# Enough already! Or the most self-indulgent song ever.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-already-or-the-most-self-indulgent-song-ever/421161
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [October 1, 2007, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-already-or-the-most-self-indulgent-song-ever/421161 "2007-10-01T16:37:24Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2007, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-already-or-the-most-self-indulgent-song-ever/421161/1 "2007-10-01T16:37:24Z")
The Temptations have a song called Get Ready. It’s a nice song. You can sing and dance to it.
Rare Earth does a cover of Get Ready. It is 22 minutes long. Less than 5 minutes into it, it is no longer recognizable as Get Ready. There are instruments and they are playing but you could get up, make yourself a cup of coffee, have a heated discussion with a co-worker on how the Washington Redskins are an insult to American Indians, run to the bathroom because you drank too much coffee, come back to your desk, put your headphones on and it would be like you never left.
If you listen for a while longer there is a drum solo. At least the drum solo makes rhythmic sense even though it too has nothing to do with Get Ready. After 21 minutes and 58 seconds, the band gathers themselves together enough to play the opening bars of Get Ready as a final reprieve.
This is my pick for the most self-indulgent song ever.
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### Author:  [@Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_With_a_Cat)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2007, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-already-or-the-most-self-indulgent-song-ever/421161/2 "2007-10-01T17:15:21Z")
Just last summer I saw Rare Earth do a show. I wish the damn song had ONLY been 22 minutes long. I saw couples have sex, and they left with two year olds in strollers before the song ended.
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### Author:  [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2007, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-already-or-the-most-self-indulgent-song-ever/421161/3 "2007-10-01T17:22:57Z")
At least Rare Earth started with a good song. Iron Butterfly’s In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is shorter at 17 minutes, but sucks even worse than Rare Earth’s Get Ready because the song that serves as the springboard for the self-indulgence sucks.
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### Author:  [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2007, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-already-or-the-most-self-indulgent-song-ever/421161/4 "2007-10-01T17:26:06Z")
How about the Allman’s having the balls to stretch “Mountain Jam” out so it takes up **two** album sides? I don’t think anyone else has even done that.
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### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2007, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-already-or-the-most-self-indulgent-song-ever/421161/5 "2007-10-01T17:35:10Z")
[QUOTE=Wee Bairn]
How about the Allman’s having the balls to stretch “Mountain Jam” out so it takes up **two** album sides? I don’t think anyone else has even done that.
[/QUOTE]
One of my favorite pieces of music, actually. The album version of the song is 33:40; while I don’t have it on vinyl, I think there was about a minute of it on one side of the record and the rest fit on another. I assure you, there are much longer songs out there.
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### Author:  [@Smith8762](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smith8762)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2007, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-already-or-the-most-self-indulgent-song-ever/421161/6 "2007-10-01T18:01:31Z")
It’s hard to beat the Grateful Dead in my book:
- Turn on Your Love Light stretched to 20+ even 30+ minutes
- Good Lovin’ stretched to 20+ minutes
And that’s just cover songs. Hell, Dark Star/Cyrptical Envelopment and other songs of theirs easily were jammed out on for over 30+ minutes.
It was indulgent but I love it!
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2007, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-already-or-the-most-self-indulgent-song-ever/421161/7 "2007-10-01T18:18:16Z")
There’s nothing necessarily self-indulgent about long songs. Beethoven managed to write a few. And in rock music there are quite a few long songs – Pink Floyd in particular did their best work in lengths of 8 minutes and longer.
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### Author:  [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2007, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-already-or-the-most-self-indulgent-song-ever/421161/8 "2007-10-01T18:23:43Z")
Freebird, anyone? Especially the live version.
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### Author:  [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2007, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-already-or-the-most-self-indulgent-song-ever/421161/9 "2007-10-01T18:25:31Z")
[QUOTE=Mr Bus Guy]
I saw couples have sex, and they left with two year olds in strollers before the song ended.
[/QUOTE]
::struggling to control the loud guffaw my co-workers would wonder about
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### Author:  [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2007, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-already-or-the-most-self-indulgent-song-ever/421161/10 "2007-10-01T18:50:16Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23]
One of my favorite pieces of music, actually. The album version of the song is 33:40; while I don’t have it on vinyl, I think there was about a minute of it on one side of the record and the rest fit on another. I assure you, there are much longer songs out there.
[/QUOTE]
I like it too, but if (in the old days) you have to get up and change records to hear one song in its entirety, somethings wrong- like putting long singles on two sides of a 45, as parts 1 & 2- just when you’re getting into it, you gotta get up and flip it over.
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### Author:  [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2007, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-already-or-the-most-self-indulgent-song-ever/421161/11 "2007-10-01T19:39:18Z")
[QUOTE=Wee Bairn]
I like it too, but if (in the old days) you have to get up and change records to hear one song in its entirety, somethings wrong- like putting long singles on two sides of a 45, as parts 1 & 2- just when you’re getting into it, you gotta get up and flip it over.
[/QUOTE]
Jethro Tull’s “Thick As A Brick” and Emerson, Lake $ Palmer’s “Karn Evil 9” suite from _Brain Salad Surgery_ come to mind.
