Southwest Messenger - June 30th, 2019

PAGE 4 - SOUTHWEST MESSENGER - June 30, 2019
Opinion Page
www.columbusmessenger.com
Ever since I was a kid spinning 45 rpm
vinyl records on a portable record player
that had a felt covered platter, (Yes, I’m
ancient) I’ve wondered why some pop and
rock songs end by fading out while others
have a definitive ending.
I’m not a musician or a record producer,
so I’m not well versed in the recording
process. But someone does make a conscious
decision on how to end a song, be it
the songwriter or the producer.
A few years ago National Public Radio
researched this topic and reported that it
comes down to a couple of reasons: 1) the
fade out made it easier for radio disc jockeys
to control the end of a song to allow for
commercials, etc.; and 2) some artists feel
the lingering fade out enhances the listening
experience by repeating the song’s chorus
or “hook.”
That being said, which is better, the
fade out or the definitive ending?
I asked an old musician friend of mine,
Matt Wyatt - who played guitar for the Great
Plains and now performs with The 3 Speeds -
which he preferred: the fade out or the definitive
ending.
“My thoughts about fade outs are, does the
band feel stupid repeating a phrase, knowing
it is not gonna be completely heard? Wyatt
said. “I prefer clipped, sudden endings.”
Fade outs can be long or short. They can
trick you sometimes by fading out and then
coming back before fading out again. I’m
looking at you, psychedelic
era Beatles.
Speaking of The
Fab Four, the long
fade out on the
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The long and short goodbyes of songs
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Beatles’ “Hey Jude” works because it is a
mesmerizing chant.
Some short fade outs almost serve as an
abrupt ending, like on Bob Dylan’s “Love
Minus Zero/No Limit,” which is a song I
love. On this song, the fade out is tantalizingly
short making me wish it could at
least go on for a few more seconds.
Some songs that on a recording have a
fade out can sometimes cause a band problems
when performed live. It seems like the
band does not know how to end such a song
in a clean way. So during live performances
they often strum guitars really fast and
end the song with a “chunk” of drums, bass,
and guitar all at once. There are too many
instances of this to name that fit this mold.
Come up with an ending!
A song with good definitive ending is
like coming to the end of a good book. The
sound ties up neatly and satisfyingly, such
as with The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled
Again.” Some endings can be almost jarring,
but fit the song’s attitude such as The
Music Machine’s “Talk, Talk,” which ends
with a bam in a sharp, clipped vocal.
“No matter what you hear on a record,
you’re hearing a structured performance in a
studio that is worked on to get a certain
Are you, like many, trying to shed some pounds?
If so, don’t watch television or drive past any fast
food joints because sabotage is waiting around every
channel and corner!
Try eating responsibly when you are faced with a
grocery bag of burgers or pig trough size dinner plate
filled to the rim with food. Perhaps I should use the
term platter instead of plate because, along with
America’s waistline, the size of our china is growing
along with our appetites.
A new chicken commercial touts the deliciousness of
a bowl with layer upon layer of chicken, gravy, potatoes,
etc. that looks more like a Jackson Pollack menu
mash-up.
When I was a little girl, my parents would drive 10
miles to a BBF–Burger Boy Food-O-Rama–at the
corner of Dering Road and High Street on the south
side of Columbus for a hamburger and fries. It was a
rare occasion and one our small family indulged in, at
the most, once a month.
Back in the 1960s, a normal, adult-size meal consisted
of a hamburger, small bag of fries, and a small
soda–pretty much the same components of what is
now a children’s meal at fast-food restaurants of today.
Funny thing about the 1960s, people were satisfied
with a lot less food.
I do not remember my mother or father feeling like
they needed to eat more than what the simple meal
contained. They did not “Super Size” their order with
more or bigger burgers or slurp down what amounted
to a six-pack of soda in one cup.
One hamburger. One bag of fries. One soda. One
meal.
Point of View
Rick Palsgrove
sound, but at the
same time the band
wants you to feel the
immediacy of the
music,” said Wyatt.
“When a song is ending,
a fade out can
snap you out of
denial because you’re
obviously hearing
someone going away who isn’t really going
away.”
It’s all a musical jumble and anyway
and the songs we like are all so subjective.
Ultimately it is up to each of us to decide
what we like best when listening to our
favorite tunes and no matter how a song
ends, all we need to do is replay it to relive
the experience.
I could end this column with a fade out
or just stop.
Rick Palsgrove is the managing editor of the
Columbus Messenger Newspapers.
Portions can ruin a weight loss plan
Places - By Linda Dillman
When did we turn the corner to mega burgers,
bulging boxes of fries, and pails of soda? Or single
plates at a buffet house filled with enough food to feed
a family of four? How often have you seen people push
themselves away from a table at a buffet, half-eaten
plates still piled with food?
My grandma would have said, “Look at that, what a
waste. Their eyes were bigger than their stomachs.”
Who needs a country fried steak, mashed potatoes,
and green beans all swimming in the same sea of milk
gravy? Why serve a salad with enough greens to feed a
whole rabbit hutch on a plate the size of an old vinyl
record? Is it really necessary to dine on a hamburger
consisting of dual patties, a double dose of cheese, and
topped by multiple slices of bacon followed by a chocolate
shake chaser?
Try going into a restaurant and ordering a normal
size portion. My mother went to a corner eatery the
other day and asked about a salad accented with chicken.
The server admitted the salad size was large
enough for two, but my mother was a single diner and
since it was impractical to ask for a doggie bag for a
salad, half the meal went to waste.
My advice to restaurants, open up the children’s
menu to people older than 12 or the senior menu to
non-seniors (or nearly seniors, like me). Companies
downsize. Why can’t restaurants downsize their portions?
Instead of hiking up the price, cut costs by cutting
portions. Restaurants and diners would both benefit
with less waste and less waist.
Linda Dillman is a Messenger staff writer.