Are songs too long these days?

[NewMaxFranklin]

It seemslike a lot of songs I hear on Rado AOL are longer than the composition can support. In the 50's most songs were a little over two minutes. Now, most songs are around four minutes long. Too long IMO. I have to change the station when a song I don't like comes on, because I can't suffer for four or five minutes. I can tolerate two and a half minutes of the Backstreet Boys, maybe, but not five.

Also, the songs I like seem to get played out sooner. If a song is good, but overlong, you get sick of it while listening. It's like eating at a buffet. Those egg rolls are tasty, but I don't want to eat a dozen of them in one sitting. Especially if I'm having egg rolls for lunch tomorrow and the next day...

What ever happend to "leave them wanting more?" From music to movies and TV the new motto seems to be; "Make them shout 'Enough!!!'"

[The Dork Knight]

One example is Afroman. His song "Because I Got High" is one of the most played out songs ever.

[pencilsharp]

I have to change the station when a song I don't like comes on, because I can't suffer for four or five minutes.
AAAA-men, my brother! Preach to that choir!!
One of the reasons that songs have gotten longer is that radio station programmers no longer have the clout they used to. Back in the 50s and 60s, if a song wanted airplay, it had to be a MAXIMUM of two and a half minutes. The Beatles broke that up because of their huge sales numbers (darn their moptops).
Why are songs by nStink and the Back End Boys so long now? My rational side says that they just don't know better. My irrational side says it's the Root Canal Effect. Just like root canals , the songs are really only 30 seconds long, but the excruciating pain involved makes it seem to take forever.
Now, talk about toons before we get the whip... [[CRACK!!]]
NICK!! CN!! BOOMER!! (ow...)
~pS~

[Lodoss War Fan]

You wanna know long ! there's a dance remix verison of whitney Houston's song " it's not right but it's ok " and the song is 14 mintues LONG!!!!!!!! Jesus christ you can take a shower, brush your teeth and that don't even take up 14 mintues! Plus that song blows!

[Nightflower]

Bah. Dream Theater doesn't get much radio playage, but they have a 23 minute song. The new album's gonna have a 40-minute behemoth.

[Scythemantis]

Originally posted by Lodoss War Fan
You wanna know long ! there's a dance remix verison of whitney Houston's song " it's not right but it's ok " and the song is 14 mintues LONG!!!!!!!! Jesus christ you can take a shower, brush your teeth and that don't even take up 14 mintues! Plus that song blows!

I brush my teeth repeatedly for about five minutes,tak a one to two hour shower,then brush for another five minutes,then floss.Then eat lunch (dont like breakfast food other than pancakes,and we never have pancakes).Then brush it all out again.

[Jimmy Kustes]

Scism (sp?) by Tool seems too long because they have played it non-stop since spring break!

[Split56]

Nothing got longer or shorter. It all depends on what you listen to.

[Failure]

I like longer songs. I think songs should be a journey in itself. It feels like music's gone the way of the microwave culture, you know, in and out really quick. Do you know how simple it is to write a 2 and a half minute pop tune? A couple verses and a couple repeated choruses and a bridge in between. A few chord changes that's it. I think that's a joke, put some effort into your songs! For example, I'm sure many of you have heard Nickelback's song, "how you remind me" (I think that's what it's called), has anybody tried to play it? It's so simple, a 3 year old could write it! And it's not like some hardcore punk bands who write a 2 minute song, but it's blazing from end to finish showing some technical proficiency, it's ridiculously easy. I'm not saying it's a bad song, but I consider it way too simple for people who consider themselves "professionals."

Of course, it all depends on what you're listening to. 3 minutes of a Backstreet Boy is about 3 minutes too long. 3 minutes into a Tool song or a Dream Theater song like Nightflower's stated, is like one stanza, it's just the beginning (40 minute song huh? that should be impressive. I've always thought it would be cool if someone released a CD with one 80 minute song on it).

The reason songs got longer was because companies introduced slower playing LP's which allowed musicians to fit more music on a record. I dont think the power was in the radio stations' hands so much as it was in the recording companies' hands.

[Split56]

Originally posted by Failure
I like longer songs. I think songs should be a journey in itself. It feels like music's gone the way of the microwave culture, you know, in and out really quick. Do you know how simple it is to write a 2 and a half minute pop tune? A couple verses and a couple repeated choruses and a bridge in between. A few chord changes that's it. I think that's a joke, put some effort into your songs! For example, I'm sure many of you have heard Nickelback's song, "how you remind me" (I think that's what it's called), has anybody tried to play it? It's so simple, a 3 year old could write it! And it's not like some hardcore punk bands who write a 2 minute song, but it's blazing from end to finish showing some technical proficiency, it's ridiculously easy. I'm not saying it's a bad song, but I consider it way too simple for people who consider themselves "professionals."

And you like the Sex Pistols?

[NewMaxFranklin]

Originally posted by Failure
I like longer songs. I think songs should be a journey in itself. It feels like music's gone the way of the microwave culture, you know, in and out really quick. Do you know how simple it is to write a 2 and a half minute pop tune? A couple verses and a couple repeated choruses and a bridge in between. A few chord changes that's it. I think that's a joke, put some effort into your songs!


My point was that the "pop tunes" aren't "2 and a half minutes," they're three and a half to five and a half minutes, sometimes longer. Sure they have about a couple minutes worth of fluff, if that, but they stretch it into twice that much. That's what I'm [explentive deleted] about. It's not like they're singing "Bohemian ~friggin~ Rapsody" for the love a` Pete! My problem isn't that the songs are long. They're longer than they should be.

