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What are some good LONG songs?
October 17, 2007 1:47 PM   RSS feed for this thread Subscribe

What are some good LONG songs?

I'm looking for songs that are more than 10 minutes long (and preferably more than 15). Also, they need to be clean (or have a "clean version"). Scour your iTunes playlists and find your favorites!

I'm an early-morning DJ at a local radio station, and my co-host and I always need to play one really long song, enabling us to run out of the station and across the street to a cafe to get breakfast. The place isn't open before the show starts, so we have to get a nice long song played. It has to be clean (no profanity/obscenity) because of obvious FCC guidelines.
I know you can do it. What are your favorite long songs?
posted by stvspl to media & arts (129 comments total) 26 users marked this as a favorite
Alice's Restaurant! And fitting with Thanksgiving coming up!
posted by GaelFC at 1:50 PM on October 17, 2007 [2 favorites]


The Ballad of Harbo and Samuelson by Jerry Bryant is about twelve minutes long.
posted by leapfrog at 1:53 PM on October 17, 2007


Does Bob Dylan's Hurricane have any swearing in it? That goes on forever (well, 8 minutes and change, but still...).
posted by macdara at 1:54 PM on October 17, 2007


"Anesthetize" by Porcupine Tree clocks in at 17:42 and is a great song. Lyrics seem to be clean too.
posted by swordfishtrombones at 1:55 PM on October 17, 2007


Loan Me a Dime - Boz Scaggs
posted by OilPull at 1:55 PM on October 17, 2007


"Fool's Gold" and "I Am the Resurrection" by the Stone Roses are each about 10 minutes.
posted by scody at 1:55 PM on October 17, 2007


Dire Straits, Telegraph Road
posted by doorsnake at 1:56 PM on October 17, 2007


I'm not sure what genre of music you're looking for, but this one has always been one of my favorites:

Tubular Bells / Pretty Boys And Pretty Girls (Regan's House Medley) (14:24) - Book Of Love

You can probably find a LOT of dance/pop remixes that fit the time frame you're looking for.
posted by gummi at 1:56 PM on October 17, 2007


Um, Thick as a Brick By Jethro Tull? It's 43:50 of awesome.
posted by Freen at 1:56 PM on October 17, 2007


Don McLean's American Pie -- just a tad bit under 10 minutes.
posted by ericb at 1:57 PM on October 17, 2007


Better Wrapped/Better Unrapped by Henry Threadgill. I think it's around 16 minutes. I'm at work and don't have access to my library.
posted by strangeleftydoublethink at 1:57 PM on October 17, 2007


Blueberry Boat by Fiery Furnaces is 9 minutes and really funny.
posted by mustcatchmooseandsquirrel at 1:58 PM on October 17, 2007


How bout running the Guns N Roses Trilogy back to back?
Don't Cry (5:03)
November Rain (9:12)
Estranged by Guns N Roses (9:40)
posted by Sassyfras at 1:58 PM on October 17, 2007


There's some long stuff on Common One by Van Morrison that I like a lot. Some people might not. I think Summertime in England is about 12 minutes.

Sounds like a fun place to work.
posted by sully75 at 1:58 PM on October 17, 2007


WFMU's list of long songs. Most of these are radio friendly.

The obvious is Peter Frampton's "Do you Feel Like We Do?"
posted by Pastabagel at 1:59 PM on October 17, 2007 [4 favorites]


Um, Thick as a Brick By Jethro Tull? It's 43:50 of awesome.

Also Jethro Tull's Passion Play [44:58].
posted by ericb at 1:59 PM on October 17, 2007


I can't believe I forgot David Bowie's "Station to Station." (It's clean, but it does have a passing reference to drugs -- "it's not the side effects of the cocaine / I'm thinking that it must be love".) He also had a couple of long songs early in his career -- "Cygnet Committee" and "Width of a Circle" are each a bit under 10 mins. But "Station to Station" rocks!
posted by scody at 2:00 PM on October 17, 2007


Jethro Tull?
We could do a whole show without doing anything! 2 songs!

Great answers so far, this is great.
posted by stvspl at 2:01 PM on October 17, 2007


Free Bird anyone?
posted by zacharyseibert at 2:01 PM on October 17, 2007


Television Marquee Moon 10:40
posted by I Foody at 2:01 PM on October 17, 2007


Too Long by Daft Punk is great, and exactly 10 minutes.
The New Cobweb Summer by Lambchop
Bartender by Dave Matthews Band
Konstantine by Something Corporate
Spiders by Wilco
Stability by Death Cab for Cutie
Broken Chairs by Built to Spill is almost 20 minutes, but Cortez the Killer is longer and better.
posted by awesomebrad at 2:02 PM on October 17, 2007


The Microphones The Glow 11:04
posted by I Foody at 2:03 PM on October 17, 2007


I Dream A Highway by Gillian Welch is a gorgeous 15 minutes or so.
posted by otolith at 2:03 PM on October 17, 2007 [2 favorites]


