[Quora Question] What are some good 'long' songs?
From: http://www.quora.com/Which-are-some-good-long-songs
Fantastic. I happen to really enjoy a good series of long songs. So here are my favourites:
| Post-rock / Cinematic Rock |
Mono - Ashes in the Snow
Japanese cinematic rockers at their best. They have some other fantastic songs, too, but I chose this because it's the first on their latest album Hymn to the Immortal Wind and takes my breath away every time I hear it.
Ef- Hello Scotland
I can't even describe this song properly without you listening to it first.
Explosions in the Sky - First Breath After Coma
See: above. Just listen to it, trust me.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Lift Yr. Skinny Fists like Antennas to Heaven
The whole album. Each song is roughly 22 minutes (except Antennas to Heaven, which is 19 minutes). Brilliant album.
| Ambient / Classical |
Jóhann Jóhannsson - Fordlandia
(song has been shortened to fit into YouTube's previous ten minute limit--most of the song is still there, except the 2 minute near-silence introduction)
This song's actually about Henry Ford going to South America to steal rubber. I'm not quite sure how, but it is. This is layered perfectly, and one of the main songs to inspire me to write my own music. Incredibly powerful.
John Tavener - Fragments of a Prayer
From the Soundtrack for Children of Men. This song is brilliant.
The American Dollar - Starscapes
Mixture between ambient and rock, as it incorporates IDM-style drums to ambient music. Really well produced and created.
pg.lost - Siren
Beautiful, especially at the ending when the 'Siren' calls.
| Progressive Rock |
Karnataka - The Gathering Light
Cinematic, bagpipes, progressive rock. Very 80's throwback style, but not in a bad way.
Karmakanic - Send a Message from the Heart
(shortened version, only ten minutes long--this song is normally 19:30 min)
Another 80's throwback, again incredibly uplifting.
Moving Mountains - Lights & Shapes
(shortened, radio version)
(full version)
Moving Mountains are, as far as I can tell, emo that has matured and grown up. If you were strongly against the emo phase, don't let that turn against you listening to this.
This Will Destroy You - Little Smoke
This is off their most recent album, and makes me think the world is going to end when I listen to it. Really powerful stuff. Could also go down with the noise/other genre. They call themselves of the genre 'Doomgaze', which I think makes sense when you listen to it.
Sweek - Thanx for Sundays (nothing to do with any god!)
I don't really know much about Sweek except they released a fantastic album with this song at the beginning. It's good.
| Other |
Fuck Buttons - Olympians
This is noise rock, but uplifting at the same time. If you're really against noise you probably won't like this.
Counting Crows - Mrs. Potter's Lullaby
(8 minutes)
Not quite as long as the others, but still long enough to be considered. This is an alternative rock song (from a band most would already know). According to a YouTube comment from Blueeyesblack81, the record company wanted Adam (I'm presuming the songwriter) to shorten it for radio play, which they refused to do.
I have placed YouTube videos because they are universally accessible, and because I live in Australia I can't get any of the major Internet radio sites (including Spotify, Pandora etc). I haven't necessarily checked all of these, so if some are wrong (incomplete etc) suggest some edits, please.
