21 Long Songs That Couldn’t Possibly Be Shorter

Hot take: Most songs can do everything they need to do in under five minutes. You can call it a modern shortening of attention spans or explain as long as you like that your favorite art rock band actually does need 43 minutes to tell the musical tale of that one time the booker stiffed them on beer and it’s not meandering filler at all, but you’re wrong. Also, you can probably do it in less time than the song takes.

Of course, you’re not always wrong. There are a precious few songs that deserve more than six minutes, but boy, do they deserve it. “Gonna throw my hat in,” user CrimsonMoonRising told r/AskReddit. “Multiple songs from the Disintegration album by The Cure (namely, the title track, ‘Same Deep Water,’ and ‘Prayers for Rain’). Also, ‘In Keeping Secrets’ by Coheed and Cambria. One of my faves.” 

They then asked, “What ‘long song’ (six-plus minutes) is worth every minute?” To which their fellow Redditors sang all kinds of great tunes.