# What's the shortest single album track you know? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 3, 2019, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-single-album-track-you-know/834951 "2019-06-03T14:34:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2019, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-single-album-track-you-know/834951/21 "2019-06-03T20:06:48Z")
> [@Clawdio](#): > > Just for posterity: remember the _Broken_ EP by **Nine Inch Nails**? On the CD: tracks 1-6 were songs, then tracks 7-97 were each 1 second long silent tracks, and tracks 98 & 99 were two more “hidden” songs. Maybe other artists employed this trick too, but this is the one i remember/am aware of. Pretty sure Marilyn Manson did this exact same thing with _Antichrist Superstar_. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2019, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-single-album-track-you-know/834951/22 "2019-06-03T20:14:28Z")
Well most of these examples are jokes and gimmicks or non-musical tracks, but for the shortest examples you really can consider songs, I knew that I had to look no further than for the Minutemen and Wire: Wire - [Field Day For The Sundays](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=098IhhIOJeY) (0:28) The Minutemen - [Ack Ack Ack](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqB6k9m6Pgo) (0:28) ---
**Author:** ![Helmut\_Doork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e8c25b/32.png) [@Helmut\_Doork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helmut_Doork)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2019, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-single-album-track-you-know/834951/23 "2019-06-03T20:32:35Z")
For chart hits, the shortest track to chart Top 40 was the 1960 number one “Stay” by Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs at 1:36, and for a very long time the shortest to chart top 100 was “Little Boxes” by the Womenfolk, I think in 1963, I think at 1:02. That is until 2016 when something called “PPAP (Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen)” (?) charted at #77, clocking in at 0:45. ---
**Author:** ![Grestarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grestarian/32/3227_2.png) [@Grestarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grestarian)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2019, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-single-album-track-you-know/834951/24 "2019-06-03T20:55:12Z")
_Sgt Pepper’s Inner Groove_ is apparently just short of 2 seconds, following the orchestral climax (and air conditioning system turning on) of A Day In the Life. I’ve just been to a few blogs and several fora discussing that track alone. :dubious: I don’t have the track any more, but I think _Her Majesty_ was two verses and 12 seconds long. Mine was from the Beatles’ Rarities album, but apparently the original was on one of the later albums which I never bought (I stopped with Abbey Road and got into other bands). –G! ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2019, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-single-album-track-you-know/834951/25 "2019-06-03T20:56:24Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Well most of these examples are jokes and gimmicks or non-musical tracks, but for the shortest examples you really can consider songs, I knew that I had to look no further than for the Minutemen and Wire: > > Wire - [Field Day For The Sundays](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=098IhhIOJeY) (0:28) > > The Minutemen - [Ack Ack Ack](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqB6k9m6Pgo) (0:28) Old Mother Reagan by the Violent Femmes comes close at 0:32 and is also definitely a song. Although my previous example of Weinerschniztel is arguable: at what point does yelling with little or no music turn into an a capella song with little or no music? ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2019, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-single-album-track-you-know/834951/26 "2019-06-03T22:12:45Z")
[Fire and Rain](https://youtu.be/NEfYhtWbEJU) by Me First and the Gimmie Gimmies comes in at 1:23 while its not the shortest by the standards of this thread but they were the first band I though of and its their second shortest song. Of course number 1 for them is [Sodemy](https://youtu.be/vq0RzhgLA3k) at only 0:30 which is at least competitive. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2019, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-single-album-track-you-know/834951/27 "2019-06-03T23:26:17Z")
> [@Clawdio](#): > > Just for posterity: remember the _Broken_ EP by **Nine Inch Nails**? On the CD: tracks 1-6 were songs, then tracks 7-97 were each 1 second long silent tracks, and tracks 98 & 99 were two more “hidden” songs. Maybe other artists employed this trick too, but this is the one i remember/am aware of. Ministry did it at least twice, with 10 or so songs, then dozens of ~4s blank tracks, followed by a 69th track. Tool did the same on Undertow, but also the last track is in 2 sections with crickets chirping in the middle 7 minutes. The X-Files soundtrack did it best with a Nick Cave 0th track. You had to start track 1 and then rewind past 0:00 Not music, but there is the [1 Second Film](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_1_Second_Film). An entire album: [Short Music for Short People](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_Music_for_Short_People). The real question is what is the shortest song in **your** music collection? I have You Suffer. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2019, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-single-album-track-you-know/834951/28 "2019-06-03T23:35:38Z")
