Ever become totally addicted to a song that’s about two minutes long? Punk fans know what I mean, but they probably don’t understand my issue with that.
I’ve recently stumbled upon “Milf” by 88 Keys and Bilal, which is the best R&B song I’ve heard in awhile.
(Sidenote: If you don’t know anything about Bilal, check out 1st Born Second, a classic soul record from 2001. And to be honest, I can’t believe it’s been that long. Damn. Here is a link to Bilal and 88 Keys putting the song together: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&
amp;videoid=1712049519 and here is some other work from him: http://www.myspace.com/locksmithmusic)
But moreover, this begs the question about the two-minute song. Why do songwriters and producers do this? There are several great songs that end about two minutes too short, and for no damned reason. They could pull a Herman’s Hermits – “Second verse, same as first – in these songs and no one would notice. No one wants a bloated six minutes, you want a relevant song, you still want that edge that the music contained when you loved it. I’m only looking for a happy medium somewhere between the two minutes of every pop-punk song and the 23 minutes of “Dark Star.”
When I buy a CD, I love looking at the end time and seeing a 74:03, or something like D’Angelo’s Voodoo that came in at near 80 minutes. But I don’t want a bunch of skits or filler songs thrown in that detract from the experience of the album. I want a cohesive record that I identify with.
I complied a brief list of songs that deserved at least another bridge, chorus or verse, with disqualifications levied on punk songs (every song in the genre is shorter than a sneeze), and bands recording music during times when 3:05 was an acceptable amount, leaving most Beatles songs off of this list even though there are about 15 that could and need to be about 30 seconds to 45 seconds longer.)
Ta-dah:
Andre 3000 f/Norah Jones – Take off your cool (2:37)
John Mayer – I’m Gonna Find Another You (2:43)
Alice in Chains – Them Bones (2:29)
The Beatles – Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (2:03)
Green Day – She (2:14, I’m breaking my own rule about putting punk on here because they’ve really tried to become U2-lite. And if they want to save the fucking manatees or whatever cause they are taking up, then Green Day can go back and add another verse to She – that isn’t politically motivated – when they make a 15-year anniversary edition. I believe Green Day owes us that.)
Def Squad – Y’all N***as Aint Ready (2:43, A ridiculous beat, but seriously, don’t put the “N” word in the title. Us crackers like singing along, too. Instead, we just threw someone’s name in there and sang it the same way.)
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Porcelain (2:43)
Them (Van Morrison) – Baby Please Don’t Go (2:42, Yes I realize this is a cover.)
Nice and Smooth – Sometimes I Rhyme Slow (2:48)
Weezer – Suzanne (2:45)
Foo Fighters – Hell (1:57)
Method Man and Redman – Da Rockwilder (2:16)
White Stripes – We’re Going to be Friends (2:22)
Neil Young – Heart of Gold (3:06)
Faith No More – Easy (3:06, Lionel gave the Commodores a full minute more.)
Kanye West f/Common – My Way Home (1:43)
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Pretty Little Ditty (3:07, Listed not for length but for being an instrumental and totally abandoning a killer grove. Later, their friends named Crazy Town took a loop of it and gave us “Butterfly.” And that song is fucking horrible, if not for containing the phrase “Girl you and me like Sid and Nancy.” In a love song? Really? Sid killed Nancy. What a sentiment.)
And with that, I’ll keep this blog short and sweet. What are some that come to your mind?
♫ ♫ ♫ ♫
Elliot is listening to the new will.i.am album, but he’s really not even sure why.
