# Long Songs: Good or Bad?



## ArcTuba (Feb 10, 2011)

The title pretty much explains it: do you prefer long songs or short songs?  (Short songs would be less than 5 minutes in this case.)
I love long songs.  Most of my favorite songs are at least 10 minutes long xD


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## Fenrari (Feb 10, 2011)

To be perfectly honest I prefer songs that are under 5 minutes. 

Songs that stretch too much get repetitive and at times feel exagerated and I simply don't want to listen to them anymore.


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## SilverBehemoth (Feb 10, 2011)

Pfft  Only 10 minutes? That's small time, most of the songs I listen to reach around the 20 - 38 minutes range, though I do have a few that are about an hour long (Excluding mixing sessions.)


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## ArcTuba (Feb 10, 2011)

SilverBehemoth said:


> Pfft  Only 10 minutes? That's small time, most of the songs I listen to reach around the 20 - 38 minutes range, though I do have a few that are about an hour long (Excluding mixing sessions.)


 I did say "at least"   Octavarium by Dream Theater is 24 minutes.  What songs are 38 minutes long?


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## Leafblower29 (Feb 10, 2011)

I like them to get to the point.


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## Icky (Feb 10, 2011)

I tend to like those long songs more. Less abrupt music pauses/changes.


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## SilverBehemoth (Feb 10, 2011)

Bohonie26 said:


> I did say "at least"   Octavarium by Dream Theater is 24 minutes.  What songs are 38 minutes long?



Well I'll just list some of the long ones.

Mathias Grassow - The Spheres of Lucid Dreaming     (1:03:58 )
William Banski - dlp 1.1 (63:31)
Klaus Schulze - Echoes Of Time (38:52)
 Kyuss - Spaceship Landing (34:04)
Klaus Schulze - Bayreath Return (30:35)


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## Jude (Feb 10, 2011)

Bohonie26 said:


> I did say "at least"   Octavarium by Dream  Theater is 24 minutes.  What songs are 38 minutes long?


 
That's not even their longest song. Six degrees of Inner Turbulence is over 40 minutes long.

Long songs can only be pulled off if the artist keeps the song fresh and non-repetitive. Otherwise, it doesn't really matter.


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## Aden (Feb 10, 2011)

SilverBehemoth said:


> William Banski - dlp 1.1 (63:31)


 
I could space out to these foreeeever

Also long songs are my homeboys


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## sunandshadow (Feb 10, 2011)

Long songs only if they have lots of verses, not the same chorus over and over and over and... @_@


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## Hir (Feb 10, 2011)

my favourite song is 30:10

so yeah



sunandshadow said:


> Long songs only if they have lots of verses, not the same chorus over and over and over and... @_@


 
>implying a long song needs verses or choruses


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## HotRodLincoln (Feb 10, 2011)

RUSH - 2112

that is all, I love long songs

In a Gadda Da Vida, baby, don't you know that I loove you.....


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## ArcTuba (Feb 10, 2011)

Jude said:


> That's not even their longest song. Six degrees of Inner Turbulence is over 40 minutes long.
> 
> Long songs can only be pulled off if the artist keeps the song fresh and non-repetitive. Otherwise, it doesn't really matter.


 Yeah, I know, I have that one too, but I figured people would argue it's not a real song since it is split into tracks on the original album.


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## Delta (Feb 10, 2011)

TV on the Radio - On a Train <3


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## ArcTuba (Feb 10, 2011)

SilverBehemoth said:


> Well I'll just list some of the long ones.
> 
> Mathias Grassow - The Spheres of Lucid Dreaming     (1:03:58 )
> William Banski - dlp 1.1 (63:31)
> ...


 I will surely listen to these as soon as I can find a place to listen to them all.  I'm about 4 minutes into dlp 1.1 right now.  Thanks


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## LizardKing (Feb 10, 2011)

I don't really care. Long songs are nice when done well. Both short and long are capable of being horribly repetitive.


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## FallenGlory (Feb 10, 2011)

it all depends. short* songs like Pillz (or anything else) by Kabuto the Python are usually amazing. longer songs** are usually pretty decent too, it all depends on what im in the mood for :3

* short= <2min
** long= >5min


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## ArcTuba (Feb 10, 2011)

LizardKing said:


> I don't really care. Long songs are nice when done well. Both short and long are capable of being horribly repetitive.


 Yeah, that really depends on the band.  I can't stand repetitive music either.


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## Bloodshot_Eyes (Feb 10, 2011)

It depends really...

This is kind of irrelevant information but the longest song I have in my library is Opeth's "Black Rose Immortal" at 20:14 and the shortest is Pig Destroyer's "Evacuating Heaven" at 0:16...


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## The Anarchectomy (Feb 10, 2011)

It depends. You can have a short song that's boring because it didn't even have an idea to warrant it. Or you can have a 20 minute song that continuously surprises and delights. As an avid music lover, I have met short and long songs both which have taken me out to the ball and danced a diamond waltz between my ears.


