8+

“River" by Red House Painters which clocks in at 11:20

EAR FARM's 8+ is a weekly look at songs longer than eight minutes. Each week, new song. There are no rules or guidelines here other than that I won't allow live versions of songs to be featured. Beyond that, it's anything goes. From recounting dreams to pop quizzes, from faux screenplays to personal stories galore...you get it all here in 8+ land. Jazz, rock, things in between, whatever! If you're a long song, of any kind, you best believe you're ripe for some 8+ing.

Now, these posts don't always come solely from the mind of EAR FARM either. In the past I've welcomed others to write for EAR FARM's 8+....and this week, we've got another guest.

Yesterday I was IMing with David from Goes Cube and he asked if I had an MP3 of “River" by Red House Painters. No I don't have the MP3 you want Mr. Goes Cube, what do I look like - a music nerd?! Well, he really wanted to hear the song and then it hit me: I might not have the song but I know someone who does! Anyway, chat chat chat and I realized something. This song is an 8+, and it means a lot to David. How about HE write this week's 8+ about this very song? Great idea. Here's David's 8+:

Eleven minutes and twenty seconds is a long time. But when you’ve found the right chords, and the right words, and the right melody, and the right feeling, there’s no reason to stop.

Eleven minutes and twenty seconds is indeed a long time. For a song.

But four years is a long time, too.

Wait. Listen:

Everything is going wonderfully. But then noise creeps in. It’s worrisome. The song stays strong and fights to come out of the mess. And it does.

Still, it ends. Then you wonder why. After all, it was perfect when it started. So why did it change? Why the noise? Why the coda? Maybe it’s to get to, or on, the next track. I don’t think so.

Some things should never end. For me, this is what happy sounded like.

Thanks very much to David for taking part in EAR FARM's 8+. If you'd like to write about a song longer than eight minutes here on EAR FARM, get in touch with me. And, if you're a band that's got a few long songs - do the same.

Buy Old Ramon HERE on Amazon.

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+:
Rush - “2112"
Love and Rockets - “Haunted When the Minutes Drag"
Suede - “The Asphalt World"
!!! - “Me and Giuliani Down by the Schoolyard (a true story)"
Bark Psychosis - “All Different Things"
Deodato - “Also Sprach Zarathustra"
Grateful Dead - “Terrapin Station"
Suicide -“Frankie Teardrop"

To see a full list of every song featured in EAR FARM's 8+ click HERE.