Keep it short ... nah, make it last longer
As albums have gotten shorter, did Redman give us too much music?
How much music is too much?
Is a 5-minute song too long?
I pondered that as I listened to Redman’s new album, Muddy Waters Too.
I played a couple of games of NCAA Football and the album was still going strong. Sure, I’m only using five-minute quarters, but playing two games and for an album not to be over these days is a miracle.
So I checked the time on the album. It’s 1 hour, 21 minutes. Basically double the length of what many albums are now.
I like Redman’s music, so I was happy to have so much music. The first Muddy Waters dropped when I was in college, so it was nostalgic for me to listen to the album after I finished wrapping presents. It wasn’t labeled a double album, and I’m not even sure those exist in the streaming era. But I was pleasantly surprised that over an hour’s worth of music flowed effortlessly.
The album had plenty of songs, But t also had something I love and miss on rap albums – skits. Skits help tell the story of an album and over the years, skits are seemingly harder to find. If you’re putting out a 38-minute album, I’m sure you don’t want to waste any of that time on a skit.
Redman has skits. He has songs under three minutes. He has songs that are longer. It’s the kind of album that will get you through a road trip.
Some of the online critics said the album is too long. Cut a third of the content and make it more concise. No one has the attention span for an album that long.
That’s not true. Give me almost 90 minutes of good music and I’m ready to go. What better way to get in a good workout than with more than an hour of music?
I’m in the minority in 2024. The public cries for shorter songs and albums. A two-minute “song” used to be what I’d call an interlude. As older rappers continue to make music, most are going along with the shorter trend.
But good music is good music. So give me more of it.
Thank you, Redman. Over 80 minutes of content is something I didn't know I needed. But I have an album to get me through a few games of Madden later this weekend.