Songs that are too long?

by WildWorld Tue Jun 21, 2016 1:19 pm

Are there any songs you've heard that simply go on way too long? I dont mind long songs myself, but i do mind when they simply stretch out time with endless instrumental passages instead of actual singing (even though it's not long at all, Megadeth's Hangar 18 is definitely guilty of this).

by alldatndensum Tue Jun 21, 2016 10:59 pm

For the most part, anything beyond five minutes is too long. OK, MAYBE six minutes. After that, I get bored and either tune it out as noise or skip to the next song.

I have a self-diagnosed disease known as Musical A.D.D.

by WildWorld Tue Jun 21, 2016 11:51 pm

And of course, who can forget "na na na na na na na na na na na hey jude". I dont know how long that part goes on for, but it kills the song for me.

by eatbugs Wed Jun 22, 2016 1:32 am

The one that jumps to mind is Saviour Machine - The Stand. It's good but too repetitive. As an 8-9 minute song it would be great, as a 15 minute song it loses me.

I don't have much Neal Morse but he has a few (good) long ones that could be just as good as 3 or 4 shorter tracks (think the Sola Scriptura album). Fine songs when I am able to listen to the entire thing but if I'm interrupted 2/3 of the way though it's a long way back to replay the whole song.

I'm sure there are others I can't think of right now...

by New Creation Wed Jun 22, 2016 10:14 am

Two songs that I don't mind the length are:

1. The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot. It can go 6:20 to nearly 7 minutes depending on the version you listen to.
2. American Pie by Don Maclean. Again, depending on the version, anywhere from about 8:30 to 9 minutes long.

by eatbugs Wed Jun 22, 2016 1:41 pm

New Creation wrote:Two songs that I don't mind the length are:

1. The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot. It can go 6:20 to nearly 7 minutes depending on the version you listen to.
2. American Pie by Don Maclean. Again, depending on the version, anywhere from about 8:30 to 9 minutes long.

Agreed.

On that positive note my favorite song is Theocracy - I AM at 9+ minutes.

by WildWorld Thu Jun 23, 2016 2:05 am

eatbugs wrote:
New Creation wrote:Two songs that I don't mind the length are:

1. The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot. It can go 6:20 to nearly 7 minutes depending on the version you listen to.
2. American Pie by Don Maclean. Again, depending on the version, anywhere from about 8:30 to 9 minutes long.

Agreed.

On that positive note my favorite song is Theocracy - I AM at 9+ minutes.

Same here. Some other long songs i actually do like are:
Bon Jovi-Dry County
Guns N Roses-Estranged
Iron Maiden-Empire of the Clouds
and if it counts as a song, Alice's Restaurant Very Happy

by Soldier777 Thu Jun 23, 2016 3:01 pm

Much of Dream Theater's songs are too long.

by New Creation Thu Jun 23, 2016 4:21 pm

Oh, I totally forgot about November Rain by Guns n Roses. I love that song and it clocks in at over 9 minutes.

Also a favorite is Ozzy's "No More Tears" at 6 minutes.

by deathisgain Thu Jun 23, 2016 7:47 pm

A lot of songs that I listen to, tend to be longer, so I don't mind it. But I notice that they tend to have a lot of changes in them, which helps. My longest song is "The Door" by Neal Morse, off of his "Sola Scriptura" album at 29:14. After that it is a couple of Led Zeppelin live jams and Theocracy's "Mirror of Souls"

My own song "The Witch" clocks in at almost 9 minutes, and I think it gets too repetitive. Wink

by Friday13th Fri Jun 24, 2016 1:35 am

The longest song on my ipod is "A Passion Play" by Jethro Tull.
44:58 Twisted Evil

It's the whole album. Ian Anderson definitely could have shaved the "Hare Who Lost His Spectacles" part, so I won't deny it's too long.

My favorite songs "I Am" and "Starless" are in the 10-15 min range. I also ironically love 2 min songs.

So let me get this straight. You guys watch a two hour movie without batting an eye and then complain if a song reaches the six minute mark? Neutral

Music enthusiasts, huh?

by WildWorld Fri Jun 24, 2016 9:31 am

Friday13th wrote:The longest song on my ipod is "A Passion Play" by Jethro Tull.
44:58
It's the whole album. Ian Anderson definitely could have shaved the "Hare Who Lost His Spectacles" part, so I won't deny it's too long.

My favorite songs "I Am" and "Starless" are in the 10-15 min range. I also ironically love 2 min songs.

So let me get this straight. You guys watch a two hour movie without batting an eye and then complain if a song reaches the six minute mark? Music enthusiasts, huh?

With a 2 hour movie there are visuals, dialogue, and things happening constantly. With long songs, there are times when there is nothing but instrumental passages, which can get boring (especially if you like to sing along to songs).

by d@v!d Fri Jun 24, 2016 9:34 am

Ramones - Beat on the brat. Wink

by d@v!d Fri Jun 24, 2016 9:34 am

Friday13th wrote:So let me get this straight. You guys watch a two hour movie without batting an eye and then complain if a song reaches the six minute mark? Music enthusiasts, huh?

No kidding, huh?

by exo Fri Jun 24, 2016 4:14 pm

No such thing as "too long", IF the music is well written with proper flow and changes to keep you hooked. Is there really any difference between a "long song" and a piece that is multiple tracks, but flows together smoothly?

