartBreaker / Living Loving Maid" by Led Zeppelin EXCEPT together.

[abefroman329]

On SiriusXM when they play Us and Them, their way out is to loop the "died" from the final line "the old man died" and fade it out.

I haven't heard either pair on the radio lately, but back in the day, I never heard..."HeartBreaker / Living Loving Maid" by Led Zeppelin EXCEPT together.

My understanding is that that was because it was physically impossible to remove the needle from the record at the end of Heartbreaker and before Living Loving Maid started.

[golden eagle]

It's Hard to Say I'm Sorry from Chicago fades about before it begins to segue into the postlude "Get Away". Also, Prince's I Would Die For You hits a "brick wall" on radio because on the Purple Rain soundtrack, it goes right into Baby I'm A Star.

[hbelkins]

On SiriusXM when they play Us and Them, their way out is to loop the "died" from the final line "the old man died" and fade it out.

I haven't heard either pair on the radio lately, but back in the day, I never heard..."HeartBreaker / Living Loving Maid" by Led Zeppelin EXCEPT together.

My understanding is that that was because it was physically impossible to remove the needle from the record at the end of Heartbreaker and before Living Loving Maid started.

Interesting that this one gets mentioned, because it's the one I was going to bring up. Back in the LP days, I heard "Living Loving Maid" and "Ramble On" together. It was only in later years that the combo became "Heartbreaker" and "Living Loving Maid."

[abefroman329]

On SiriusXM when they play Us and Them, their way out is to loop the "died" from the final line "the old man died" and fade it out.

I haven't heard either pair on the radio lately, but back in the day, I never heard..."HeartBreaker / Living Loving Maid" by Led Zeppelin EXCEPT together.

My understanding is that that was because it was physically impossible to remove the needle from the record at the end of Heartbreaker and before Living Loving Maid started.

Interesting that this one gets mentioned, because it's the one I was going to bring up. Back in the LP days, I heard "Living Loving Maid" and "Ramble On" together. It was only in later years that the combo became "Heartbreaker" and "Living Loving Maid."

It might have been because LLM has no intro and just sort of...starts.

[epzik8]

XTC's "Dear God" ended with a rhythm pattern at the end (back when I still heard it on the radio).  I thought that was how the song ended until I heard the album and found out that was the start of the next song.  There are other examples out there that I can't remember right now.

That song, "Dying", also has similar chords to "Dear God".

[jp the roadgeek]

On SiriusXM when they play Us and Them, their way out is to loop the "died" from the final line "the old man died" and fade it out.

I haven't heard either pair on the radio lately, but back in the day, I never heard..."HeartBreaker / Living Loving Maid" by Led Zeppelin EXCEPT together.

My understanding is that that was because it was physically impossible to remove the needle from the record at the end of Heartbreaker and before Living Loving Maid started.

Interesting that this one gets mentioned, because it's the one I was going to bring up. Back in the LP days, I heard "Living Loving Maid" and "Ramble On" together. It was only in later years that the combo became "Heartbreaker" and "Living Loving Maid."

It might have been because LLM has no intro and just sort of...starts.

Another one like that is Feeling That Way/Anytime by Journey.  Absolutely no pause between the Way and Ooooh, Anytime that you want me so it makes it seem like it's one long song. 

[abefroman329]

On SiriusXM when they play Us and Them, their way out is to loop the "died" from the final line "the old man died" and fade it out.

I haven't heard either pair on the radio lately, but back in the day, I never heard..."HeartBreaker / Living Loving Maid" by Led Zeppelin EXCEPT together.

My understanding is that that was because it was physically impossible to remove the needle from the record at the end of Heartbreaker and before Living Loving Maid started.

Interesting that this one gets mentioned, because it's the one I was going to bring up. Back in the LP days, I heard "Living Loving Maid" and "Ramble On" together. It was only in later years that the combo became "Heartbreaker" and "Living Loving Maid."

It might have been because LLM has no intro and just sort of...starts.

Another one like that is Feeling That Way/Anytime by Journey.  Absolutely no pause between the Way and Ooooh, Anytime that you want me so it makes it seem like it's one long song.

I...did not know those were two different songs.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Queen has said We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions were never intended to be played as one, but most stations do to the point it surprised me once when they played one without the other.

[michravera]

Queen has said We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions were never intended to be played as one, but most stations do to the point it surprised me once when they played one without the other.

I'm not sure who did the "intending". They were certainly available together as a single in the US.

[kphoger]

Queen has said We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions were never intended to be played as one, but most stations do to the point it surprised me once when they played one without the other.

It's actually a pet peeve of mine that they're always played together on the radio.

[bandit957]

Donna Summer's greatest hits set was like this too.

[bandit957]

"Head Over Heels" by Tears For Fears has this long ending like "Hard To Say I'm Sorry" does that sounds like it might really be listed as a separate track on the album. But the only station I ever remember that played the long ending was WLAP-FM.

[bandit957]

Another unusual record was "One Night In Bangkok" by Murray Head. Some versions have this long symphonic intro that goes right into the vocals. 'American Top 40' and MTV had that version. I think the commercial 45 may have had this, while the promo 45 may have had the version that was heard on the radio more, which WCLU and Q-102 played. But WLAP-FM may have played the version with the symphonic intro.

[LilianaUwU]

When I aired "Home by the Sea" and "Second Home by the Sea" by Genesis on the radio, I opted to air the two parts in two consecutive episodes, as if the first episode was a cliffhanger for the second.

[roadman65]

One song I used to think was one was The Load Out/ Stay by Jackson Browne. In fact I remember that Stay was a cover of a Maurice Williams tune back in the early sixties. That confused me as Richard Pryor had not yet became famous, so I wondered why it was in there until I learned the whole first part was not a Maurice Williams song and a separate track.

Some soft rock stations do leave off The Load Out and start Stay as begins abruptly just as some radio stations play only the end of We're Not Gonna Take It by The Who starting with " See Me Feel Me etc."  instead of the entire song starting with " Welcome to the camp, etc."

[Henry]

Queen has said We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions were never intended to be played as one, but most stations do to the point it surprised me once when they played one without the other.

It's actually a pet peeve of mine that they're always played together on the radio.

I thought about that one too. Although there's no fade out between the former's guitar solo and the latter's opening, it's easy to see where the song changes. The single edit of We Will Rock You simply ends after the guitar part.

A trickier example of this is Earth, Wind & Fire's After the Love Has Gone, whose ending bleeds directly into another song which I can't remember offhand, but it has the often repeated line "Gotta let your feelings show". On the full album cut, the sax solo slowly fades out during the new song's intro, while the single just ends on said solo.

[abefroman329]

The downside to Pandora and the like is that they'll play songs like this by themselves, when it seems doubtful that that's how the artist(s) wanted people to listen to it.