In his book “Every Song Ever,” New York Times music critic Ben Ratliff writes about how we can handle the vast sea of recordings online by listening for qualities that cut across very different kinds of music. Here are six performances he cites for their speed. “Speed in music is like a sweater on a dog: mostly for show,” Ratliff writes. “It increases tension, and its death-ride futility can feel attractive. …in its very best instances it can force counterintuitive feelings, feelings of humanness and frailty.”
Related: Ben Ratliff discusses ‘Every Song Ever’
Bud Powell, “Salt Peanuts,” 1953
Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Sonata in B Minor, K. 27 by Domenico Scarlatti, 1962
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OutKast, “B.O.B.,” 2000
Jerry Lee Lewis, “High School Confidential,” 1964
Martha Argerich, Hungarian Rhapsody no. 6 by Franz Liszt, 1966
D.R.I., “Draft Me,” 1983