Last year we counted down 20 of our favorite songs under two minutes. Well, that proved too easy. We decided to push it a step further and see if we could find some hidden gems clocking in under 60 seconds. Most of the sub-one-minute tracks in our collective iTunes were either hip-hop skits or spoken-word interludes, we only included entries that held up on their own as singular pieces of music. Did we miss any? Add yours to the comments below.
20. “Austral Opithecus” – Modest Mouse
At the height of Modest Mouse’s creative output, the band released Sad Sappy Sucker, a bizarre collection of four-track snippets that were recorded long before their first proper record. The song lengths on the album average about 1:26 each, and Isaac Brock’s gravelly vocals on tracks like “Austral Opithecus” offer hints at what the band might’ve accomplished if they had mastered a few of these rough sketches.
19. “Spirit and Stone Outro” – Lifesavas
This track basically sounds like Lifesavas were able to have some fun jamming once they were done actually cutting the record.
18. “Pnoom” – Can
Released more than two decades after the band intended it as their debut, Delay 1968 included this improvized saxophone one-off. Perhaps not surprisingly, record labels found the tracks within—particularly this simple 27-second instrumental—a bit tough for even the era’s highbrow, prog-rock audiences to swallow.
17. “Lamb on the Lam (In the City)” – Band of Horses
A quieter and more somber interlude between two of Cease to Begin’s upbeat songs.
16. “Postcards from Far Away (Instrumental)” – Coldplay
Coldplay eventually expanded upon this quick interlude with some vocals, but we prefer the simplicity of this instrumental track.
15. “5D” – Death Grips
Always playing the parts of wise guys, Death Grips snuck this 44-second snippet into their industrial hip-hop debut to pay tribute to, yes, “West End Girls” by Pet Shop Boys.
14. “Why Hip-Hop Sucks in ’96” – DJ Shadow
DJ Shadow’s gripe with the state of hip-hop as an art form was and remains the genre’s perennial sticking point. He’d probably have plenty of material to work with if he made a “Why Hip-Hop Sucks in ’13” follow-up.
13. “The New” – J Dilla
J Dilla’s brief, brass-infused beat shouts out “Whatcha Gonna Wear Tomorrow” by the Detroit Emeralds by flipping Ad-Rock’s a cappella introduction to “The New Style” over the soulful fanfare.
12. “College” – Animal Collective
A fatigued Avey Tare groans his way through the sole lyric “You don’t have to go to college,” which, by the way, was an attempt to contradicting the pom-pom waving sentiments of the Beach Boys’ “Be True to Your School.”
11. “Pyrex Vision” – Raekwon
Raekwon’s ability to paint visual raps was on full display on Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… Pt. II, and this track shows off the seedy imagery of his hidden crack spot. This is a perfect example of an interlude that is simply too good to last only a minute.