10 Great Songs Under 2 Minutes

Back in the day of making mixed tapes, or even making mixed CDs of just a couple years ago, certain compilation artists were left with a unique problem. There is a little space left at the end of one side of the tape, but it's too small to fit your standard song in there. Thankfully some musicians would record tracks that were short and sweet and fit right in that tetris hole perfectly. Here are 10 Great Songs that clock in at 2 minutes or less.

1. Hayden - "Stem"

From Hayden's debut Everything I Long For "Stem" is a sweet little song about buying a rose for his girlfriend on a windy day. As he walks to her house the elements start plucking the pedals from the flowe one by one until all he has left to give her is a stem.

2. Green Day - "Take Back"

Green Day's Nimrod is usually seen as a departure point for the group. Going in the direction of more harmonized and melodic songs over aggressive and quick punk tracks. Dare I say, more mainstream. Radio friendly. Songs like "Good Riddance" "Redundant" and "Nice Guys Finish Last" certainly support this. However, later in the album is a song called "Take Back" which clocks in at 1:09 and is almost unrecognizable as a Green Day song.

3. Blind Melon - "Skinned"

One of Blind Melon's funnest and funkiest tracks. "Skinned" seems to be about a serial killer who makes furniture from his victim's body parts. A joyous track which also features a perfectly timed kazoo. I wonder what Shannon Hoon would be up to if he were still with us today.

4. The Offspring - "All I Want"

After The Offspring's Smash turned out to be, well a smash, many were wondering what the group would do next. It would be 1997's Ixnay On The Hombre which saw the group take a stab at more melodic pieces, and a more rock oriented album over the So-Cal Punk that made Smash so popular. Though it was not all in their past. The first single "All I Want" picked up right where Smash left off. Part of it could be because it was written seperately for an Epitaph compilation album, but never used.

5. Blur - "Song 2"

I'm sure this one filled the gaps of many a mixed tape or CD. Probably at the end of the compilation, but I can see it kicking off a good mix with it's energy and quickness. Despite having been popular in their native UK since the 80's Blur never made a huge impression on North America until this song was released in 1997 on their self-titled record. It was the second track on the album, it was the second single and runs exactly two minutes.

6. Misfits - "I Wanna Be NY Ranger"

I could have filled this whole list with punk songs, but where's the fun in that? Bands like the Misfts and The Ramones were notorious for having albums with 20 or 30 tracks each just over a minute long. Quick paced and energetic songs is what their audiences came to expect. "I Wanna Be NY Ranger" was actually writeen by John Cafiero for The Ramones, but they had retired before the song was finished. So the Misfits offered to record it only if John would sing lead vocals. Maybe some Rangers fans could let me know if they play this song at games? Seems a no brainer.

7. Pearl Jam - "Soon Forget"

A favourite among die-hard Pearl Jam fans. Found on the often overlooked 2000 record Binaural, "Soon Forget" is a quick little ditty with Eddie Vedder playing a mandolin. Sometimes at Pearl Jam concerts Eddie would perform this solo before even the opening act takes the stage.

8. The Evaporators - "I Gotta Rash"

Some of you might be familiar with Nardwuar aka The Human Serviette. He used to do some field work for Much Music and was a radio personality in his native Vancouver. He was also the lead singer for the BC based thrash/punk/garage group The Evaporators.

9. The White Stripes - "Fell In Love With A Girl"


When The White Stripes released "Fell In Love With A Girl" back in 2002, it was for most people, the first exposure of this group we got. Impossible to ignore with the dirty guitar track and pulse pounding beat. Plus an animated video made entirely from lego? Needless to say, many fans were made, and they wanted more. Thankfully subsequent songs were typically a little longer in length.

10. Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet - "Babakganoosh"

I couldn't do list on short songs without including SMOASP. Most of you will probably recognize them as the group who did the Kids In The Hall theme. They were also favourites on Much Music when there were a few seconds to spare between commercials and TV shows. Very unique sound, very fun band. Very short songs.

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