Comments on: 2:42

By: Ryan

Ryan — Wed, 14 May 2008 03:47:15 +0000

There are 111 songs in my itunes that clock in at 2:42…only some are notable but it’s pretty cool. It kind of hurts the “perfect song” theory though, because my version of “This Charming Man” is at 2:43 and my “The Tigers Have Spoken” is 2:41 so if we can’t agree how long a song is, how can we know if it’s really perfect?

There She Goes – The La’s
Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day – Lowe, Nick
Pictures Of Lily – The Who
Slow West Vultures – The Mountain Goats
Iron Ore Betty – Prine, John
As Tears Go By – The Rolling Stones
Forever Blue – Isaak, Chris
They are the Meat – Residents
The Hardest Thing in the World – The Stone Roses
Christ for President – Billy Bragg & Wilco
The Day The Rains Came – Haggard, Merle
Don’t Do Me Like That – Petty, Tom
Breakdown – Petty, Tom
Nothin’ In The World Can Stop Me Worryin’ ‘Bout That Girl – The Kinks
All Across the Sands – The Stone Roses
(I’m Always Touched By Your) Presence, Dear – Blondie
Crosses - González, José
Wayfaring Stranger – 16 Horsepower
Looking For Love (In The Hall Of Mirrors) – 6ths
Climbing – Meat Puppets
Chain Gang – Cooke, Sam
A Well Respected Man – The Kinks
Average Man – Turin Brakes
Place To Be – Drake, Nick
Skinny Legs – Lovett, Lyle

Of these, I would only call “Chain Gang”, “As Tears Go By” and maybe “A Well Respected Man” close to perfection.

Oh well.

By: Iaman

Iaman — Thu, 01 May 2008 10:15:01 +0000

“Seasons of Hype” – Forbidden Broadway
“Miami Thema A” – MahlenGoscht
“My Best Friends” – Pokemon
“Cooties” – Hairspray
“You Can Be As Loud As The Hell You Want (When You’re Makin’ Love)” – Avenue Q
“Cosmic Dust” – Phlogiston
“Pencil Rain” – They Might Be Giants
“Stay With Me” – Into The Woods
“The Nicest Kids In Town” – Hairspray
“Jafar’s Hour” – Aladdin

And only one of them is a song that I listen to regularly, that being The Nicest Kids in Town, from Hairspray.

However, clocking in at 2:43, there is the song Hair from the musical Hair, which I listen to nearly religiously. Clocking in at 2:40 are A Whole New World from Aladdin, Sting Operation by Anamanaguchi, and Activation Theme by Bit Shifter, all favorites of mine. 2:44 holds One Song Glory from the Broadway version of Rent, while 2:39 holds both the Theme from “Rawhide”, as performed by the Blues Brothers, and the acoustic version of The Legendary Theme, by COIL.

2:45 holds The Ballad of Czolgosz from the musical Assassins, as well as Video Challenge by Anamanaguchi.

I could keep going on, but that would simply be ridiculous.

By: Caro

Caro — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 23:12:45 +0000

My iTunes is clockin’ California Dreamin’ at 2:43, and strangely enough, I have absolutely nothing that clocks 2:42. Hrm.

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 03:41:52 +0000

2:42 – Sittin’ On The Dock Of The Bay – Otis Redding
2:42 – The Most Beautiful Girl – Charlie Rich
2:42 – Why Don’t We Get Drunk – Jimmy Buffet

I think this shows that one major component is missing from the last few decades of popular music… editing!

By: harriett

harriett — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 03:21:26 +0000

I saw that article too and I’ve kinda started re-evaluating the songs that come up on my iPod based on it. So far the perfect songs in my iTunes–soundwise as well as lengthwise–include Vampire Weekend’s “Boston,” Winterpills’s “Broken Arm,” and Minus the Bear’s “Drop It Like It’s Hot.”

By: Kaj

Kaj — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 01:54:48 +0000

MAN… now I have that Sleater-Kinney song in my head!