Jasen Buch, or Alien Coffeeground as he’s known on his blog, is a writer, Tweeter (@AlienCG), and music fan to follow.  He’s a thoughtful, smart reader/listener who always has something insightful and funny to say.

Here’s the playlist he put together for you, along with his commentary:

I was raised around music from all sides. My mom was into contemporary music, whatever was popular back in the ’70s and ’80s. Later it would also include classical.  My dad liked the oldies, like Elvis and The Beatles. My brother introduced me to heavy metal and punk rock. I also developed my own taste that borders on schizophrenic. I could, if I wanted to, write about a year’s worth of deep cuts for Mr. Stafford.

Being a fan of Pink Floyd, I have come to enjoy long compositions. Not all of them, though. In my opinion, “Free Bird” was over in three minutes, but nobody had the heart to tell Lynyrd Skynyrd. “Inna Gadda Da Vida” was over in four minutes, but Iron Butterfly just kept playing due to chemical influence.

Here is my list of really good songs that top ten minutes in length.

“Echoes,” Pink Floyd. Topping out at 23 and a half minutes, 1971’s “Echoes” is the prelude to the band’s tour de force album, Dark Side of the Moon. Many long songs of this time period are run-on songs that could have ended after 3 minutes. There is nothing extraneous here. I could add plenty more Pink Floyd, but I won’t.

“At War With Satan,” Venom. This is my brother’s influence all the way. Hailing from the UK, Venom was one of the original speed metal bands. This is the 20 minute title track of their 1984 album. They were formed in 1979 and still exist today.

“The Decline” NOFX.  This Bay Area punk band never had a song longer than three minutes. That is, until 1999 when they released this 18+ minute social commentary.

“Black #1,” Type O Negative.  I like the song, but I can’t tell if this is a serious song about finding love, or a satirical song about a girl who can’t go out because her light-colored roots are showing. Oh well, it’s 11 minutes and a good chunky song.

“Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding,” Elton John. This song stands on its own. There is nothing I can add.

There you go. Five songs and almost an hour and a half of entertainment. I could have made this list way longer, but I’ll let you add to it. I can also make a list of twenty songs you can listen to in a couple minutes.

Are you interested in writing your own “Deep Cuts” to share with your WIM-minded brothers and sisters?  Leave a comment or send me an email at: jostaffordjr@gmail.com.