Yes -- Tales from Topographic Oceans
The Revealing Science Of God - "Dance Of The Dawn" 20:27
"The Remembering - High The Memory" 20:38
"The Ancient - Giants Under The Sun" 18:34
"Ritual - Nous Sommes Du Soleil" 21:35
Yes -- Close to The Edge
"Close to the Edge" 18:44
"And You and I" 10:09
"Cord of Life" 8:55

posted by ericb at 2:04 PM on October 17, 2007


"Echoes" by Pink Floyd (23 minutes of dreamy goodness)
"A Change of Seasons" by Dream Theater (23 minutes of proggy goodness)
posted by parilous at 2:05 PM on October 17, 2007


Pandora played Inna-Gadda-Da-Vida by Iron Butterfly the other day; I was surprised at how good it is. But it's 28 minutes long, and kind of famous for being silly, so I dunno if it would work.

Phish or Grateful Dead live albums have many, many songs that fit the bill.
posted by ibmcginty at 2:06 PM on October 17, 2007


Also --

Yes -- Relayer
"The Gates of Delirium" 21:50
"Sound Chaser" 9:26
"To Be Over" 9:06

posted by ericb at 2:06 PM on October 17, 2007


My favorites are by the Decemberists: California One (on Castaways and Cutouts) and Crane Wife 1 and 2 and The Island (on The Crane Wife), by the Decemberists, though all are in "parts," all are one song each. All 10:00+

Eskimo, Damien Rice (O).

Faye Tucker, Indigo Girls (Come On Now Social).
posted by atayah at 2:07 PM on October 17, 2007


Quite a bit of Pink Floyd:

Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Parts I - II - III - IV - V
Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Parts VI - VII - VIII - IX
(Both from Wish You Were Here; despite the names, each of the above is a single track)

Dogs
Pigs (Three Different Ones)
Sheep
(from Animals)

There's other long tracks on other albums as well, but I'm less familiar with those and don't know how radio-friendly they are.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 2:08 PM on October 17, 2007


What is the theme/genre of your show?

Could you pre-record a partial set?

Freebird Live (off of Gold and Platinum) 14:09

Freebird - 9:07

Life's Been Good to Me So Far - 8:56
posted by Pollomacho at 2:10 PM on October 17, 2007


Well if you're into playing bad 80's goth rock, there's pretty much anything by Fields of the Nephilim. Even though most of the tracks are in the 8 - 15 minute range, generally three or four tracks can be thought of as different movements within the same song since there is no break in continuity.

Yes, this is my favorite band.
posted by MaxK at 2:11 PM on October 17, 2007


Rush - 2112 (20:43)
Probably one of the best songs of all time. Great to listen to early in the morning, too. I usually put it on as I'm getting out of bed.
posted by DrSkrud at 2:11 PM on October 17, 2007


Stairway to Heaven is 8:02

Meatloaf, particularly his older stuff, is known for longer, drawn out rock opera ballads. I'd Do Anything For Love (but I don't do that) (11:58) and Paradise by the Dashboard Light (8:28) come to mind

Metallica's One 7:24, though some of the live bootlegs are longer.
posted by jmd82 at 2:11 PM on October 17, 2007


Jane's Addiction: Three Days (10:48)
posted by The World Famous at 2:11 PM on October 17, 2007


Cymande, "Dove"
posted by Brian James at 2:12 PM on October 17, 2007


Sonic Youth's The Diamond Sea off Washing Machine is pretty good.

Maybe you'll get some callers while you're gone, complaining about the awful screeching noises, but is is almost 20 minutes long.

All of my other suggestions have bad words in them, like Of Montreal - The Past is a Grotesque Animal. Damn Darn.
posted by kpmcguire at 2:15 PM on October 17, 2007


Mike Oldfield -- Tubular Bells
"Part One" 25:36
"Part Two" 23:20
Focus -- "Eruption" 23:03

Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays -- "As Wichita Falls, So Falls Wichita Falls" 20:46

Vangelis -- "Chariots of Fire" 20:35

Moodswings -- "Opium" 16:46
posted by ericb at 2:15 PM on October 17, 2007


Also, most of the songs on Joanna Newsom's album Ys are around or over ten minutes long. Emily is one of my favorites.
posted by otolith at 2:18 PM on October 17, 2007


For even more Yes, try "Heart of the Sunrise," arguably their best song.