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### Author:  [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2007, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-already-or-the-most-self-indulgent-song-ever/421161/12 "2007-10-01T19:40:56Z")
[QUOTE=RealityChuck]
There’s nothing necessarily self-indulgent about long songs. Beethoven managed to write a few. And in rock music there are quite a few long songs – Pink Floyd in particular did their best work in lengths of 8 minutes and longer.
[/QUOTE]
True. But Rare Earth took a perfectly good song and streeeeeeeeeeeeetched it out to over seven times it’s original length by playing – stuff that was in no way related to the song they were supposed to be playing just to hear themselves “jam”.
To me that’s self-indulgence.
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### Author:  [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2007, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-already-or-the-most-self-indulgent-song-ever/421161/13 "2007-10-01T20:08:27Z")
Bleeding Gums Murphy singing The Star Spangled Banner.
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### Author:  [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2007, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-already-or-the-most-self-indulgent-song-ever/421161/14 "2007-10-01T20:14:32Z")
You either like jamming or any particular jam or you don’t, but there’s nothing necessarily self-indulgent about jamming. And that’s true in any style of music, rock, jazz, blues, whatever.
I like the long versions of “Get Ready” and “In-a-Gadda-da-Vida.” (Saw Iron Butterfly stretch it to a half-hour in concert, and it was even greater.)
I picked up a live Phish 3 CD set that was full of songs from 10 to 20 minutes long and they were terrific.
If the band can play with enough musical ingenuity to fill up the time, then let them go wild.
The Ramones had some two-minute-long songs that were as self-indulgent as anything in acid rock. It’s the song, not the length of it.
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### Author:  [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2007, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-already-or-the-most-self-indulgent-song-ever/421161/15 "2007-10-01T21:01:50Z")
CCR’s version of “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” just goes on forever in a not-interesting (for me) way. I tend to like jams, but not that one.
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### Author:  [@The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Universe_Lashes_Out)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2007, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-already-or-the-most-self-indulgent-song-ever/421161/16 "2007-10-01T21:35:55Z")
[QUOTE=jsgoddess]
CCR’s version of “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” just goes on forever in a not-interesting (for me) way. I tend to like jams, but not that one.
[/QUOTE]
Heh. I hate 90% of jamming (and 100% of “jam bands”) but I love that song. It interests me where other long songs often fall flat. And there’s just something about the drumming that’s hypnotic.
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### Author:  [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2007, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-already-or-the-most-self-indulgent-song-ever/421161/17 "2007-10-01T23:30:29Z")
[QUOTE=Sean Factotum]
Jethro Tull’s “Thick As A Brick” and Emerson, Lake $ Palmer’s “Karn Evil 9” suite from _Brain Salad Surgery_ come to mind.
[/QUOTE]
Ooooh, dem’s fightin’ words, pal. 🆒
I’d agree with Tull’s “Passion Play”, though.
Of course, the epitome of self-indulgence would be Yes’s _Tales From Topographic Oceans_.
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### Author:  [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)
#### Post date: [October 2, 2007, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-already-or-the-most-self-indulgent-song-ever/421161/18 "2007-10-02T02:28:58Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23]
One of my favorite pieces of music, actually. The album version of the song is 33:40; while I don’t have it on vinyl, I think there was about a minute of it on one side of the record and the rest fit on another. I assure you, there are much longer songs out there.
[/QUOTE]
I’m assuming the song came out on vinyl originally. Which makes me wonder why they didn’t try to pare it back a minute for the listeners. Surely having to flip the album over mid-song didn’t enhance the listening pleasure.
My nomination: “ **You’re Having My Baby** ” by Paul Anka. This is a song that Anka should have kept to himself and his wife: “Oh, the seed inside you, do you feel it growing”? Where’s the vomit smiley?
How about most self-indulgent album? That would be, hands down, “ **Double Fantasy** ”? John loved Yoko, I get that. But to inflict that woman’s “art” upon a non-hallucinogenic influenced public was just wrong.
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### Author:  [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)
#### Post date: [October 2, 2007, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-already-or-the-most-self-indulgent-song-ever/421161/19 "2007-10-02T02:35:24Z")
Hell, look at most of The Who’s songbook. Pete did everything on his own, then he pretty much submitted the tapes to the band. The others had some say, but those songs are Townshend’s inventions. He was a lucky man to hook up with Daltrey, Entwistle, and Moon.
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [October 2, 2007, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-already-or-the-most-self-indulgent-song-ever/421161/20 "2007-10-02T03:14:49Z")
[QUOTE=PunditLisa]
I’m assuming the song came out on vinyl originally. Which makes me wonder why they didn’t try to pare it back a minute for the listeners. Surely having to flip the album over mid-song didn’t enhance the listening pleasure.
[/QUOTE]
The actual album didn’t even play the two halves consecutively:
> [@](#):
>
> SIDE ONE AIN’T WASTIN’ TIME NO MORE LES BRERS IN A MINOR MELISSA
> SIDE TWO MOUNTAIN JAM
> SIDE THREE ONE WAY OUT TROUBLE NO MORE STAND BACK BLUE SKY LITTLE MARTHA
> SIDE FOUR MOUNTAIN JAM (CON’T)
You could play the entire jam together, but it was designed to have a break in the middle.
**Freebird** , OTOH, is very self-indulgent, and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s worst song.
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