For No One by the Beatles is my favourite example of this. It only lasts 1:59 and yet is so tight and perfect, probably my favourite song of theirs tbh
That was the song that I thought he was going to mention when I saw Paul in the thumbnail. And man, how it ends both resolved and yet not perfectly complimenting the lyrics, it's fantastic!
For Free? by Kendrick Lamar is one of the favorite interludes. I love that the whole song feels like a jazz song but with Kendrick rapping over it, I know that can apply to a lot of TPAB but that’s where I think it’s felt the most.
I mean, Yesterday by The Beatles is also just over two minutes and it's one of the most emotionally moving pieces of popular music ever written, and is one of the most re-recorded songs to this day.
Solo (reprise) off of blonde is also great, andré 3000 chokes you with his words and at the end you can almost feel yourself gasping for air as if you had performed it yourself.
Can't believe They Might Be Giants weren't mentioned. Particle Man, Kiss Me Son of God, Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love, Number Three, Chess Piece Face, Cage and Aquarium, Hot Cha, Stomp Box, etc
Good choices in the video. You said a few of the ones I was thinkin' of. A few of my fav's on top of that - J Dilla - "Waves" Aphex Twin - "Avril 14th" Aphex Twin - "#17" (Z-Twig) Cat Stevens - "The Wind" Bill Withers - "Ain't No Sunshine" Edit: how could I forget? The Misfits - "Halloween"
Lets not forget everybodys dead by underscores. It feels like youre going through the entire song in an instant while also listening to a normal lenght track, its just verse verse chorus chorus and then it abruptly ends going into the next song
If we’re talking about underscores, heck has gotta be my favorite for her short songs. In under 2 minutes it manages to deliver an amazing buildup into one of the most powerful climaxes I’ve heard, before abruptly cutting to a very fitting outro. Such an incredible song and artist
While only 1 song on Reign in Blood by Slayer is under 2 minutes, only 3 of the 10 songs go to 3 minutes or longer and the album is 28 minutes in total. The band didn't realize how short the album was until they were done making it, but decided to keep it how it was because it was still impactful
I was surprised when I got around to the album that Leonard Cohen was my favourite song on The Record by boygenius. There's something really sweet about its reminiscing about a random moment in a relationship that gets me.
laugh tracks, the album counting worms comes from, is a very worthwhile listen. i didn’t used to generally listen to such forward and aggressive music, but coming to appreciate this album made it a lot easier to listen to similar stuff. now i have a new kind of music i like, which is always cool
My nomination for best short song band is They Might Be Giants. I think most of their albums have multiple sub 2 min songs. Even songs over 3 min are rarities.
Guided by Voices are masters at creating bangers at under 2 minutes. Take songs like Game of Pricks, As we go up, we go down, Queen of cans and jars, Blimps go 90, Hot Freaks, A Salty salute, My son cool, little whirl, How loft I am, Drinker’s peace, the rally boys and Doughnut for a snowman as examples.
There is an Abbey Road esque outro to the album "WORRY" by Jeff Rosenstock. It is really an incredible album. It has quite a bit of timeless struggling young person appeal but also does great with modernizing those vibes to how the struggles of youth are experienced on the internet, through algorithms etc.
Breaking Glass by Davie Bowie to me is the ultimate sub 2 min song. The amount fit into that song is pretty insane. Probably one of my favs of all time
Heavy Bend by Big Thief. Honestly one of my favorite songs ever. Also, can’t believe he didn’t mention Car Seat Headrest! He’s made a lot of great songs that are under 2 minutes, like “Stop Smoking,” “Psst, Teenagers,” and “Goodbye Love”
Great video!! So glad you talked about Golden Slumbers; it’s easily my favorite Beatles song and it was even my favorite song in general for a while. Very underrepresented
mentioning frank ocean but not solo (reprise) is crazy. andre 3000 goes off on that song and conveys so much emotion in 1:18.
4 месяца назад
DJ Shadow - Organ Donor. Although, he also released an extended version that's 4 minutes long. I also like: Boards of Canada - One Very Important Thought Diplo - Florida Mindless Self Indulgence - 1989 TCY Force - Pantscada
I think class of 2013 or A Burning Hill by Mitski should've been on here because they both pack quite huge punches, and I think them being short aids in that
A favourite of mine is YOU FUCKERS WERE ASKING FOR THIS ONE by Rav, just one verse and one hook over a lofi instrumental that packs more punch than most full length tracks.
I wish you mentioned that the songs from Abbey Road is actually an entire medley. Basically the second-half of the album is a story told in two-minute chunks and some of the last music The Beatles have recorded
Yes! So many of my favourite tracks are on the shorter side. The Needle and the Damage Done by Neil Young is about 2 minutes and it blows me away every time.
higher by rihanna is one of the best examples of this. the raw vocals really add to the desperation of the lyrics and it tells a story in just under two minutes. super impressive
What I love about OG youtubers Andrew Huang and Rob Scallon's on-day-a-year band First of October is that when you have only 12 hours to write and record a whole album every year, everything kind of needs to be around 2 minutes. It often leads to a bite of silly nonsense like Left My Pants in Chicago or Don't Go to My House (still stone cold bangers) but just as frequently they have no choice but to go with incredible sincerity for as long as it lasts them. Songs like Usually and Love to Say I Love You just express one deeply held feeling so honestly and briefly before moving on that it doesn't need anything else. Go listen to them, and watch their yearly videos on how it gets made! You'll never see two friends have more fun in your life
This was really fab, covered a lot of bases too. I feel like the one glaring omission is Frankie Cosmos. Though their songs lean slightly more on the longer side now, the typical Frankie song is about a minute and a half long. Every song feels like it has only exactly what it needs but often they still manage to have proper structures and huge changes two thirds in, etc.
