The Value Of The B-Side.

What is an album?
If I asked a random person to define such a word, they would probably mention the ever simple and base echo of how an album is little more than a collection of time-oriented songs that the band (and record label) decided were good enough for a major audience to hear, therefor implying if a song is missed off an album, the obvious reason would be due to the song lacking in quality and talent. I would stand by this consensus as a fair opinion on the wider public’s opinion on albums. Albums that contain songs which have no specific relation to the next are perfect for these people. They don’t want to delve into an experience fo an album for all that it was intended (because such short attention spans run frequently these days), they just want a numerous collection of ‘hits’ that, if played on a radio, everyone, including a most sensitive elderly relative would enjoy without quibble or fuss. This is the general public for you. The kind who should be reminded when a newer version of a band’s ‘Greatest Hits’ record which is piped out by a record company in order to cash in on the general public’s laziness, who of course, will be more than happy to hand over their well-earned money for a self contained collection of mainstream pleasers, than an album that was released for someone who wanted an experience, rather than a quick thrill. And note that the term is ‘Greatest Hits’, and not ‘Greatest Songs’ or ‘The Best Of…’. The term ‘The Best Of…’ may occasionally be used for a collection of single releases (*cough* Radiohead), but this is in fact incorrect, of course. The fact that these ‘accessible’ songs are on these collections has little more point than because you know them, if you generally keep an ear out on the band’s radio-play. Again, this implies anything that isn’t released on a ‘Look at me, i’m one song, which means there are no other distractions for you, it’s just me!’ basis, is uninteresting wank and should be forgotten about, and also, the bands needn’t forget the important message from their public of ‘Don’t you dare interrupt my enjoyment of your ‘classics’ by playing these sons at the gigs I will attend, thanks. That’s not what I payed for’. When you reach a stage in your musical career where your audience is mainly comprised by these Neanderthal-esk apes, who respect you as much as they do the next band who present them music without much change to your own music, you may as well start a fresh, go back underground and with-hold fame and fortune and replace it with credibility self-respect for your own art.

This moves me on to the B-Side. In my personal opinion, and similar of those who actually use their minds, B-sides are not wank, infact, they are possibly some of the best works by artists. ‘Surely not’ I hear cried ‘Surely if the song was that good, the band would have insisted that it be on the album in question. Why?’ No, no, no, dear naive fool, not at all, I am happy to tell you. Most bands generally release B-Sides to accompany their single releases. And by the way, single releases which are used purely to gain attention, not to be the only songs they are remembered for, or simply because they are the ‘best’ songs on the album. I realise that some artists do not use B-sides (Okay, I’ve begun to realise that this is a dated term, but so are a lot of things. You still say you’ll ‘Tape it’ when you want to record something off the television, even if you switched to DVD or Digital recording a few years ago, don’t you?), primarily because they probably were only written twelve songs to record. And as such, these B-sides are generally put on these singles in order to get them heard, not simply just to ‘cash in’ on the buyer by pushing out the songs that ‘weren’t good enough for the album’. I think you get the point that these narrow-minded opinions annoy me. I may as well just present my argument now, as this entire article has basically been a prep for it.

B-sides aren’t shit songs that couldn’t get onto the album, due to their lack of quality compared to others which did. They are songs that didn’t get onto the album, simply because they just didn’t fit. Whether that be it’s lyrical content, it’s sound, or just the general feel of the song, it doesn’t mean that it wasn’t good enough. Maybe in some cases this is true, for pop bands mainly who want every song to be worthy of a single release, but I’m referring to the artists who aren’t afraid to experiment or delve into the unknown. Taking risks, that sort of thing. These B-sides could just in fact be songs that are generally just too different to the sound of the album to fit. The album could reflect a dark, sinister sound, whereas this song is a more upbeat and poppy number which probably wouldn’t have molded well between the other songs and could have potentially ruined the entire record. 

Yourcodenameis:Milo were quite prolific with their use of the b-side. They would usually have several B-sides to their singles, including The Dead French and I.Shoes, both of which were often performed live during their career regularly. To take into account the importance of the B-side is only apt to point out the quality of the EP which is rather similar to the system of single releases, but generally with more songs to offer. The Rapt. Dept. – EP featured four brilliant songs, including the song Rapt. Dept. by Yourcodenameis:Milo and three other songs, named Awake / Asleep, Athletes and Tourists and One Ninja. All songs of which are phenomenal, ranging from a soft, haunting lullaby, a distortion-fest, to a building, hair-raising epic storm of guitary awesomeness. But yes.

The point of this is just to tell you that you should disregard b-sides and also, album tracks, because, even though they may not make you dance to them straight away, you’re missing entire point of enjoying an album, and other such songs that may seem irrelevant. You can’t full appreciate a band if you dip in and out of their work, meaning you need to delve into their back catalogue or just listen to an album from start to finish, and then you can truly realise what kind of band they are.

Oh, and as for my definition of an album?
A collection of songs, chosen, fitted, and shaped to be a soundtrack to a certain experience, sound or theme, which ultimately is experienced by the listening to of that album.

