# Catching the 2:23 Express **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 9, 2011, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catching-the-2-23-express/577800 "2011-04-09T21:40:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catching-the-2-23-express/577800/1 "2011-04-09T21:40:36Z")
What would be the easiest way to find as many songs as is possible of a specific length, say 2 minutes and 23 seconds? ---
**Author:** ![Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8baadc/32.png) [@Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nicest_of_the_Damned)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catching-the-2-23-express/577800/2 "2011-04-09T22:25:38Z")
Looks like the data described here might be helpful, though it is apparently of questionable legality: > **[The Whitburn Project: 120 Years of Music Chart History - Waxy.org](https://waxy.org/2008/05/the_whitburn_project/)** > > For the last ten years, obsessive record collectors in Usenet have been working on the Whitburn Project — a huge undertaking to preserve and share high-quality recordings of every popular song since the 1890s. To assist their efforts, they’ve created... ---
**Author:** ![Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8baadc/32.png) [@Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nicest_of_the_Damned)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catching-the-2-23-express/577800/3 "2011-04-09T22:40:34Z")
Here is some free software that will search by track length but it only works with music you actually have: [http://zetacentauri.com/software\_songlengthfinder.htm](http://zetacentauri.com/software_songlengthfinder.htm) Other than that, a google search for ‘track length 2:32’ pulls up quite a few hits and helpfully also shows results for ‘Song Length 2:32.’ Those are my best ideas. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catching-the-2-23-express/577800/4 "2011-04-10T03:15:16Z")
> [@Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](#): > > Here is some free software that will search by track length but it only works with music you actually have: > [GitHub - Xangis/MusicLibraryTools: Miscellaneous music library tools, including ZetaTag Auto-Renamer, Song Length Finder, and Genre Playlist Builder.](http://zetacentauri.com/software_songlengthfinder.htm) > > Other than that, a google search for ‘track length 2:32’ pulls up quite a few hits and helpfully also shows results for ‘Song Length 2:32.’ > > Those are my best ideas. Skipping the first “questionable legality” suggestion, your second post seems to be what I am looking for. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8baadc/32.png) [@Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nicest_of_the_Damned)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catching-the-2-23-express/577800/5 "2011-04-10T03:42:46Z")
Heh. I wasn’t sure if you were looking for a theoretical answer or a practical one. The blog I linked to looked like a reasonable discussion of the project so I thought it would be allowed. If you think it is inappropriate feel free to delete the link. Glad you found something useful anyway. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catching-the-2-23-express/577800/6 "2011-04-10T18:15:42Z")
OK, just to see if it worked, I downloaded all of iTunes (ha–not really–I skipped Dolly Parton), then sorted by length. Worked like a charm… but wasn’t cheap. Seriously, I’m planning on sorting by length and burning a disk with all my shortest songs. I’ve almost got a disk-worth of \< 1 min. tunes. And making a friend of mine listen to it. He burns me “Novelty” disks, in a “Betcha cant listen to it all” spirit…