Some songs would better truncated; for instance, I think Beyonce’s latest, Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It), would be perfect at 1:45 seconds.  This cannot be said about iconic cuts like Aretha’s Respect, Wouldn’t it Be Nice by the Beach Boys, I Wanna Be Sedated by the Ramones, and the frenetic Alice in Chains joint, Them Bones - all are quintessential 2:30 songs.

A staple in classic pop music architecture, the 2:30 song at its best is a taught and grovilicious gem, an approximation of perfection unleashed as a musical hit-and-run leaving first-timers off-balance and thirsting for more.

Alas, the 2:30 song is no longer king, but it still exists.  Now it can be used as a time-conscious, tasty appetizer for an album or as a window into the artist’s ethos and aesthetic. Below are five 2:30 songs from my 2008 collection. It’s not a “bests” list; it's more of a Whitman’s Sampler of what I liked this year.   

• A-Punk by Vampire Weekend Vampire Weekend
  These boys are suspiciously soulful for White hipster rockers.


• White Winter Hymnal by Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes
  There. In the arrangement and mixing – do I hear Pet Sounds?


• 100 Yard Dash by Raphael Saadiq The Way I See It
  Fast and fresh twist on classic soul. I saw Raphael live recently, and I wasn’t alive to see Stax, but I imagine that this is the closest I’ll come to seeing Wilson Pickett or Otis Redding perform.


• 7 Pounds by GZA/The Genius Pro Tools
  Hip-hop with head-knocking a beat and no hook.  No frills. Old school.


• Life in Technicolor by Coldplay Viva La Vida
  Lush and textured instrumental prelude to an elegant album.

Here's the YouTube playlist all queued up; just press play. You can scroll through songs by mousing over the bottom section of the video.