POP PERFECTION

Some nut on the web has declared that the perfect length for a pop tune is two minutes and 42 seconds. Songs under two minutes are definitely too short, writes Joshua Allen, calling them “songs that just take up space there on the LP, a fragment that no one bothered to make work.” Songs over three minutes have even bigger problems: “Three minutes is where bloat starts to set in. Where the band thinks: Hey, let’s do the chorus seven times. Hey, let’s give the saxophone guy a real moment to shine on this one.” So what clocks in at the perfect length of 2:42? “There She Goes” by the La’s, “Don’t Do Me Like That” by Tom Petty, “Divine Hammer” by the Breeders, “Helplessly Hoping” by Crosby, Stills & Nash, “Get Up” by R.E.M., “California Dreamin’” by the Mamas & the Papas, “This Charming Man” by the Smiths, and “Lovely Rita” by the Beatles. Descent, but not convincing... cool thing is you can download the mix tape of his 12 perfect 2:42 songs at TheMorningNews.org.