The Fade Out

According to William Weir the under appreciated fade-out in popular music is heading for extinction - The year end top ten songs for 2011, 2012 & 2013 had just one song between them that fades out (Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines) compared with all ten of the 1985 list.

Slate// The Sad, Gradual decline of the fade-out in popular music

Whether a song has a cold finish or a fade can depend on a number of factors. Some songs lend themselves to an abrupt ending, others are more suited to a more gradual finale. If deployed correctly the fade out can extend the songs existence, allowing it to live on in the listeners head past it's physical end.

One of the reasons Weir gives for the decline of the fade is the skip culture that today's youth have been brought up with; listening to fragments of songs before skipping forward to the next one on their MP3 player.

Some of the best fades are those that reward the listener who has lasted the distance with something a bit different, a vocal ad-lib or change of emphasis from one of the instruments. Some even fade out just as they are at their most interesting.. The squealing guitar at the end of Lou Reed's Rock 'N' Roll, the uplifting call and response between Gladys Knight and The Pips at the end of Midnight Train to Georgia, the guitar solo fade of Dire Straits Sultans of Swing. The list goes on. And on. And on.