The song was indeed familiar, but this version sounded different than the track I’ve listened to most of my life.
“Heartless,” by the 1970s rock band Heart, was playing in my car via satellite radio. I’m an analogue holdout, but I acquiesced after years of SiriusXM offers of free trials via Ford Motor Co.
I’m enjoying the final days of my free two-month subscription. Decisions, decisions.
I’ve been like a kid who enters a sprawling two-story shopping mall and heads straight to the arcade, then gradually expanding his awareness and realizing there are other stores he should explore.
Anyway, I finally turned the dial beyond the ’70s on 7 and ’80s on 8 channels. I ended up on an unfamiliar channel playing an unfamiliar version of “Heartless.”
The digital display confirmed the artist was Heart. Next to the song title, however, was “demo” in parentheses.
That explained why the song sounded stripped-down and rather flat. But it made me wonder why a demo track would be offered to listeners.
Why not play the finished product? You would never hear an unpolished version of a song on an FM radio station.
You would never see a draft of one of my columns published in the newspaper. One of the challenges of writing a column is to make your point and bring it to a conclusion within no more than 12 column inches, which is fewer than 500 words.
I usually exceed that limit while composing, requiring me to start cutting and tightening.
I needed to take the pruning shears to last week’s column, “Accused’s right to speedy trial can be slow process.” I was running about 200 words over the threshold when I ran my initial word count.
Panic set in. After a breakfast burrito and more coffee, I grabbed the shears.
I cut entire paragraphs. I had intended to include more examples of Berks cases that have languished close to three years on the dockets, but something had to give.
Then I cut unneeded transitional sentences. That allowed just enough room for a kicker, the concluding sentence.
The opposite process transforms a demo track into a song deemed worthy of release.
In addition to some lead guitar garnishment, the producer or someone must have suggested the juxtaposition of “HEART-less” and “Heart-LESS” in the chorus.
Stressing different syllables of the same word as it is repeated capitalized on lead singer Ann Wilson’s powerful voice and range. It made all the difference.
Then why, I ask again, did I hear the relatively lame demo track?
In search of answers, I turned to Google, which churned out a concise AI overview as if it were waiting for that question.
Some SiriusXM channels use demos to enhance the listening experience by providing unique and rare content to subscribers.
For music nerds, demos offer insight into the creative process by giving a glimpse into a song’s creation.
Count me in.
Source: Berkshire mont
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