In terms of an emotional shotgun blast, for me one of my favorites is "Eight Seconds" by Touché Amoré. The entire album is fantastic and full of great short songs clocking in a only around 30 minutes in total, and it is a gut wrenching account of the death of the vocalist's mother. Eight seconds is only a minute and thirty two seconds long but tells the moment that he was informed that she had died.
One of my personal favorite “short songs” of all time is the intro to an album & band I heard from this channel like 3-4 years ago “Faux Snow Globe” by Bay Faction - Florida Guilt. It’s so eerie & beautiful
Tom Jones' "It's Not Unusual" is exactly two minutes. Since the song is quite repetitive, it fits. It's interesting the amount of humor, emotion, storytelling, and messaging you can convey in such a small amount of time. Great video!
Most of the tracks on Wire's Pink Flag. Only 4 of the 21 tracks are over 2 1/2 minutes long and every single one of them has a melody and feel and style all its own and the whole album is amazing from start to finish.
I had no idea some of these were so short. True love will find you in the end and all the Nick drake songs are some of my favorites, and they’re both long and sprawling in my head
Anything below 2 minutes by Orchid. Easily my favorite punk band with a really distinct heaviness to their sound. The opener off of their 2000 album "Dance Now, Revolution Later" will change you fundamentally within its 60 second timeframe
Wire. Specifically: "Outdoor Miner", "Another the Letter", "Two People in a Room", "Fragile", "12 X U", "Field Day for the Sundays", "Three Girl Rhumba", "Men 2nd", "Brazil", "Relationship", "Half-Eaten", etc. Honourable mention to PF456 Redux, a radical remix of their album Send which cut most of the songs on that record down to about two minutes or less in length to fit on a single LP, as well as their many songs just above two minutes which are pretty great.
Ruby Smiles by Reuben James, Drift by CHON, Computers by Clowncore, Bank Account by Louis Cole, For Absent Friends by Genesis, Happy House by Shuggie Otis, ARMED MAN by your best friend jippy, Lou's Tune by DARGZ, Lunes 1 De Abril by The Holydrug Couple, Peace (all three of them) by King Crimson (personal favourites)
A great short song is Stay by Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs. Made popular from the film, Dirty Dancing, this 1:36 doo-wop gem makes you wish it stayed just a little bit longer.
That one always stands out to me. It sounds a lot different to most of the songs on that album, in the best way its such a neat little package. Love that album
I know you touched on Neutral Milk Hotel (probably one of my favourites on that album too) but I've always been fond of Communist Daughter even though the lyrics are wack. It's just a very relaxing and calming song
Camera by Women. I love how those lofi reverb-y vocals remind me of speakers, like you’d have to make announcements at a school. The whole song feels like it’s inviting you on a journey, and it’s an awesome way to start the album.
Some of my fav short favourite songs are: I’m so tired (fugazi), awful bliss (guided by voices), back chorus (Tobin sprout), velocity girl (primal scream) and some wire songs:)
kinda sad you didn't mention fish bowl by kero kero bonito. that's one of my favorite songs of all time. also, system of a down make some of the best short songs in my opinion, really surprised you didn't mention them either
I think Mitski 100% deserves a mention, most of her songs sit in the 2 - 3 minute range but some of her highlights (for me at least) are under 2 minutes-A Loving Feeling, Old Friend, My Body's Made Of Crushed Little Stars, A Burning Hill, and of course Class of 2013 and Strawberry Blond
Heart of Darkness - Sparklehorse this song always surprised me whenever I remember it's length, the story and atmosphere of this song feels so much larger then it's 1:51 second timespan.
Microphones/ Mount Eerie should have been on here. And in singer/songwriter, Till the Morning Comes by Neil Young has a similar amount of story to the ones in the video and it's great. But the best under-2-minute song ever is obviously Another Green World by Brian Eno. One of the most gorgeous, and most heartbreaking, songs ever.
Duster has so many good short songs, like gold dust, me and the birds, stars will fall, inside out, etc. some of those are over 2 minutes but only by a little
Romanticist by Yves Tumor; It has a verse chorus structure in less than two minutes and has so many elements in it, Identity Trade off the same album is a banger too
some tiktok commenter this week was like 'taylor swift makes music for her fans just like the beatles did - the beatles have plenty of throwaway songs' like bruh even their throwaway songs are bangers come on now
Can’t believe you’d mention Frank without mentioning Xenons! I’ve never yearned for a track more than Xenons its so spacious and the hook is so addictive I just want more of it