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## Ringo (Feb 10, 2011)

I like some hardcore punk songs that tend to be like 30 seconds
Contrarily I like some old school prog songs that are like 58 minutes.

So yeah. I dunno.


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## Kivaari (Feb 10, 2011)

Best song ever.

Actually, most of the songs I have are 5-10 min. My favorite longer song is The Ivory Gate of Dreams by Fates Warning. Just under 22 min, so it's not super long.


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## greg-the-fox (Feb 10, 2011)

Where's the option for medium length? :V Like 4-9 minutes I would say, depending on genre.


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## Taralack (Feb 10, 2011)

Depends on the song for me. Generally I'm okay with most long rock songs no matter what mood I'm in (Green Grass High Tides, Sacred Power of Raging Winds) and when I'm playing an MMO or doing something that requires concentration I usually put on Above and Beyond.


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## greg-the-fox (Feb 10, 2011)

I would say my limit is 14 minutes before I get absolutely sick of it (jazz)
Also prog rock is awful :V


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## Trakaye (Feb 10, 2011)

I don't think either of them are inherently superior, really depends on the song and band.

 To be fair my longest song isn't anywhere near some of the ones you guys mentioned. My longest is 23:04 (Whipping Post by The Allman Brothers Band) but I'm always up for listening to a good 10 minute Yes or King Crimson song so, I guess it depends on whether you guys think that's a "long" song or not.


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## Hir (Feb 11, 2011)

my longest is 71:39, Corrupted - El Mundo Frio

my shortest is 0:04, A Silver Mt. Zion - Track02


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## Monster. (Feb 11, 2011)

I have a techno mash-up song that is almost 2 hours long and I love to listen to it on long train rides.


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## greg-the-fox (Feb 11, 2011)

Gaz said:


> I have a techno mash-up song that is almost 2 hours long and I love to listen to it on long train rides.


 
It sounds like you're talking about a DJ set, that's not a song :|


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## greg-the-fox (Feb 11, 2011)

DarkNoctus said:


> my longest is 71:39, Corrupted - El Mundo Frio
> 
> my shortest is 0:04, A Silver Mt. Zion - Track02


 
My longest is Hanz Zimmer: A Dark Knight 16:15

Shortest is Tobacco: - 0:05 (it's just silence, pretentious much?)


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## Attaman (Feb 11, 2011)

I'll listen to "long" songs (I have a few I listen to that push / pass the 12 minute point), but usually I wind up listening to shorter songs.  Length of a song isn't a concern to me, the content of it is.  I could turn down a sixteen minute song if fifteen of it was shit / repeats, but then listen to a half hour (!) song, if such a thing exists, if it had some decent content to it.


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## Joeyyy (Feb 11, 2011)

Most of Between the Buried and Me's songs are 5+ minutes.   but so gooooddd...


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## Grimfang (Feb 11, 2011)

I prefer longer songs. I _love_ certain songs with really long outros. Great stuff, they can be.


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## Aden (Feb 11, 2011)

Only gripe with long songs is that last.fm only counts plays and not minutes :c


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## Jw (Feb 11, 2011)

As long as it's interesting, I'm good to listen to it. If it's the same stuff being beaten to death, I'm out. On the other hand, really short songs tend to piss me off. If they're good but end really quickly, I just get left wanting more. It's like they're not doing themselves justice. 

I think the longest song I have is somewhere around 30 minutes, but I can't recall what it is.


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## Whitenoise (Feb 11, 2011)

It's very rare for me to really like songs longer than ten minutes, as I have very little patience for ineffective repetition/lots of shit crammed together into one long shitty song instead of a couple of shorter awesome songs. 

Also I fucking hate it when a band shits up a song that could have been great by padding it with comparatively shitty material.


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## Heliophobic (Feb 11, 2011)

All depends on the mood, genre, band, etc.


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## ArcTuba (Feb 12, 2011)

Joeyyy said:


> Most of Between the Buried and Me's songs are 5+ minutes.   but so gooooddd...


 Yesssss, someone who actually agrees with me   BTBAM is phenomenal


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## ArielMT (Feb 12, 2011)

Depends on the song.  There's generally more resistance to "Freebird" than there is to "Alice's Restaurant," even though "Freebird" is shorter.



Grimfang said:


> I prefer longer songs. I _love_ certain songs with really long outros. Great stuff, they can be.


 
The outro in "Layla" by Eric Clapton is awesome and longer than the song proper.


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## Aden (Feb 12, 2011)

Bohonie26 said:


> Yesssss, someone who actually agrees with me


 
BtBaM fans are not rare you know :V


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## Stargazer Bleu (Feb 12, 2011)

Usually short songs.
Tho some songs are nice to listen to that are long.

Just depends on the song. Song long songs are just great while others are not.


