I've been thinking about long songs recently. Now, to be clear, when I talk about a song being "long", I'm talking about it being over ten minutes long. That's it, that's my standard for being a long playing song. I grew up listing to AM and FM radio, where songs longer than, say, 3 or 4 minutes were a rarity.
How Bohemian Rhapsody ever got onto the airwaves at just a smidge under six minutes long will forever be a mystery to me.
My sister, however, was big into Pink Floyd, and I was always thrown off by the length of some of their songs: Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts 1-5) clocking in at 13:31 minutes, Dogs (off of Animals), clocking in at just over 17 minutes, and Echos (off Meddle) with a run time of 23:32 minutes. Who had time to listen to all that?
Well, back in the day, you made time. Before Walkmans, you would put the record on, put on your huge headphones, lie back on your bed, or on your floor, and just listen to the music while looking at the album cover art, or reading the lyrics. Or just chilling. You set aside time just for the music.
The Sony Walkman is a huge reason why music horrible today. Read my rant here.
I recommend going back to that mindset. That lifestyle, as it were. Let's set aside a chunk of time for music. No phone, no TV, no internet, no listening to music "and" doing something else. Here are some long songs. Get immersed in them.
I've blogged about Between The Buried And Me before, check it out here. They are one of the most influential bands in the progressive metal genre out there right now, their complex song structures, dynamic shifts, and insane level of technical proficiency makes them one of my current favorite bands. And "The Proverbial Bellow" is no different, a truly standout track.
Our next guest needs no introduction. And if you are not excited about over ten minutes of Jimi playing guitar, then I don't know what to tell you, pal.