Braveheart and L.A. Confidential were long, but they were the right length for what they were.

I just don't like songs going on and on with nothing to say.

[Nightflower]

I can't stand pop music as well, long OR short, but "long songs with nothing to say" is really all relative. For example, I LIKE Schism. Since I like Schism, I like it that it's long, because that means I can listen to it for a while before it ends and some other crappy song comes on! Even if it may be "longer than it should be", because they repeat the chorus a couple of times (But maybe I think the chorus is good, and repeating good stuff only makes it better). Maybe SOME people like pop (I don't know who). Therefore, they'd like it if the songs were longer. Or they don't notice at all. Maybe they think that some alternative songs are too long.

And maybe some people didn't like Braveheart and subsequently thought that it was too long. :p

[optimal321]

I don't know, Shcism bothers me. It seems like they just keep repeating stuff for seven minutes. But that's just me.

Everything, by Lifehouse is also near seven minutes, but because i like that song, i'm glad it's so long. It is just a matter of preference.

I think that almost any song by a pop group is too long. But obviously someone buys the albums, or else they wouldn't keep making that crap.

One thing i've noticed is that most songs follow a patter. Not all of them, but the large majority go like this:

First verse,
Refrain,
Second verse,
Refrain,
Shorter third verse, either something different, or a repeat of a
previous verse w/ a little difference in how it is sang.
Final refrain, either goes on a little longer or has more differences
in the singing style.

[Failure]

Well, I guess it all depends. Most of the songs that I like tend to be shorter 4 minute songs, of course, that's prolly cuz most of the songs written are shorter songs. It all depends on what you get done in the amount of time you take. 10 minutes of heartless soloing isnt interesting regardless of its technical proficiency. It's all about how much heart and emotion a song can bring out from you. A lot of pop songs tend to be heartless, churned out creations, which is why a lot of people dont like them.

And Split56, I've never really listened to the Sex Pistols. Why?

[Samhaine]

I listen to alot of punk music, so I'm generally happy when a song breaks 3 minutes. There are actually punk songs that last 30 secs. Now tell me those are too long.

If anything, I've noticed that songs were getting shorter and shorter over the years. We get 3.5 min in a normal sized song, where I was used to almost 5 min when I was growing up.

But, a good way to avoid the craptastic music on the radio is to not listen to the radio. My life became so much less frustrating once I stopped.

[Bird Boy]

songs are longer..but there are some I wish lasted longer (IE: Scum of the Earth and Dead Girl Superstar by Rob Zombie).

A song like "Master of Puppets", which is over 7minutes, I love...some songs I just want to say "END ALREADY!" ("Schism" by Tool is one of those).


Some songs are good when they're short...but the longer ones are cool too...

Like you can buy a Metallica CD...they're usually over an hour..because of the length of the song....but, if you buy Rob Zombies new CD...it's under 35min long. So...I'd like to get a CD that's longer than 35min..but that's hard today..

-BB

[Split56]

Originally posted by Failure
And Split56, I've never really listened to the Sex Pistols. Why?
For some reason I thought you did. Nevermind.

[Colin]

The way it is with me... if I like the song, It's either the right length, or too short (after repeated listening to "Wherever You Will Go" by the Calling, I've determined it's too short =X )...

However, if it's songs I really don't care to listen to, or just don't like in general, then they seem to drag on forever....

It all really depends on if I like the song or not, I hardly even notice the length of the song...

[Oracle]

I have to agree with Colin. If it's BSB or N'Suck, the song shouldn't be long (or have even been made in the first place), but if I like it I could want it to go on forever. I love 'Wherever You Will Go', too, Colin. Haven't tired of hearing that yet. One song that I really liked but now think is too long due to the fact that it's overplayed is 'It's Been A While' by Staind. I swear if I hear it anymore I will chuck my radio at the wall.

[DR. BELCH]

One would think the move would be to make songs shorter, because it would mean more songs could be fit on a playlist, which equals more airplay for each artist which means more revenue for the stations and the record companies. On the other hand there's what I've heard termed "bathroom songs", i.e. pieces like "In the Garden of Eden (In a Gadda da Vidda)" or "American Pie", which are both between eight and twelve minutes. A deejay plugs one of those in when he feels a need to smoke or relieve himself. Maybe since wax is out of style and it's all on CD now (what with automatic CD changers) there's no need for those...hence, the long song is in vogue again. Well, new long songs. No chance a station'll plug in Dylan's "Desolation Row" or "Sad-Eyed lady of the Lowlands" (each over ten minutes). Besides, the songs only seem to go on forever because they repeat the same g.d. line ad nauseum. What happened to a song you can listen to a hundred times and still hear something new in it?

[Nightflower]

Change of Seasons, 23 minutes long, by Dream Theater. No repetition of one g.d line. Great stuff!

[The Mad Hatter]

Yeah, I'm getting sick of bands who write maybe 20 seconds worth of lyrics, then giving up and repeating them (or minor variations thereof) over and over and over and over and over.

[NewMaxFranklin]

Originally posted by The Mad Hatter
Yeah, I'm getting sick of bands who write maybe 20 seconds worth of lyrics, then giving up and repeating them (or minor variations thereof) over and over and over and over and over.

Way to read my mind and condense my thoughts Hatter. ;) Only, half the "bands" actually "write" songs, melody or lyrics. They have a team who does it for them. And it's usually the same team doing it for a bunch of other "bands." Hence, quantity rules supreme, while diversity and creativity are is short supply.