A toast to long songs! Both of these are great for long drives.
The first, "Big City", is by the legendary Spacemen 3. Besides its length, the song is notable because it breaks from the band's notorious drone-and-feedback guitar attack, while retaining the minimalist pop that made the group's best songs so memorable. "Big City" comes from Spacemen 3's last, fractured album,
Recurring. It's a glacially-cool pop song with a thumping beat, cyclic synth lines, and too-cool-for-everyone vocals. It's cinematic, catchy, and long. It was made for urban life, and I wonder if it was inspired by Jay McInerney's 80s novel
Bright Lights, Big City: "Big city/Bright lights/Cool, cool people/Big City/Everyone I know can be found here."
Spacemen 3 - Big City
The second long song is by
Mike Scott (of Waterboys fame), taken from a compilation from
The Believer (a magazine that you should read if you have any interest in contemporary literature). Like "Big City," "A Wild Holy Band" is built upon an unerring 4/4 beat and a simple, repeated riff and melody, both of which get stronger and catchier as the songs go on. This is actually a bare-bones demo version, but it sounds complete to me with just a drum machine, vocals, piano, and guitar. Unlike the lyrically-restrained "Big City," "A Wild Holy Band" is wordy, chronicling a story of doomed romance and wanderlust. It's full of literary and mythic allusions, but Scott always brings it back to the chorus: "Keep the river on your right/And the highway at your shoulder/And the frontline in your sight, Pioneer/Keep your eye on the road/Remember what you told her/'This is old and cold, My Dear...'"
Mike Scott - A Wild Holy Band