Also:

King Crimson - "Starless"
Grand Funk Railroad - "I'm Your Captain"
Modest Mouse - "Trucker's Atlas"
Led Zeppelin - "Achilles Last Stand"
Led Zeppelin - "In My Time of Dying"
Polvo - "When Will You Die For The Last Time In My Dreams"
Tool - "Third Eye"
Mars Volta - "Cygnus... Vismund Cygnus"

I know that there are numerous cuts of classic James Brown tunes that are in excess of 10 minutes. I've also got a live version of Kool and the Gang's "Summer Madness" that's at least 10 minutes, and awesome throughout.
posted by saladin at 2:19 PM on October 17, 2007


700 Hobo Names by John Hodgman is an hour long, with Jonathan Coulton accompanying.
posted by contraption at 2:19 PM on October 17, 2007


Moodswings -- "Spiritual High" 15:27

Moodswings -- "Storm in a Teacup" 14:02

And so many other Moodswings songs are over 10:00.
posted by ericb at 2:20 PM on October 17, 2007


The Island and The Crane Wife 1 & 2 by The Decemberists (on "The Crane Wife") also all the songs on "The Tain," I believe; Rubidoux by Cold War Kids (on "Robbers & Cowards"); Starla and Pastichio Medley by The Smashing Pumpkins (on "Pisces Iscariot" and the "Zero" single, respectively); Spiders (Kidsmoke) by Wilco (on "A Ghost is Born").

Pastichio Medley, while not the most radio-friendly song ever, will give you enough time to slaughter the pig, cure the meat and then fry the bacon.
posted by Terminal Verbosity at 2:23 PM on October 17, 2007


Bob Dylan - Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands (11:19). Off of "Blonde on Blonde."

Dylan's best song, in my opinion.
posted by Dasein at 2:24 PM on October 17, 2007


Play several consecutive tracks of Pink Floyd's "The Wall" -- they blend together nicely.
posted by cmiller at 2:27 PM on October 17, 2007


Just about any track at all by Godspeed! You Black Emperor. Also My Father My King by Mogwai (20:12), most tracks from A Silver Mt. Zion, etc. If you're willing to play post-rock, the world is your oyster.
posted by shakespeherian at 2:27 PM on October 17, 2007


Check out this and this.
posted by onlyconnect at 2:27 PM on October 17, 2007


Yes, lots of Pink Floyd, and nearly everything is radio friendly, BUT... caution... Pigs (Three Different Ones) mentioned above has the lyric "You fucked up old hag." Not radio friendly off the shelf.
posted by The Deej at 2:28 PM on October 17, 2007


I should also add the track "Blues" by J.J. Johnson, Illinois Jacquet, Nat King Cole, which is available both on The Verve Story 1944-1994 (the first track on the first disc) and The Complete Jazz at the Philharmonic. A truly awesome live track.

And regarding the Dylan track - your listeners might enjoy the trivia from the Wikipedia page that he's never performed it in concert.
posted by Dasein at 2:30 PM on October 17, 2007


Also, if you have any live albums, the live version of any song is always 28% longer. (My formula for coming up with this number is duration of album version + extra wicked guitar solo + pre- and post-song political/drunken rambling of lead singer.)
posted by Terminal Verbosity at 2:30 PM on October 17, 2007


The Cure's Carnage Visors (a 45 second clip linked) clocks in at 27:51.
posted by digiFramph at 2:32 PM on October 17, 2007


The long version of "Time Has Come Today" is 11 minutes long.
posted by buriednexttoyou at 2:33 PM on October 17, 2007


Or you could put on Sleep's Dopesmoker (1:03:31) and get breakfast, run to the bank, walk the dog, water the begonias, and get a haricut.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 2:33 PM on October 17, 2007


Fatboy Slim, "Song for Shelter" (11:26)

Not quite 10:00, but close:
Prince, "Purple Rain" (8:45)
The Orb, "Perpetual Dawn" (9:31)

Broken Chairs by Built to Spill is almost 20 minutes, but Cortez the Killer is longer and better.


Neil Young wrote "Cortez the Killer". Sheesh, kids today.
posted by mkultra at 2:34 PM on October 17, 2007


Monster Magnet: Tab...

32 minutes of syrupy spaced-out goodness. What a way to start a day. May or may not be clean, but the vocals are so echoey and buried in the mix that no one will ever know.
posted by googly at 2:35 PM on October 17, 2007


I'd try Funkadelic :

Hey Mommy whats a funkadelic

Free your mind and your ass will follow

Maggot Brain

Good thoughts, Bad thoughts

Tales of kidd funkadelic

not just knee deep

or Parliament:

Sir nosed'voidofunk

Funkentelechy

Deep

etc etc

Now I'd listen to that radio station!
posted by criticalbill at 2:36 PM on October 17, 2007


-Obvious, but just in case it hasn't occurred to you: Inagatadavita, or however the hell it's spelled.
-Texas Flood, Live at Montreaux '82 - Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble (10:27)
-There's a version of The End, by The Doors that is 11:42, and is quite good. No excessively long solos or well, whatever you call the opposite of a solo on lots of live tracks where the band just kind of grooves for a while without much going on. The album I have it on is "Legacy: The Absolute Best". It's not a live track.
-Rhapsody in Blue by Gershwin. The version I have is about 15 minutes. I believe there is a version that is around 30.

