The 2020 Countdown By The Numbers: Long songs, short songs

Part of the magic of #XPN2020 is hearing us play massive, expansive songs that historically never get played on the radio. Some for obvious reasons, like meandering twists and turns of Jethro Tull’s RennFaire anthem “Thick As A Brick” — folks on Twitter were talking about washing their hair, doing their taxes, walking the dog, and setting up holiday trains while that one played out last night — while others, like the A-side of Miles Davis’ In A Silent Way, “Shhh/Peaceful,” which sounded beautiful late on Monday, could stand to be played more.

At the same time, with so many songs in this countdown dipping back to 50s and 60s pop / rock, there’s no shortage of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moments, particularly by a certain boy band from Liverpool, England.

As of 5 p.m. today, these are the 10 longest and 10 shortest songs we’ve heard in the #XPN2020. And in much the same way that 1,300 Earths can fit inside Jupiter, you could play our shortest song — “Bookends Theme” by Simon and Garfunkel — 25 times in a row, and The Allman Brothers’ “Mountain Jam” still wouldn’t be over.

10 Longest Songs

1. 33:44 “Mountain Jam” by The Allman Brothers – #1594 in countdown
2. 23:31 “Echoes” by Pink Floyd – #219 in countdown
3. 23:19 “Dark Star” by Grateful Dead – #806 in countdown
4. 22:47 “Autobahn” Kraftwerk – #1173 in countdown
5. 22:40 “Thick As A Brick (Part I)” by Jethro Tull – #388 in countdown
6. 18:29 “Alice’s Restaurant” by Arlo Guthrie – #284 in countdown
7. 18:03 “Shhh/Peaceful” by Miles Davis – #655 in countdown
8. 17:11 “In-a-gadda-da-vida” by Iron Butterfly – #1966 in countdown
9. 17:01 “Dogs” by Pink Floyd – #255 in countdown
10. 16:52 “Murder Most Foul” by Bob Dylan – #1904 in countdown

10 Shortest Songs

1. 01:21 “Bookends Theme” by Simon & Garfunkel – #1347 in countdown
2. 01:46 “I Will” by The Beatles – #1067 in countdown
3. 01:51 “Fell In Love With A Girl” by The White Stripes – #1591 in countdown
4. 01:54 “The Letter” by The Box Tops – #989 in countdown
5. 01:57 “It’s Only Love” by The Beatles – #1724 in countdown
6. 01:58 “Hit The Road Jack” by Ray Charles – #906 in countdown
7. 01:58 “That’s All Right” by Elvis Presley – #584 in countdown
8. 02:00 “For No One” by The Beatles – #469 in countdown
9. 02:01 “And Your Bird Can Sing” by The Beatles – #358 in countdown
10. 02:02 “Blue Suede Shoes” by Elvis Presley – #1721 in countdown