Never the conformists, The Flaming Lips recenlty released a 6 hour song for their ever enthusiastic fans, only to follow it up by a special 24 hour song (apparently embedded in a skull - as you do). That's dedicated listening! But it got us thinking about some of the best songs to break the 3 minute, verse chorus verse rule book. Those songs that few can pull off, epically long but brilliant at the same time.

So in short, what's your favourite long song? Hit us up on Facebook /Twitter or you can text 81771 after 8pm tonight. Here's team ATL's picks...



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Underworld - Rez (9mins 57secs)

Rigsy - ATL Presenter

Having a look at the music on my laptop, a fair amount of the tracks over 9 minutes are the work of techno duo/trio Underworld. And while I've the attention span of a drunk goldfish and approach with caution any track over three minutes, I've no problem with Underworld indulging themselves and their fans. These tracks need time to grow, to expand and to melt the listeners brain. A radio edit of 'Rez' would be a completely different song - it wouldn't work. Our brains would remain intact, for a start.....

Blur - Tender (7 mins 42 secs)

Amy McGarrigle - ATL Producer

Reaching almost 8 minutes long, Blur's gorgeous single 'Tender' is an unlikely chart hit. Known more for their indie pop charm, this song was the first track released from their album 13, which seen the band mature and write some of their best songs ever. 'Tender' starts out so delicate and gradually builds into a euphoric gospel choir backed anthem. Shivers up my spine each time. It doesn't even feel long - the sign of a great song.

British Sea Power - Lately (13 mins 58 secs)

Cameron Mitchell - ATL Content Assistant

I usually get bored of any song that breaks past the classic three minute pop song barrier as I have a low attention span. However, British Sea Power’s ‘Lately’ may be forgiven at a lengthy fourteen minutes due to the fact that it feels more like three songs stuck together. Though in saying that, I just did a word count on the lyrics and with only 212 words (an average of one word every four seconds) it does get quite repetitive towards the end. Still best track on the album though.