In the beginning, there was the attempt/The new generation of underground music.

Well, you have to start somewhere, and I think I shall start right here with these words to you.

In the modern, cynical, commercialized world of contemporary music, It’s becoming harder to define music from the common categories of ‘Good’ and ‘Bad’, because of course, everything is subjective to the individual listener. But no longer will good music be defined by it’s popularity and funding alone, as we are in an age where bands can be found with ease, via the ever unveiling mediums and websites of the internet and we can pick and choose between the bands we are fed, and the bands of which we find. Also, say goodbye to the large majority of obscure, yet gem-like bands being discovered through supporting major, or independent acts; the domain of new, thriving talent can be located online. 

MySpace has been a large contributer to the ever growing world of unsigned and unfunded music with fresh, new bands being heard by audiences quickly, and on demand. With the ease of simply setting up a music profile, uploading any forms of garageband type music you feel you should share with the world, advertising by such means as simply the adding of other MySpace users and within a few hours, that music is heard, and your fans are found, without the need of trawling clubs, securing record deals and gaining fans ‘the hard way’.

Such an example is one Jeffree Star; internet musician, model, ‘boyfriend stealer’, who has made his name across the internet, particularly on MySpace and Buzznet. Self-proclaimed ‘Queen Of The Internet’, Star has made a name for himself, promoting his own brand of sexually invested dark and sultry electro rap, gaining him more fans than a majority of chart topping artists. Predominately an internet craze icon, and only known by the fortunately enticed ‘internet people’, he is not wider known off the internet, probably branded too outlandish for the common, commercial audience due to a distinctive attraction, celebration and boasting of mannequin-like beauty and the macabre, with songs entitled such as ‘Heart Surgery Isn’t That Bad’, ‘Eye-Lash Curlers And Butcher Knives (What’s The Difference?)’, ‘Plastic Surgery Slumber Party’ and ‘We Want Cunt’, it’s clear Star is intent on creating an image of himself that is clearly for an eclectic taste, down to creating crude images, spelling out an image, as if to say ‘I’m here to make you open your mouth, be that shock, or awe, I’m just here to create a fuss’. This of which, he is definitely doing with over 40 million streams of his MySpace profile daily, you can tell, that this man has a more loyal fan-base than any attempted fad of the viewable modern day. And you have to hand it to him, he does deserve it, whether you enjoy his brand of music, or not, you can not deny it’s originality and respective quirks, even if you refuse to stand for such blatant emboldening of homosexuality and transvestitism.

Jeffree Star is just another clear example of an ever changing and exciting branch of the music scene, thriving on pure individualism and eclectic-taste, making a new world of sound for the new generation of music lovers, such as I.

I am simply saying that there is a world of music waiting for you to hear it across the internet, all it takes is a few Google searches and hyper-linking to find artists that you could grow to love, just purely for the fact that you discovered this act by yourself, without a need of adverts and ideas of others as to what they think you should be listening to. Most commercialized bands are too worried about straying from a social norm of unexciting, boring and ‘inoffensive’ sounds similar to every other artist in their field, competing for money and not credibility, hoping the two will combine one day. Do not take your music from the radio, the television, or the advert because they are just products trying to be sold, with pretty people wearing tight clothing just to entice you. Most modern ‘indie’ bands are today’s equivalent of the pop band, so over-shadowed by appealing to as many people as possible, to which all creativity is lost, and they are less a band, and more a product.

Only a few, rare artists have achieved fame, and yet are more content on their music than anything else; Panic At The Disco are a perfect example of this. Possibly one of the most interesting and inspiring bands in a long time, Panic have gained a following for just being that popular band who have had something different and quite brilliantly original to offer. Their first effort ‘A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out’ brought a new sound to the ears of many, with a bitter spin on romance, taking a route of burlesque and dirty, yet highly erotic charm, echoing a ’50s Las Vegas strip club feel. Such a sound had never been achieved previously, and rightly so they received a quickly growing following. With divine lyrics of vintage decadence, wit and malice, to go with a completely suiting musical style, it is not a surprise such a sound has had such a following as this rare piece of originality had finally an audience to grab ahold of it. When PATD returned, dropping an exclamation mark (Panic!), they seemed to be followed by a similar sound as before, but now a sound that had clearly matured and apparently over come severe depression and alcohol, and had masked it with high intakes of hallucinogenic toxins. This huge change in a sound has divided many a fan, yet keeping the loyal and the susceptible to change and experimentation. Panic are a clear exception to a rule, proving that some true gems can rise above the mundane and safe-playing if the right promoters are in power, who care more about distributing eclectic music than making as much money as possible, by cashing in a dead sound. Incidentally, the founder of Panic’s current and primary record label (Decaydance), Peter Wentz is the bassist of popular band Fall Out Boy, which gives him an insight into modern music, rather than being a money-hungry businessman, with little else to worry his mind.

I advise you to simply not be content with the second best and to say that there are many a highly talented band about that you will grow to love, you’ve just not looked for them yet.