Various- Short Music For Short People

This punk compilation features 101 songs(!) and was released in 1999. I won't sit here and comment on all 101 songs, so here are highlights (ie whittled down to "just" the top 20...)

Many of the bands approached the 30-second songs as an opportunity for an immature quick gag. Fizzy Bangers, Terrorgruppe, Samian (nice banjo work!) and No Means No are all good for a quick laugh. Special mention goes to Aerobridge for the tale of footwear masturbation (of course!) and The Mr. T Experience for cramming as many profanities as possible into 30 seconds. Blink-182 also excelled with the "Parental Advisory" content, with a song that is also happens to have an engaging musical structure. Great stuff, I reckon.

At the other end of the seriousness spectrum, punk-rock is one of few genres where 30 seconds worth of song is plenty for a complete artwork. It's quite incredible, really. Perhaps this compilation has invented one of the purest artforms ever, with the song stripped back to its essence of verse, chorus and conclusion. Anyway, enough philosophising... the songs from Chixdiggit, The Living End, The Ataris, Lagwagon, No Use For A Name, 59 Times The Pain, Dance Hall Crashers (with their trademark silky-smooth style providing a nice contrast), One Man Army, Pennywise, 7 Seconds, The Queers, Radio Days and Nicotine are all nicely "complete" short songs, which lack nothing for being restricted to 30 seconds.

The icing on the cake is Bad Religion, who have produced 39-second perfection. Their song is a wonderfully structured musical journey, complete with a variety of styles and a nice progression tying it all together.

Favourite songs

Fizzy Bangers, Terrorgruppe, Aerobridge, Blink-182, The Mr. T Experience, Samiam, No Means No, Chixdiggit, Bad Religion, The Ataris, Lagwagon, 59 Times The Pain, No Use For A Name, Dance Hall Crashers, One Man Army, Pennywise, 7 Seconds, The Queers, Radio Days, Nicotine
 

I diggit?

Yes, the fun may be sliced into 30-second increments, but there's still plenty of it.