Best Short Rock n' Roll Tunes

two songs by The Merry Go Round:
Live
Listen, Listen

each around 2:30 and change.

I second the nomination of :
Lies - the Knickerbockers

ok, I'm on a sounds-like-the-Beatles jag.

Oh, and I'm Down, the real guys (2:32)

But my all-time favorite under-two-minutes Beatle song: I Will.

 

I have to go with 2 songs by The Beatles.

I'm Happy Just to Dance With You - because I love the George Harrison vocal and because Capitol, in all their money grubbing style, used it as the flip side to The Beatles' Movie Medley single (the official commercial release, not the one with Fab Four On Film) because royalties were less per record sold if the song was less than 2 minutes long.

She Loves You - because, for me, this song completely characterizes the joy of Beatlemania in less than 3 minutes. (BTW, I don't miss the fact that a true stereo version doesn't exist!)

 

San Fran art-rock group The Residents released an LP titled Commercial Album in 1980. It has 40 tracks, each exactly one minute long. The album title is meant to be ironic.

 

Not really a song, but a joke....

XTC - The History Of Rock And Roll (0:22)

 

Sly & the Family Stone: There's a Riot Goin' On (0:00)

 

'Sun of a Gun' (1:56) - The La's
'There She Goes' (2:42) - The La's
'Feelin' (1:44) - The La's
'I Want to Sing That Rock and Roll' (2:47) - Gillian Welch
'Help Me Mary' (2:16) - Liz Phair
'Rip This Joint' (2:22) - The Rolling Stones
'Charley's Girl' (2:34) - Lou Reed
'Blood Makes Noise' (2:28) - Suzanne Vega
'Starting A New Life' (2:10) - Van Morrison
'O Stella' (2:30) - PJ Harvey
'Butterfly' (1:45) - Lenny Kravitz
'Licking Stick-Licking Stick' (2:47) - James Brown

 

Tom Waits has few, not counting some brief instrumentals. And for the record, I consider a "short tune" to be under two minutes long!

Johnsburg, Illinois 1:30
9th & Hennepin 1:58
The Ocean Doesn't Want Me 1:49
Let Me Get Up On It :53
No One Knows I'm Gone 1:42
Frank's Wild Years 1:50

 

"Winter Winter"--Waterboys (0:33)

"Winter, winter on the way
bitter cold she bring
winter, winter on the way
hard and deadly thing..."

Pretty accurate description of the last few weeks! Brr-rr-rr!

 

Great tune on a supremely undderated album, Jimbo. But you selected the wrong Waterboys album for the short songs. Room to Roam has:

In Search of a Rose 1:18
Song From The End of the World 1:58
A Man is in Love 2:17
Kaliope House 1:00
Bigger Picture 2:25
Natural Bridge Blues 2:05
The Star And The Sea :26
Islandman 2:05
Will I Love You? 2:49
Upon the Wind and the Waves 1:31
Spring Comes To Spiddal 1:24
The Trip to Broadford 1:14

Didn't know you were a Waterboys fan, Jimbo, but nothing surprises me anymore - you are a fan of EVERYTHING.