Or here's an idea (that your management would probably never allow you to do). Tell the folks at the restaurant that if they will deliver you food, you'll mention that you're eating it, and how great it tastes, on air.
posted by gauchodaspampas at 2:37 PM on October 17, 2007


You guys are great!
We were so far out of ideas that we ended up playing the Abbey Road suite today. Was a good idea, but we'd rather play really long songs. Makes for a segment of shorts.


We play all sorts of music (mostly older rap and newer alt-rock) but the long song of the day can be whatever. Keep them coming, we'll be set for the rest of my life!
posted by stvspl at 2:40 PM on October 17, 2007


Also, if you have any live albums, the live version of any song is always 28% longer. (My formula for coming up with this number is duration of album version + extra wicked guitar solo + pre- and post-song political/drunken rambling of lead singer.)

128% longer if it happens to be Jimmy Page playing the extra wicked guitar solo, so yeah live Led Zeppelin stuff is a way to go. There's a couple of twenty minute to half hour versions of 'Dazed and Confused' out there (BBC Sessions springs to mind).

Check out Hendrix - Hear my train a 'coming off the blues album, it's about 11 minutes long and pretty wicked!
posted by TwoWordReview at 2:41 PM on October 17, 2007


Along those same lines, James Brown has got probably hundreds of ten minute jams : Superbad, ain't it funky, Mind Power, Stone to the Bone, Papa Dont take no mess, etc etc
posted by criticalbill at 2:41 PM on October 17, 2007


What are some good LONG songs? Most of them are by Can. "Halleluwah," (18:32) from Tago Mago, comes to mind. Also, if you like love songs, "Yoo Doo Right," (20:27) from Monster Movie, is a good option.

"Yoo Doo Right" happens to be the edited-down version. The original is actually six hours long, but unfortunately, I've never been able to find a recording of it.
posted by koeselitz at 2:41 PM on October 17, 2007


Sugar Hill Gang - Rapper's Delight
Jedi Mind Tricks - Raw Is War (I'm pretty certain this is clean, but not 100%)

The band Sleep has a 50 minute song called Jerusalem. It's surprisingly listenable, but it's heavy stoner rock, which your audience might not appreciate.
posted by ignignokt at 2:45 PM on October 17, 2007


Nina Simone: "See-Line Woman" (Masters At Work Remix, from the album "Verve/Remixed): 10.06
Bebel Gilberto "Bring back the love" (Prince Thomas Remix): 10.18
Isaac Hayes "The look of love": 11.15
Miles Davis "All blues": 11.33
John Coltrane "My favorite things": 13.42
posted by iviken at 2:46 PM on October 17, 2007


Maggot Brain - Funkadelic. Mostly instrumental, good early-morning stuff. There's lots of live Funkadelic out there that meets your criteria, as well. Also, either Jesus of Suburbia or Homecoming by Green Day (from American Idiot); each is about 10 mins, and each has the advantage of sounding like several distinct songs within one song. I think they can be gotten in clean versions)
posted by pdb at 2:50 PM on October 17, 2007


Isaac Hayes, "Walk On By": 12:30
posted by infinitewindow at 2:55 PM on October 17, 2007


Metallica - The Outlaw Torn (9:52), from Load (There's also a version of it that's around 10:40, if you can find it.)

Metallica - To Live is to Die (9:48), from ...And Justice For All

Also, their live album (Binge & Purge) has three of four really long tracks.

Of course, if you step away from rock, such tracks are really easy to find. Just about every Miles Davis Album made after about 1965 has several. (Particularly, In a Silent Way, A Tribute to Jack Johnson, Bitches Brew, Agharta, and Pangea. All of these rock pretty hard, actually.) Oh, and if you go to classical music, then this task becomes trivial. Play a Beethoven symphony, and that'll jam up 30-60 minutes.
posted by epimorph at 2:57 PM on October 17, 2007


"Thursday Afternoon" by Brian Eno was written shortly after the advent of CDs to take advantage of their ability for extended play (an hour originally). No words to offend, transports your listeners to another world and gives you time to linger over pancakes.
posted by rongorongo at 2:59 PM on October 17, 2007


Mr. Bungle: "The Bends" (10:28)
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 3:07 PM on October 17, 2007


not sure if this works with your format, but charles mingus' cumbia and jazz fusion is an amazing song, about half an hour long if i remember correctly.
posted by alkupe at 3:08 PM on October 17, 2007


You know I'm pretty sure that in addition to not playing obscene material, the FCC requires someone to actually be present at the radio station at all times when the transmitter is on.

Maybe you should have your food delivered.
posted by jeffamaphone at 3:15 PM on October 17, 2007


Marvin Gaye's "Got to Give It Up" -- album version -- is something like 12 minutes of pure awesomeness.
posted by norm at 3:17 PM on October 17, 2007


"You Dropped a Bomb on Me"
Gap Band (original 12" mix)
13 minutes 11 seconds
posted by Bighappyfunhouse at 3:27 PM on October 17, 2007


The Mars Volta - Day of the Baphomets is 12+minutes of sheer glory. Also, Cassandra Gemini clocks in at 32:32, and theres 2 other songs on Frances the Mute that are 10+.
posted by Mach5 at 3:34 PM on October 17, 2007


I also have a track of Greg Davis and Hrvastski doing fun electronic stuff for over an hour.
posted by shakespeherian at 3:40 PM on October 17, 2007


"The Great Nothing," by Spock's Beard, is 27:03.

