That's Another Valuable Lesson

[billroper]

So I was listening to Bob Stroud's excellent "Rock and Roll Roots" radio program this morning (which you can catch on streaming radio at WDRV from 9-12 on Sunday morning) and he was doing a salute to the Lovin' Spoonful. At number three on his countdown was a song which he noted was under two minutes long: "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?"

Now, I really like that song and I always kind of regret it when it's over and wish that it had been a little longer. And then I realized that this is another valuable lesson for writers of filk (or music in general for that matter).

They had said everything that they needed to say. They had said it in an amusing and witty way. And then they had stopped, leaving the audience wanting more instead of manufacturing more verses of lower quality.

Brevity. What a concept!

Comments

[allisona.livejournal.com]

Which Lovin' Spoonful song was number one? I have to assume it was "Summer in the City". That song has gone on every walking tape/CD I have ever made. Great high-energy song.

[billroper]

You've hit it on the nose. Here are the logs for what Stroud played today.

[poltr1]

To quote Billy Joel, on "The Entertainer":

"It was a beautiful song, but it ran too long
If you're gonna have a hit, ya gotta make it fit
So they cut it down to 3:05."

Not sure how autobiographical that is; "Piano Man" runs at least 6 minutes in its full form (as on the album).

[billroper]

I know that The Association had a terrible time trying to trim "Cherish" back to a proper length for airplay at the time. So after they'd cut everything they could possibly cut, they put an incorrect -- shorter -- time on the record label.

In my opinion, this was a good, if sneaky, choice. :)

OTOH, I think that trimming "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" down from it's original length of 23 minutes or so was a good move, even if it did "cut the heart and soul out of the song". (If I remember the quote correctly...)

[khaosworks.livejournal.com]

To quote what I said aloud to the cinema screen as the credits were rolling on "Dances With Wolves": "It's good, Kevin, but it's too fucking long."

And then he came out with the extended version. Oy.

[beamjockey.livejournal.com]

But don't you wish that the Byrds had sung more than one verse of "Mister Tambourine Man?"