MUSIC MONDAYS: 5 LONGEST...

...songs in my iTunes at work. I can't speak for the songs at home because I'm not at home. It's also worth noting that I have songs on a hard drive that are mentioned in my iTunes at work that aren't on this computer. I am counting these songs in our tally even though when I click on them that little exclamation mark pops up... Also, we're only counting actual songs here. I have some "songs" in my iTunes which are really just full albums that haven't been split it up by track.

So let's get on with it. Top 5 longest from shortest of the longest to the longest of the longest

5. Miles Davis: The Ghetto Walk

A funky little number from Miles' "In a Silent Way" sessions. A bit of a pimp soundtrack. The sorta thing that could probably make McCain strut with soul. A great precursor to...

4. Miles Davis: Bitches Brew

And here we have the title track off the Miles album that came after "In a Silent Way." If you don't know about this album, you clearly know nothing about jazz (although purists wouldn't consider this song or album Jazz per se... The critics hate this album, piss on this album, stopped listening to music after this album!). It's considered the first bona fide "fusion" album. While "In a Silent Way" has its fusion moments, it's also quite rooted in Jazz compared to this one. Anyway, I own the complete 4-disc sessions for both these albums. They're beyond essential.

Time of Ghetto Walk: 26:50
Time of Bitches Brew: 27:01

3. Pharoah Sanders: The Creator Has A Master Plan

The centerpiece (and one of only two songs) from avant-garde Jazz saxophonist Sanders' "Karma" album. This one has it all: great melody, noise, sleigh bells. It gets a bit inaccessible at times in the middle, but taken as a whole, it's an impressive compositional achievement.

Time: 32:47

2. Charles Mingus: Blue for Roy's Saw (live)

I have no idea what this is. Charles Mingus (for the unfortunately uninitiated, possibly the greatest Jazz bassist ever, definitely one of the best Jazz songwriters/composers ever) rules and clearly this is a live version of a Mingus tune but if you asked me to hum it for you right now, I couldn't. That said, I'm sure it's great because Mingus is great. End of story.

Time: 33:11

1. Unknown Artist: Track 1

This could be anything at all. It must be a track from my hard drive because the exclamation point pops up. I'm sure it's a thriller.

Time: 52:41

So what have we learned? We've learned that Jazz legends like to play for awhile, a very very long while. Especially in the late 60s and 70s. I can tell you without a doubt that if I did this same list on my iTunes at home, it would be mostly late 60/early 70s Jazz/Fusion. In fact, when I get home, I'll post an update with my home iTunes 5 longest songs. We'll see who's right here.