Brilliant, melodic prog by an obscure band at its peak.
posted by futility closet at 4:05 PM on October 17, 2007


A Long Day - The Polyphonic Spree (36:30)
The Dead Flag Blues - Godspeed You Black Emperor (16:30)
Yeah (Pretentious Version) - LCD Soundsystem (11:06)
Let's not Shit Ourselves (To Love And To Be Loved) - Bright Eyes (10:07)

Not sure which of those I'd like to start my morning with, though!
posted by so_necessary at 4:08 PM on October 17, 2007


Crosby Stills Nash and Young's live album Four Way Street has a couple good, long jams: "Southern Man" and "Carry On." 13:45 and 14:19 in length, respectively.

Opening up the field to electronic music would expand your options considerably (stuff like Underworld's 13-minute-long "MMM Skyscraper I Love You, for starters). But you mention you're an early morning DJ, so you probably need more traditional genres, right?
posted by flod at 4:09 PM on October 17, 2007


Ravel's Bolero - roughly 15 minutes, depending on the recording.
posted by ZakDaddy at 4:13 PM on October 17, 2007


Woops. Wiki.
posted by ZakDaddy at 4:14 PM on October 17, 2007


Funkadelic's "Maggot Brain" has been mentioned a couple of times but be aware that it does have some raunchy lyrics at the beginning: "nocked up" drowning in her own shit". If that's a problem maybe you could fade it in at the extended guitar solo.

Coltrane's "My Favourite Things" is over seventeen minutes long.

Sly and the Family Stone's "Sex Machine" is over twelve minutes of funky awesomeness. It's not the same tune as the James Brown "Sex Machine" (which is also pretty long), so maybe you could play them back to back and have brunch.
posted by timeistight at 4:17 PM on October 17, 2007


Desolation Row. You know, for that jolly-happy-leap-out-of-bed feeling in the morning...
posted by blag at 4:18 PM on October 17, 2007


The longest track I have is Liars, "This Dust Makes That Mud," which is good but ends with 15 or so minutes of repetitive guitars/noise. Probably will tick some people off.

The two second longest tracks (24:24 and 19:22) I have are from To Live and Shave in L.A. and are the two songs that comprise their Noon and Eternity release. It's noisy weirdness, though much less so than other noisy-weird stuff. They might be a winner, depending on your audience.

"1-1" (17:21) from Brian Eno's Ambient 1: Music for Airports is perfect for some mornings, especially if they feature snow.

Seconding Joanna Newsom. "Only Skin" clocks in at 16:53, which should give you time to send back the egg+cheese if they forgot the cheese.

Springsteen's "The River" off of Live 1975-1985 is 11:40.

And, FYI, "Hurricane" (Dylan) uses "the N-word."
posted by wemayfreeze at 4:41 PM on October 17, 2007


Two of my favorites:

Through It All There's You by Robert Palmer

New York Mining Disaster by Ashton, Gardner & Dyke
posted by analogue at 4:43 PM on October 17, 2007


Some more possibilities:

Dizzy Gillespie - Bebop
Genesis - One For The Vine
Miles Davis - All Blues
Mogwai - Like Herod
Pinback - Grey Machine
The Shipping News - A True Lover's Knot
posted by saladin at 4:45 PM on October 17, 2007


The live version of "30,000 Pounds of Bananas" by Harry Chapin is 11 and a half minutes long. It's off Greatest Stories Live.
posted by lilac girl at 4:47 PM on October 17, 2007


Waterboys- Glastonbury Song 16:15 (love this song)
The Chieftans- Galician Overture 11:01 (maybe a bit of a downer for the morning)
Janes Addiction- Three Days 10:50 (Clean, except for a reference to Jesus laying with Mary)
Dead Can Dance- Song of the Stars 10:12 (not their best, but the longest)
Paul McCartney- Secret Friend 10:26 (okay, maybe not so good)

And another vote for Station to Station by Bowie. Awesome.
posted by kimdog at 5:06 PM on October 17, 2007


Allman Brothers Band, "Whipping Post" [live], 22:56, from At Fillmore East

Allman Brothers Band, "Mountain Jam" [live], 33:41, from Eat a Peach

Van Morrison, "Summertime in England", 15:30, and "When Heart Is Open", 15:03, both from Common One
posted by kirkaracha at 5:09 PM on October 17, 2007


Jimmy Cauty's (ex-KLF) Space comes in at over 38 minutes.
posted by user92371 at 5:09 PM on October 17, 2007


As an aside (and mostly because I'm curious), why don't you and your co-host just take turns getting the breakfast across the street? In any case, this is a great thread.

