So I started this entry about six years ago, you see sometimes I just have thoughts that I need to pen down or even type out, but decide for different reasons that it isn't time. This one, was personal, and it wasn't ready to be written, it needed time to brew and simmer.
Maybe I'm feeling the need for live music, and a concert, and because of Covid-19 that simply isn't happening. So I've turned to my album collection and began to reminisce about this love I have for music. Haven't we all turned to music to help comfort us in this time of trouble? So in thinking about times of trouble and words of wisdom, yes, you now have a Paul McCartney ear worm stuck in your head let's talk about B-sides?
B-sides? What is she talking about? So way back in the day, music was recorded and sold on vinyl records (I know, vinyl is making a slight comeback, and b-sides were also on 45s). Essentially record companies were looking for a way to profit more from a single, otherwise referred to as the A-side of an album. Songs selected for the A-side were those that were radio-friendly, climbing the charts, and originally intended as the single or album covers to be sold. The B-sides were songs selected that were not originally intended for the album. Today, these have become known or referred too often as bonus tracks. For me, they are the hidden gems on the album.
I mean think about, how many of you actually still buy albums? I know that I am one of the few that still do. (Yes, I still buy CDs, full albums). I do not purchase songs or tracks, I purchase the album. Why? Well because for me it is like the difference between buying one chapter of a book. You simply wouldn't read chapter 6, without reading the beginning or ending of a novel. Albums are the same way. Songs are written word with rhythm, rhyme, and a dope beat. Albums are carefully crafted, songs aren't just laid down with how they were written, but with a thought process. You don't want to listen to the first half of an album with nothing but slow songs, you need a mixture and it has to be carefully selected.
Okay, so for argument's sake, let's start with a song that many of us are probably feeling right now. "Revolution" by the Beatles was originally a B-side. No matter what side of things you are on politically during this pandemic, many of us can agree with these lyrics,' You say you want a revolution, Well, you know, We all want to change the world, You tell me that it's evolution , Well, you know, We all want to change the world, But when you talk about destruction, Don't you know that you can count me out, Don't you know it's gonna be, All right, All right, All right..." So you say your not a Beatles fan, what about the Stones, The Rolling Stones "You Can't Always Get What You Want". I know some of us, might be singing this one to ourselves as we hit the grocery store right now looking for our preferred brand of toilet paper, "we just might have to get what we need".
For real though, B-sides are songs of infinite gladness. I grew up in the 80s and 90s, which is full of iconic music and when I think of B-sides, I think of ordering countless cassette tapes from Columbia Records, or running to Sam Goody to purchase the latest album of a favorite band. I really miss wearing out cassette tapes from either overplaying the entire cassette or rewinding it to that song you just wanted to sing along to again and again. If you grew up during this time, you know what it was like to keep a pencil nearby so you could fix the tape, and you also know what it was like to have a CD skip in a car. But one of my favorite things about this time was getting a mixed tape from a friend filled with B-sides. So in honor of a B-side mixed tape, here you go...
1-Talk Show Host by Radiohead (*if you listen closely in Baz Luhrmann's Romeo & Juliet you will catch a bit of this song)
2- Starla by Smashing Pumpkins (*if you hated the Pumpkins, listen to the full 11 minutes of this one)
3- Now by Edie Brickell
4- Half the World Away by Oasis
5- Good Riddance by Green Day
6- Yellow Ledbetter by Pearl Jam
7- How Soon is Now by the Smiths
8- Another Journey by Train by the Cure
9- Bullet the Blue Sky by U2
10- Man Who Sold the World by David Bowie
No comments:
Post a Comment