If a song is "too long", it's just not a well written piece.

by messiaen77 Thu Jul 07, 2016 1:59 pm

exo wrote:No such thing as "too long", IF the music is well written with proper flow and changes to keep you hooked. Is there really any difference between a "long song" and a piece that is multiple tracks, but flows together smoothly?

If a song is "too long", it's just not a well written piece.

Total agreement. That is one big reason a little formal music study would help these bands/songwriters who are trying to do 15-20+ minute songs. Sure a Beethoven symphony is a half hour long, but it isn't a half hour of the same three ideas repeated over and over again with an instrumental break or two.

by TheDoctor394 Sat Jul 09, 2016 5:58 pm

Friday13th wrote:The longest song on my ipod is "A Passion Play" by Jethro Tull.
44:58
It's the whole album. Ian Anderson definitely could have shaved the "Hare Who Lost His Spectacles" part, so I won't deny it's too long.

My favorite songs "I Am" and "Starless" are in the 10-15 min range. I also ironically love 2 min songs.

So let me get this straight. You guys watch a two hour movie without batting an eye and then complain if a song reaches the six minute mark? Music enthusiasts, huh?

I do think about this myself at times. I have no problem with sitting down watching a film of ninety minutes, up to two hours (depending on what it is), but if I find out an album exceeds the sixty minute mark, I usually give a groan initially (let alone over seventy minutes). Of course, some of these albums end up being good to excellent, but my first reaction is nearly always the same. Not sure why...

by alldatndensum Sat Jul 09, 2016 6:40 pm

WildWorld wrote:
Friday13th wrote:The longest song on my ipod is "A Passion Play" by Jethro Tull.
44:58
It's the whole album. Ian Anderson definitely could have shaved the "Hare Who Lost His Spectacles" part, so I won't deny it's too long.

My favorite songs "I Am" and "Starless" are in the 10-15 min range. I also ironically love 2 min songs.

So let me get this straight. You guys watch a two hour movie without batting an eye and then complain if a song reaches the six minute mark? Music enthusiasts, huh?
With a 2 hour movie there are visuals, dialogue, and things happening constantly. With long songs, there are times when there is nothing but instrumental passages, which can get boring (especially if you like to sing along to songs).

Nailed it!!!

by TheDoctor394 Sat Jul 09, 2016 7:31 pm

WildWorld wrote:
Friday13th wrote:The longest song on my ipod is "A Passion Play" by Jethro Tull.
44:58
It's the whole album. Ian Anderson definitely could have shaved the "Hare Who Lost His Spectacles" part, so I won't deny it's too long.

My favorite songs "I Am" and "Starless" are in the 10-15 min range. I also ironically love 2 min songs.

So let me get this straight. You guys watch a two hour movie without batting an eye and then complain if a song reaches the six minute mark? Music enthusiasts, huh?
With a 2 hour movie there are visuals, dialogue, and things happening constantly. With long songs, there are times when there is nothing but instrumental passages, which can get boring (especially if you like to sing along to songs).

An argument I would give there is that some two-hour movies don't always have things happening - they can have periods of incredible tedium and boredom.
I don't tend to have problems with long songs, just long albums. As I mentioned in a post just before, I haven't been able to understand why I can watch a two hour film without much complaint, but roll my eyes at a sixty-plus minute album, and I think one reason might be a film, ideally, can be appreciated after one viewing, while an album can require a number of listens, so the longer it is, the longer I have to take to get to know it.

by Andreas89 Tue Jul 12, 2016 4:02 am

First example that comes to mind is Alestorm's Sunset on the Gold Age. It's one of those longer songs by a power metal band that are just meant to be the "epic" on the album. Lots of times, it makes a good listen (I love longer songs!), but this one just could have done with a three minute trim or something.

by sentient 6 Thu Jul 28, 2016 2:55 am

I love Opeth and old Rush.....so I got no problem with long songs.

by Andreas89 Mon Aug 01, 2016 10:44 am

sentient 6 wrote:I love Opeth and old Rush.....so I got no problem with long songs.

Hey, that's because those artists are actually capable of cramming something interesting in the long songs they have composed. Not every artist that makes a long song, does so succesfully.

The example that I mentioned (Alestorm - Sunset on the Golden Age) is like 10-11 minutes, and I think it's too long for its own sake. But there's plenty of songs that I love, that easily exceed that song in length.

by Superjuice Tue Aug 02, 2016 7:01 pm

I don't feel that Hangar 18 nor The Stand are too long. When the Stand is over, I wish it would never end especially the live version.

The song that gets long in the tooth for me is Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, which has a sagging midsection - if they could cut out a few repetitive bars, it would be a flawless masterpiece.

But Tales From the Topographic Ocean: no, that's not long at all....

Here's a long song that I think gets overlooked and is surprisingly progressive from an alt band:

by deathisgain Tue Aug 02, 2016 9:09 pm

Superjuice wrote:The song that gets long in the tooth for me is Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, which has a sagging midsection - if they could cut out a few repetitive bars, it would be a flawless masterpiece.

What?

by Superjuice Thu Aug 04, 2016 2:45 pm

deathisgain wrote:
Superjuice wrote:The song that gets long in the tooth for me is Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, which has a sagging midsection - if they could cut out a few repetitive bars, it would be a flawless masterpiece.
What?

Songs that are too long? Bars_of_Music_002

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