Dance Sister Dance by Santana is 8:15 long. Weezer's Only in Dreams is 7:59.
posted by batcrazy at 5:16 PM on October 17, 2007


Trapped in the Drive Thru - Weird Al
Bill Cosby - Chicken Heart (not music, but classic)
Tim Fite - The More You Do (I love this guy)
posted by cashman at 5:40 PM on October 17, 2007


Supper's Ready by Genesis.

20 minutes+ of pure prog rock bliss.
posted by Ike_Arumba at 5:43 PM on October 17, 2007 [1 favorite]


If anyone is still reading this, I second Pink Floyd's Echoes.
posted by malaprohibita at 5:44 PM on October 17, 2007


"Babe, I'm on Fire" by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. 15 minutes of solid rocking.
Jane's Addiction, "Three Days" (Kettle Whistle version)
Funkadelic, "Maggot Brain"
posted by infidelpants at 5:51 PM on October 17, 2007


We were so far out of ideas that we ended up playing the Abbey Road suite today. Was a good idea, but we'd rather play really long songs.

Well, it's along those lines, but the Beastie Boys' "B-Boy Boullabaisse" off of Paul's Boutique rocks in at 12:34.
posted by mkultra at 5:52 PM on October 17, 2007


"Light of Day, Day of Darkness" by Green Carnation is really long (around an hour) and really awesome. However, I am not sure whether an hour-long piece is suitable for your radio station.
posted by bsdfish at 5:57 PM on October 17, 2007



posted by kirkaracha at 6:07 PM on October 17, 2007 [3 favorites]


76:14 by Loop Guru, especially the 14:31 portion.
posted by fvox13 at 6:48 PM on October 17, 2007


Play Tommy some time. Studio or the Live at Leeds versions are both good and far from short.
posted by 6550 at 6:56 PM on October 17, 2007


British Sea Power - Lately (13:59)
Dump - International Airport (12:46)
Teenage Fanclub - I Heard You Looking (12:44) [the local college radio station used to play this about once a day, honestly.]
Television - Marquee Moon (10:41) [aforementioned station would play THIS once a day as well.]
posted by punchdrunkhistory at 6:59 PM on October 17, 2007


This is one I use for my Shovelglove workouts: "Braindance" by Omnia Opera. It's 14 minutes and some change.
posted by kindall at 7:01 PM on October 17, 2007


Well, let me set iTunes to organize by time and see what pops out to me.

"The Trilogy", Sonic Youth
"Karen Revisited", Sonic Youth
"Sympathy for a Strawberry", Sonic Youth

"Highlands", Bob Dylan

"Land: Horses/ Land Of A Thousand Dances/ La Mer (De)" Patti Smith

"The Story of Yo La Tengo", Yo La Tengo
"Pass the Hatchet, I Think I'm Goodkind", Yo La Tengo
"Spec Bebop", Yo La Tengo

"Let's Call it Love", Sleater-Kinney

"Spiders (Kidsmoke)", Wilco

"Hallelujah" (Live at Sin-e), Jeff Buckley
"Lover, You Should've Come Over" (Live at Sin-e), Jeff Buckley

"Look Away", Deerhoof.

That's what I got.
posted by Weebot at 7:10 PM on October 17, 2007


Forgot to mention, "Highlands" is 16:31, so that'd be a nice breakfast there.
posted by Weebot at 7:14 PM on October 17, 2007


All of my long songs are Dave Matthews Band live...
longest is "Two Step" from "The Gorge" live CD (disc 1) at 19:02. I have 10 others that are 15+ minutes.
posted by clh at 7:21 PM on October 17, 2007


"All of the Above" by Transatlantic is one of my very favorite songs. It clocks in at 30:55, over half an hour. What stands out is that unlike so many other long songs it doesn't have any boring, repetitive parts or silly wankery. It also fits together as one big song, not a bunch of shorter songs crammed together. There's this beautiful guitar melody that helps transition between sections, and really pays off at the end in a gorgeous guitar solo. Really you just... you have to play it!

Oh, and the naughtiest word in the song is "skank". :-)
posted by Khalad at 8:15 PM on October 17, 2007 [1 favorite]


Tangerine Dream's Phaedra (17:39) and Rubycon Parts 1 (17:17) & 2 (17:34) for some old school electronica.
posted by rfs at 8:40 PM on October 17, 2007


Stereolab - Metronomic Underground (ABC Music, 10:15)
posted by cowbellemoo at 8:42 PM on October 17, 2007


Kraftwerk - Autobahn - 22:42
posted by SansPoint at 10:06 PM on October 17, 2007


Dylan's song that he wrote with Sam Shepard: "Brownsville Girl", from Knocked Out Loaded. Clocks in over eleven minutes. A great 'story' song.
posted by zenpop at 10:27 PM on October 17, 2007


My favorite clean song over ten minutes not previously mentioned is Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus, arr. Ralph Vaughan Williams, rec. Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. That piece is what the creation of the world sounded like. On the same album and fitting the bill are also The Lark Ascending, which I quite like, and the fantasia on Tallis's theme.

