96 seconds. I read somewhere this is the average time folks are willing to spend reading a blog. This got me thinking about “the need-it-now and please abbreviate” culture we choose to immerse ourselves in. Hell, we couldn’t even take calling it a web log. The collective voice was shouting, “UGH! This six letter concoction is way too long. I’ll just say ‘blog’ instead and save the two extra letters for when I have more time.”

It occurred to me that Top 40 music has also felt the time pinch. Back in the 50’s, Elvis covered everything he wanted to say in an average 2 min 30 sec. Kick it off with a verse, hit ‘em with a catchy chorus, one more verse, two more choruses, outro and Elvis had left the building. Then sometime between Pink Floyd and DMB, the song length grew and grew to an absurd 4 minutes. That was fine for a while, but then folks started getting antsy. Radio stations started to feel the pinch as folks began employing the “station-preset – no whammies – give me something new and make it quick” approach to listening. Even MTV got in on the fun by doing a top-twenty video countdown in half the time by simply mentioning some of the videos. I guess they already knew which ones I was waiting to see. So today I was listening to Train’s new song, “Hey, Soul Sister.” It is a very likable Jason Mraz-esque type song that keeps you humming all day.

The only problem is I found myself wondering if it could do with maybe one less chorus at the end. I mean, I get it. That is Mr. Mister on the radio and if I could see the girl you are talking about, I would probably agree that her moves aren’t fair. I just don’t need to hear you say it a kagillion times.

Isn’t there another song on somewhere I could be listening to more efficiently? Maybe in the 96 second range?

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