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## Kellie Gator (Feb 12, 2011)

Longer songs tend to offer more variety than short songs and you kinda get more for your buck. Here's my favorite example. Even if it's not the longest metal song out there, it's certainly the most epic and technically brilliant one I can think of.

[yt]A56txsIzZAw[/yt]
[yt]HHZjy0HAhg0[/yt]
[yt]OVFDZu5F2w0[/yt]

Despite the ridiculous length, I listen to this song ALL THE TIME. <3


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## jla (Feb 12, 2011)

I love both, long songs can be really epic but short songs are good too. My favourite song is Jon & Vangelis's Horizon at 22 minutes 53 seconds but Boards of Canada can make some amazing songs under a minute for example. My longest song in my collection is Robert Rich's Somnium Part One at 2 hours 35 minutes. The whole album is 7 hours long.

Also, this is my favourite one minute song.
[video=youtube;koivVlaW7js]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koivVlaW7js[/video]


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## Term_the_Schmuck (Feb 12, 2011)

Bad when you have the douchebags at a bar who decide to play the live versions of three Phish songs back-to-back, and finish with Iron Butterfly's "In A Gadda Da Vida."


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## The Anarchectomy (Feb 12, 2011)

Term_the_Schmuck said:


> Bad when you have the douchebags at a bar who decide to play the live versions of three Phish songs back-to-back, and finish with Iron Butterfly's "In A Gadda Da Vida."



It's like they're purposefully picking the easiest songs that last the longest so they can stay on stage longer while still only playing 'four songs' x.x


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## Grimfang (Feb 12, 2011)

ArielMT said:


> The outro in "Layla" by Eric Clapton is awesome and longer than the song proper.


 
Oh man, I really enjoy exactly that. Thanks.
I actually like the outro more than the "song" itself, lol.
Great stuff. I can just put it on, and know that this wonderful sound will continue for a while.

One favorite of mine is Stability by Death Cab (Grooveshark link). Couldn't find the 12-minute version on youtube. But aaaggghhagaagh, it's just so mellow and never ends... bliss.


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## ArcTuba (Feb 12, 2011)

Kellie Gator said:


> Longer songs tend to offer more variety than short songs and you kinda get more for your buck. Here's my favorite example. Even if it's not the longest metal song out there, it's certainly the most epic and technically brilliant one I can think of.
> 
> Despite the ridiculous length, I listen to this song ALL THE TIME. <3


 That song is pretty damn epic xD  I actually listened to the entire thing.


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## foxmusk (Feb 13, 2011)

American pie will always be better as a full version.
and then second best is jesus of suburbia.


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## ToonBlade (Feb 13, 2011)

I like songs that are generally 5-6 minutes


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## Schwimmwagen (Feb 13, 2011)

It depends on the song. Some songs that are merely ok/bad but long, should be short. Some that are short but really awesome should be long. Of course, it's all a matter of opinion.

[video=youtube;N9sGd-JLvNA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9sGd-JLvNA[/video]

[video=youtube;i9rg2uP_xXk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9rg2uP_xXk[/video]

B)

The first is long, but good and the second is good but I wish it was longer.


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## Trance (Feb 13, 2011)

I like a lot of Trance/house music and those can be 11-12 minutes long sometimes.  It's nice when songs are 3-4 minutes long and just get straight to the point, too, sometimes.


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## Tapeworm (Feb 13, 2011)

I tend to lean towards longer songs. Some are incredibly long, like In A Gadda Da Vida, and your typical tool and pink floyd song.


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## greg-the-fox (Feb 13, 2011)

TranceFur said:


> I like a lot of Trance/house music and those can be 11-12 minutes long sometimes.  It's nice when songs are 3-4 minutes long and just get straight to the point, too, sometimes.


 
I don't think I've ever heard a trance or house song that's 11-12 minutes. 7-9 minutes is more like it. Minimal techno can easily reach 11 minutes though


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## Trance (Feb 14, 2011)

greg-the-fox said:


> I don't think I've ever heard a trance or house song that's 11-12 minutes. 7-9 minutes is more like it. Minimal techno can easily reach 11 minutes though


 
I might have exagerrated a bit, but yeah, they can be long.  :]


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## Bloodshot_Eyes (Feb 14, 2011)

Has anyone ever been listening to music realized the song is fifteen minutes in and you're like, "wait, is this song still going?"


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## PenningtontheSkunk (Feb 14, 2011)

I prefer long songs of 5+ minutes. I love that song by Iron Butterfly that's 17mins long.


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## Spatel (Feb 15, 2011)

The longer a song gets, the harder it is to keep its quality consistent.

A well-executed long song can be very rewarding though.


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## Sarcastic Coffeecup (Feb 17, 2011)

Usually shorter songs are made more complex, which is the way i like it. If a long song is good then it's a "heaven on earth" situation for me.
Longest good song that i know is propably Dream theaters in the presence of enemies( broken into 2 parts)
And then there are those over an hour mixes of multiple songs.
In short: short tracks go to the point fast and long songs are slower to start but kick more a$$


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