VEGANGELICA

Which short songs (less than 3 minutes long) do you adore? What do you like most about them?

>>> Please make sure to type the names of the artists and songs in case videos disappear! Thank you. ~ Me <<<

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I realized recently that while most of my preferred songs are under five minutes long, quite a few of my favorite songs of all time are actually less than three minutes in length.

For example, below are three of my favorite songs. I love the emotion and beauty packed into these short pieces, which I feel are like exquisitely cut gems: small but brilliant.

Chopin - Etude Op. 10, no. 1 ("Waterfall")
Ashkenazy - piano

I love the contrast between power and delicacy in this etude, which is my favorite by Chopin. I am impressed that Chopin manages to condense so much strength into a piece that is just over 2 minutes long.


Ashkenazy plays Chopin Etude op.10-1 - YouTube

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Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens) - "The Wind"

Ahhh. I love that Yusuf sings this song with such conviction and honesty, revealing so much of himself in it. The tune is sweet, gentle, rich. Yusuf manages to encompass his whole life in this brief, contemplative song, which always sounds to me as if it offers some answer to the big questions about existence. The song makes me like to pretend there is a god and a soul...and maybe even hope a little.


The Wind - Cat Stevens - YouTube

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Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 - Prelude
Rostropovich - cello

I love the energy, excitement, and simplicity of this short piece and especially the long rise to its climactic end. I also love the fact that a single instrument engages my interest so thoroughly, stirring my emotions without needing fancy bells, whistles, drums, guitars, or even chords until the one that is at the crest of the final crescendo.


Rostropovich plays the Prelude from Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 - YouTube

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appleghost

10. I Will (No Man's Land) - YouTube

I often wish this song was longer, but at the same time, the shortness of this song is one of the things that make it so good. You're just left with a "whoah".

Trollheart

One of my favourites from U2. Has such painful emotion in the Edge's piano work, and although the lyric is sparse it manages to say exactly all it needs to say in a few short sentences. Truly classic.


Are instrumentals allowed? If so, Genesis's "Horizons" is one beautiful but short piece of guitar work from Steve Hackett.

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Janszoon

I love the song "Drive-In Show" by Eddie Cochran who, like most of his contemporaries, specialized in tracks that were less than 3 minutes:

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A Night in the Life of the Invisible Man

Time & Place

25 Albums You Should Hear Before the Moon Crashes into the Earth and We All Die

last.fm

mr dave

My absolute favourite short song is Away Goodbye by Change of Heart, they're another underrated Canadian alt-rock act from the 90s.

The song isn't even a minute long but it packs just as much punch and most full length pop tunes. I really like how it starts off with just an acoustic guitar and a voice before exploding with the full band without ever losing the feeling of intimacy or intensity. Unfortunately the individual song itself isn't available on youtube but surprisingly enough the entire album it happens to be on is, so here's a link cut to the right time

Change Of Heart - Tummysuckle (1995) Full Album - YouTube

The whole album is worth listening to as well but this track is its pinnacle to my ears.

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Sumonchy

My favorite short song is "No Man's Land". It's an amazing song and I like it so much.

Lisnaholic

It`s good to see that you`re posting again, VEGANGELICA. I missed you !
Though I`m not a big fan of Chopin, I had to admire the way Ashkenazy`s right hand is working that keyboard in your first clip.

And your thread has made me notice how many short songs there are; as Janszoon says, there was a time when almost every published song was about 3 mins long. Then I checked out Trout Mask Replica, which has 19 songs that come in under the bar - impossible for me to select which one of those is the best, so I`m choosing this song instead :-



Here Brian Wilson takes a deliberately undramatic topic and then packs the song with charming details:-
- the low-register pipes at 0:13
- the BB`s singing tab-e vege vege at 0:48
- that under-used percussive instrument, celery, coming in at 0:53
- the background chomp chomp chomp vocal at 1:23
- the beautiful 20-second adagio at 1:31
- and then the resounding, full-on Beach Boys fade out, which is also a mere 20 seconds long.
So we have an endearing, off-beat comment about love, diet and shopping and a song that glitters like a piece of jewelry with exquisite little gems of sound.

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"Am I enjoying this moment? I know of it and perhaps that is enough." - Sybille Bedford, 1953

Thom Yorke

Always loved this one-two punch to start the album off.

14232949

Punk music in general is pretty short, snappy and to the point.

ladyislingering

"While My Heart is Still Beating" (Roxy Music)

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