[Short Songs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIs5FlVaEvM)–Dead Kennedys ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2019, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-single-album-track-you-know/834951/29 "2019-06-04T03:04:23Z")
I don’t think inner/runout grooves should count as “tracks” but if they do: The James Gang **“Yer Album”** had short ones (1 second?) on both sides. Voice saying “Turn Me Over” on side a; “Play Me Again” on side b. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2019, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-single-album-track-you-know/834951/30 "2019-06-04T03:07:49Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Old Mother Reagan by the Violent Femmes comes close at 0:32 and is also definitely a song. Although my previous example of Weinerschniztel is arguable: at what point does yelling with little or no music turn into an a capella song with little or no music? I’l see your 0:32 Violent Femmes and raise (well, lower) with 0:25 [Carpenters](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Q41xZF3EOIQ). ETA: Apparently I’m also seeing Wire and Minutemen. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2019, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-single-album-track-you-know/834951/31 "2019-06-04T04:29:44Z")
“Receive Him” by Vengeance Rising is shorter than the 5 seconds it’s allotted on You Tube. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/kzK9IBSW-H0/hqdefault.jpg "Vengeance Rising- Receive Him") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzK9IBSW-H0) Bet you never thought Christian music could sound like that. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2019, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-single-album-track-you-know/834951/32 "2019-06-04T05:03:50Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I’l see your 0:32 Violent Femmes and raise (well, lower) with 0:25 [Carpenters](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Q41xZF3EOIQ). > > ETA: Apparently I’m also seeing Wire and Minutemen. Wire’s first album has 6 tracks under 1:00 (of 21 total, or 23 in the reissue). ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2019, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-single-album-track-you-know/834951/33 "2019-06-04T05:26:16Z")
> [@Rebo](#): > > The Beatles _Her Majesty_ at 23 seconds. Nvmd ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2019, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-single-album-track-you-know/834951/34 "2019-06-04T11:03:59Z")
It’s relatively long by the standards of this thread, but [We Are 138](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOqVs-K1eEo) by the Misfits is exactly 1:38 long and that fact amuses me. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2019, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-single-album-track-you-know/834951/35 "2019-06-04T16:46:49Z")
[Brutal Truth - Collateral Damage](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-diCM69_rA) (2.18 seconds) ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2019, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-single-album-track-you-know/834951/36 "2019-06-04T17:26:51Z")
“Nutopian International Anthem” from _Mind Games_. Three seconds of silence. Nutopia was a conceptual country described in the liner notes, a country with no borders and no passports. One of the clear influences of Yoko Ono’s avant-garde conceptual art on John Lennon. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2019, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-single-album-track-you-know/834951/37 "2019-06-04T18:34:45Z")
An actual song you can get an earworm of, Michael Hurley’s [Ol’ Ratface](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll-bjjV04pg) won’t set any records either but it comes in at a buxom 24 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/regallag_the_axe/32/445_2.png) [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2019, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-single-album-track-you-know/834951/38 "2019-06-04T20:47:31Z")
Possibly the shortest _prog_ track out there, Ayreon’s “The Argument 1” is only 25 seconds. Off the 42 track _The Theory of Everything_ album. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2019, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-single-album-track-you-know/834951/39 "2019-06-04T21:25:54Z")
4’33 by John Cage. If you exclude the fade-in and the fade-out. j ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-single-album-track-you-know/834951/40 "2019-06-10T13:27:22Z")
I forget, was “I’m Jimmy Carl Black and I’m the Indian of the group” its own track, or tacked onto a longer one? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-single-album-track-you-know/834951.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-shortest-single-album-track-you-know/834951.md?page=3)