2000 Great Songs #1309: Ten Minutes

I do my part to preach the gospel of 80s jangle pop band Winter Hours every chance I get. As their catalog is almost entirely out of print and doesn't stream (and much of it was never released on CD), it's not easy to spread the word (though I've sent my personal digital mix to all takers). This time we're going with something particularly obscure. Their first proper full-length, 1986's (vinyl-only) Leaving Time, included an acoustic version of "Ten Minutes," which is pretty enough, but I much prefer the electric version, which was released solely as a b-side (again, vinyl-only). It was perhaps that sort of odd decision about which version to include on the record that played a role in the band never getting the attention they deserved outside of college radio circles.

And, sure, it's your basic mid-tempo jangle pop track, not necessarily their catchiest track, but something about the moody delivery of late vocalist Joseph Marques has always haunted me. It's one of those college songs that has endured for me, meaningful in a deeply personal way I can't explain.

Here's the slower, acoustic version from the LP:

Live performance (very quiet recording, you'll need to crank it up):

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