Is there a short song that tells a complete story more completely and succinctly than Steely Dan's "Through with Buzz" (1 min., 34 sec.)? Magnetic Fields' "A Pretty Girl is Like..." -- which I just bought from ITunes since on my CD the track is scratched beyond salvaging -- comes closest for me right now, but it's 16 seconds longer.
posted by Mike at 9:35 PM
5 Comments:
Elvis Costello's "Welcome to the Working Week", clocking in at a mere 1:22, comes to mind here.
I'll go with "Mean Mr. Mustard" which parallels "Through With Buzz" in that both establish three characters (Mr. Mustard, his sister Pam and The Queen of England vs. the narrator, the narrator's girl and Buzz) as well as the relative morality and travel history of the title character.
It has some plot - he sleeps, he shaves, he meets his sister, who takes him out - and also manages to include details such as Pam's job and an assessment of her work as well as Mr. Mustard's financial history, fiscal planning choices, sleep habits, style of dress and hygenic routine, all in 1:06. Now that's economy!
Still, I maintain "Through with Buzz" is the only one that would make a good movie. Arguably, they tried to make a film out of "Mean Mr. Mustard" -- the Sgt. Pepper movie.
There is a thermal's song that is less than a minute... Top of the Earth it's called but i can't be sure it tells a story. I'll listen again and get back to you.
I'm curious to hear that Thermals song, Bethy.
I suppose I should mention Sam Phillip's awesome, 56-second "Love and Kisses" as well.
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