8+

"Interstate 5 [Extended Version]" by The Wedding Present which clocks in at 8:19

The Wedding Present doesn't usually make songs like this. No, theirs is the realm of the 2-5 minute perfect indie (pop) rock song. But this song, the opening song off of their most recent album Take Fountain, has more in common with Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir" or something. "Interstate 5" would make for some damn near perfect (big shocker given the title of the song, I know) road trip music. It's western-tinged drone rock that takes its time to open up, and when it does so around the six minute mark it seems a natural step if you consider the evolution of David Gedge from The Wedding Present to Cinerama and then back again. I like to imagine that the day they were recording this song Ennio Morricone was sitting in on the session. He sat there patiently for six minutes of Wedding Present rock before he finally was all "no no no no, now it's time to make the song sound like this". At that point he summoned his western orchestra out of thin air and finished the song for Gedge and company. Okay well, maybe you should just listen to it and I'll stop blabbering.

(the picture is from HERE and you can get some facts about the actual Interstate 5 HERE)

EAR FARM's 8+ is a weekly feature that showcases songs longer than 8 minutes. In the recent past these songs were featured on EF's 8+:
British Sea Power - "Lately"
Islands - "Swans"
Isolée - "Pillowtalk"
Animal Collective - "Banshee Beat"
Wilderness - "Post Plethoric Rhetoric"