Phish have got three songs that meet your spec on Round Room. 'Waves' might be your best bet; the jam sections of the other two sometimes get kind of directionless.

In the post-rock department, Do Make Say Think got 'Outer Inner & Secret' over the ten-minute mark, and I would really enjoy waking up to it. Any couple of adjacent tracks from that album, Winter Hymn Country Hymn Secret Hymn, would work too. Waking up to the last three tracks (13 minutes) would be a joy.

Blood, Sweat, and Tears recorded a nice segue between 'Snow Queen' and 'Maiden Voyage', and the combined length is 11:42.

In the jazz department, Dave Brubeck shows up with a live cut of 'Tangerine', and with 'Don't Forget Me' from Park Avenue South. Patricia Barber has 'Autumn Leaves' from Le Jazz Au Bar. And the mighty John Coltrane has 'Summertime' and 'My Favorite Things' from My Favorite Things and 'Pursuance' from A Love Supreme. Trane's 'Summertime' is not a lullaby. Man, is it hot. I'd love to hear that thing.

I had a 'driveway moment' a couple months ago with something by the Turtle Island String Quartet, but I cannot now locate the name of the track. Actually they played three in a row, each rather long: One a jazz piece, one a contemporary classical, and one a rock cover. I got the idea they were consecutive on the album, too.

Freddie Freeloader from Kind of Blue falls fifteen seconds short, as does my cut of 'Saturn' from Holst's The Planets.

Moby's 'Alone' is 10:47 but might not wake me up. It's tremendously hypnotic though. You don't need a long break during a night show, do you?
posted by eritain at 11:43 PM on October 17, 2007


Here are the rock songs I have that are over ten minutes. They all come with my seal of approval as awesome songs. (some of these have already been mentioned, so I'm seconding them.)

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Heard It Through The Grapevine
Led Zeppelin - Achilles' Last Stand
Led Zeppelin - In My Time Of Dying
DJ Shadow - What Does Your Soul Look Like (Part 2)
DJ Shadow - In/Flux (this has been called the song that "created" the genre of trip-hop)
The Rum Diary - Bright After Rain
The Rum Diary - The No Hunt
The Rum Diary - Helmet To Ecstatic
U2 - Bad (live version from Live Aid - this was the performance that made them famous)
Akercocke - Shelter From the Sand (this has some death-metally bits in it, so I don't know if you want to use it for a morning radio show. no cursing though!)


These other ones are not quite 10 minutes long, but they're REALLY good songs.

The Rum Diary - The Sunken Fields (TL-05) - 9:57
DJ Shadow - Stem / Long Stem / Transmission 2 - 9:22
The Secret Machines - First Wave Intact - 9:00 (holy shit, what an awesome song)
posted by Vic Morrow's Personal Vietnam at 12:09 AM on October 18, 2007


You Don't Love Me Anymore - Weird Al Yankovic (14:10)
You Dropped a Bomb on Me - Gap Band (13:11)
Xanadu - Rush (12:11)
Silence - Delerium w/ Sarah McLachlan, DJ Tiesto remix (11:34)
Albuquerque - Weird Al Yankovic (11:23)
Domino - Genesis (10:45)
Underture - The Who / Tommy (10:09)

Awesome thread, btw. I'll be checking out some of these tracks next time the opportunity presents itself.
posted by Myself at 12:11 AM on October 18, 2007


The Polyphonic Spree's "When the fool becomes a king" runs at 10:37 and is as clean as you could possibly get. Really cool song too.

Mars Volta has a lot of long songs, though they may too, eh, unordinary to work on radio (I guess).
posted by cheerleaders_to_your_funeral at 12:22 AM on October 18, 2007


Patrick Cowley's remix of Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" weighs in at about 15 minutes.

The original and eponymous CD by the Dandy Warhols contains a sixteen minute long track called "It's a Fast Driving Rave-Up" at 16 minutes long.
posted by rongorongo at 2:15 AM on October 18, 2007


There are tons of 10 minute+ Yo la Tengo songs. My favourite is "Mushroom Cloud of Hiss" (9:25). Let's Be Still (10:26) and Night Falls on Hoboken (17:42) are great too if you want something a bit mellower. I think the longest is Sunsquashed (26:21).
posted by Andy Harwood at 4:27 AM on October 18, 2007


Three part song by Tool:

Disposition 4:48
Reflection 11:09
Triad 8:48

24:45 total. Amazing song, if you have the patience for it. The way it's structured together fits wonderfully. Very atmospheric, sentimental, soothing and jarring at points too. If you can enjoy tool then look it up, you won't regret it.

Many nights of mine ended with me listening to it with headphones on a beanbag in my room with the lights off.

