The Strokes-12:51 fits the category.
Quoted for emphasis
Just about everything the Ramones ever did; except maybe Time Has Come Today.
Bad Religion’s “Supersonic” and “Materialist” both fit in this category. At least to me. Also, Idlewild’s “I’m a Message” just barely makes it. Avail’s “Clone” comes in at 2:40. Also awesome.
Blister in the Sun - Violent Femmes 2:22
My three favorite sub-2:30 songs:
“Not Your Girl” by Bree Sharp: 2:14. A great song about a woman chasing a man who isn’t that into her.
“Bunnyrabbits, Satan, Cheese and Milk” by Stark Effect: 2:20. Part of a free EP with vocals assembled solely from home-recorded clips that were accidentally shared on file-sharing networks.
“Straight Out of Compton” by Nina Gordon: 1:50. This song always comes up in threads about great and/or unusual cover songs. If you haven’t heard it yet, go get it from her official site.
Some more-mainstream artists:
“Sweet Sweet” by Smashing Pumpkins: 1:39. Not exactly cranking, but nice.
“Fell In Love with a Girl” by The White Stripes: 1:50. Now this is more like it. Subject of both a Michel Gondry video and a Joel “Spongmonkeys” Veitch animation.
“Cowtown” by They Might Be Giants: 2:19. A favorite sing-along at the Conspiracy house. (also “Nightgown of the Sullen Moon”: 1:59, one of their better B-sides)
Yeah, My iTunes covers a lot of strange ground, including many a capella groups.
UNDER 1:00
Sittin’ On The Groom’s Side—Throat Culture 0:23
The Jetsons —The 4 Tunes 0:34
Telephone Message—The Brown Derbies 0:36
47 Reasons—The Bobs 0:42
Alternate prayer —John Hartford 0:47
They won’t play this song—Monty Python 0:48
Three Part Invention No.10—Bela Fleck 0:55
I Ain’t Heard You Play No Blues—Steve Goodman 0:56
UNDER 1:30
WKRP opening theme song—Steve Christie 1:01
Heartbreak Model—The Dan Orr Project 1:02
Superflabbergasted—Spanky and Our Gang 1:06
Zipper Fly—Martin Mull 1:06
Yuppie With Attitude—17th Avenue All-Stars 1:12
Lonesome Rider—Cooder Browne Band 1:15
Holly Jolly Christmas—Burl Ives 1:17
Nagasaki—Spanky and Our Gang 1:19
Turn Your Radio On—John Hartford 1:20
The Element Song —Tom Lehrer 1:23
Euphoria—Holy Modal Rounders 1:28
UNDER 2:00
God’s Own Jukebox—Jesse Winchester 1:35
Commercial—Spanky and Our Gang 1:36
In the Still of the Night—The Persuasions 1:37
Why Don’t We Do It In The Road—The Beatles 1:38
Guide Me, Sweet Jehovah—Maria Maldaur 1:38
In The Midnight Hour—Jefferson Airplane 1:39
Run With Scissors—Trailer Park Troubadors 1:40
Heaven Help the One —The Sky Boys 1:40
Jingle Bells —The Singing Dogs 1:40
Bye Bye Blues—Albert King 1:40
Stay Gone—Mumbo Gumbo 1:40
Since You Been Gone—Brava 1:40
A Berry Happy Birthday—Strawberry Shortcake 1:40
Down on the Farm—Webb Wilder 1:41
Guru Man Blues—Eric Bibb 1:41
By the Rivers of Babylon—Soweto Gospel Choir 1:42
She’s A Lady—John Sebastian 1:42
Hawaii Five-0—The Ventures 1:42
I Will—The Beatles 1:42
An Dro—The Blackbirds 1:43
Drip, Drip—The Persuasions 1:43
I Hear Music—Fred Waring & His Pennsylvanians 1:43
Masochism Tango—Harvard Krokadiloes 1:43
A Little Romance—Mockingbird 1:43
Slack Key Soquel Rag—Doobie Brothers 1:45
Elwood Decker—The Bobs 1:45
I Love You—The Kirby Stone Four 1:46
I’ll Follow the Sun—The Beatles 1:46
Blue Skies—Doris Day 1:47
Plastic Jesus—The New Originals 1:48
Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries—The Hi-Los 1:48
Hawaii Five-O —The Ventures 1:48
Unsettled Ways—Gordon Lightfoot 1:49
I Left My Heart in San Francisco —The Four Freshmen 1:49
Oh, Mary Don’t You Weep—Nat King Cole 1:50
Tiptoe Through the Tulips—Tiny Tim 1:50
Dream—The Nylons 1:51
Nashville Pickin’—Doc Watson 1:51
Hank Senior Moment—John Gorka 1:52
Queen of the Roller Derby—Leon Russell 1:52
The Rebel - Johnny Yuma—Johnny Cash 1:52
Street of Dreams—The Four Freshmen 1:53
Smokin’ in bed Billy Bob Thornton 1:53
Lover Please—Clyde McPhatter 1:54
Nut Rocker—B. Bumble & The Stingers 1:56
From Me to You The Beatles 1:56
I Wish I Was a Lesbian—Louden Wainwright III 1:57
You Don’t Have to Be a Baby to Cry— The Caravelles 1:57
When My Sugar Walks Down the Street—The Kirby Stone Four 1:57
Save Your Heart For Me—Gary Lewis & The Playboys 1:58
Forty Miles of Bad Road—Duane Eddy 1:58
Sink or Swim—The Waifs 1:58
We’re all gonna die someday—Kasey Chambers 1:59
Blue Smoke—Doc Watson 1:59
I Could Write a Book—The Hi-Los 1:59
All I Really Want to Do —The Byrds 1:59
Mean, Mean Man —Wanda Jackson 1:59
Tell Me All About Yourself—Nat King Cole 1:59
What’s That I Hear—Phil Ochs 1:59
Devil in Disguise—J.J. Cale 1:59
OK, but which are your favorites? I have 101 tracks under a minute, and more than twelve hours of tracks that are less than 2:30 each.
(Most of the 101 tracks fall into one of three categories: the “Fingertips” segments of They Might Be Giants’ Apollo 18 album, songs from Dora the Explorer for my daughters, and control codes for my iTrip FM transmitter.)
Benny the Bouncer by Emerson, Lake and Palmer clocks in at 2:21 according to www.lyricsfreak.com. I also wanted to list Black Sabbath’s Paranoid since I’m sure it makes the 2:30 cut, but the site doesn’t list a play time for this song.
According to All Music Guide, *Paranoid *clocked in at 2:50 as originally released on the 1971 Paranoid album. Good song, though. My dad played that album incessantly.
That lyric site is correct on Benny the Bouncer. Dad? 