I think I'll go listen to it now..
posted by Dillonlikescookies at 4:41 AM on October 18, 2007


Let me recommend the nuclear option, Dream Theater's 'Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence.' At a shade over 42 minutes, it's broken into eight movements on the CD, and is three quarters of an hour of sweet, sweet intellectually masturbatory prog. Should give you time for breakfast, two cups of coffee, and maybe a quick nap.
posted by Mayor West at 5:27 AM on October 18, 2007


Ani DiFranco has a couple of very long ones - Pulse (14:16) and Hat Shaped Hat (12:55) should be good for your show (from the albums "Little Plastic Castle" and "Up Up Up Up Up Up" respectively).

Railroad Earth offers Like A Buddha (16:00), Head (15:41) and Elko (8:59), all from the album "Elko".

Oasis - All Around the World (9:20)

Revolution 9 by The Beatles (if it can really be called a song) could be fun to try one morning. It may be a bit short though, 8:13 (from The White Album).
posted by bent back tulips at 5:42 AM on October 18, 2007


I cant believe anyone said "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Gordon Lightfoot.

6:28 and then you want to kill yourself :-)
posted by sandra_s at 7:05 AM on October 18, 2007


Monolithe - Monolithe II
Not sure how clean, but its all death metal vocals

There's also a lot of post-rock and prog-rock stuff you can find out there that should fit the time admirably.
Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree, Isis, etc...
posted by Ikazuchi at 7:07 AM on October 18, 2007


I love everyone!

this is fantastic. I favorited the one answer above with about 23049325 answers, but I've been compiling a master list of all of these.

8-10 AM, Wednesdays on WMFO - Instant Coffee.
posted by stvspl at 8:15 AM on October 18, 2007 [1 favorite]


"Thin Blue Line" by Josh Ritter (off of The Animal Years) is an amazing song. It's running time is only 9:38, however.
posted by backwards guitar at 8:44 AM on October 18, 2007


A recent fave of mine, but maybe too sparse and minimalistic for radio, is "Two Birds" by Charalambides - clocking in at 12:40.

The funny thing is that when I searched for a link, the blog that the (above) belongs to includes a weekly feature, specifically, of contemporary songs over 8 minutes long. A treasure trove!

The 8+ List [earfarm.blogspot.com]
and EAR FARM's 8+ Greatest Hits [earfarm.blogspot.com]

Or, wait, search by tag. If you like words.

Props to Matt and Mike of EAR FARM.
posted by myrrh at 4:11 PM on October 18, 2007


Oahu - The 6ths (28:10)
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 10:45 PM on October 18, 2007


Echoing a previous comment on Pink Floyd - Dogs, but adding Elton John - Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding from Goodbye Yellowbrick Road.
posted by GurnB at 6:08 AM on October 19, 2007


Herbie Hancock's Chameleon is just under 16 minutes.
posted by pmbuko at 8:24 AM on October 19, 2007


Wilco - Spiders
posted by a.mosquito at 8:43 AM on October 20, 2007


Billboard.com says "Float On" (Long Version) by the Floaters on their self-titled first LP is 11:46.
posted by CollectiveMind at 10:49 AM on October 20, 2007


Shine on you Crazy Diamond, Tubular Bells and Supper's Ready definitely. ("A flower?")

Also, Peter Gabriel's concert album "Secret World Live" has an absolutely spectacular 11 minute version of "In Your Eyes." (I have a 15 minute version too, but it's not as good.)

An American in Paris is nearly 20 minutes. But then, you could put on most any good opera overture and go get a Grand Slam.
posted by CunningLinguist at 8:25 PM on October 20, 2007


Straight from my foobar2000 playlist:
- Santa Esmeralda - [Kill Bill #10] Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood (10:28)
- DJ Shadow - [Live! In Tune and On Time #21] Napalm Brain/Scatter Brain & Outro (12:07)
- Godspeed You! Black Emperor - [F# A# (Infinity) CD1 #01] The Dead Flag Blues (16:28) [for bonus points, play the LP version of this album, for some 20+ minute track goodness]
- Lou Reed - [Live in Concert #11] Some Kinda Love/Sister Ray (15:27)
- Led Zeppelin - [How The West Was Won [Disc 2] CD2 #04] Moby Dick (19:23) [wonderful 12 minute drum solo ftw]
- Creedence Clearwater Revival - [Chronicle, Vol. 1 CD1 #16] I Heard It Through The Grapevine (11:07)
- DJ Shadow - [Live! In Tune and On Time #20] Blood on the Motorway (10:00)
- Neil Young & Crazy Horse - [Decade [Disc 1] CD1 #12] Cowgirl In The Sand (10:02)
- Deep Purple - [Deepest Purple #05] Child in Time (10:20)
- Rush - [Moving Pictures #05] The Camera Eye (11:01)
posted by grandsham at 9:15 PM on October 20, 2007


Curtain Call by The Damned is fantastic and 17:13 long
posted by birdlady at 10:49 AM on October 21, 2007


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