Requiem For A 'B' Side

I’ve just received a rather curt email from MSN Music telling me that they will be re-launching their downloading operation on March 18th and if I don’t use up my current outstanding balance (presumably by downloading a load of songs I don’t really want), then it will be gobbled up, never to be seen again. Charming.

I’ve been using MSN to buy the odd song for over three years now and it has become quite a handy tool for avoiding having to buy a whole album just to get hold of one good song. It seems that the download has now replaced what were once called ‘singles’ and along with the long-time demise of the vinyl seven-inch and now the CD single, has come the final expiry of that most anachronistic of creations: the ‘B’ side.

In the days of the vinyl single, every new release came with its associated ‘B’ or ‘Flip’ side. Sometimes these were just album tracks lifted from previously released stock or live versions of well known songs, but most of the time they were cast-offs. And it is this latter category that was by far the most interesting. These unloved tracks, rejected from albums were generally seen as ‘filler’ to pad out the release but often they were interesting insights into the nature of the band or artist. Many of them were failed experiments into new directions or styles and offered a tantalising glimpse into what went on in the artist’s mind.

Obviously most ‘B’ sides were a bit of a mixed bag but some bands were very adept at this sort of thing and would offer some high class stuff, especially when CD came along and they were allowed 2 or 3 extra tracks in addition to the main ‘A’ side song. I have a complete collection of Lush’s CD single releases, not because I’m a completist, but because each one boasts three extra and classy tracks not available on albums. I have a playlist on my iPod which sequences 18 of them, enough for an album on their own and a very good release it would’ve made too.

Other, less discerning acts would stuff CD singles with appallingly recorded live versions of songs already released or, horror of horrors, the extended-beyond-endurance remix or, even worse, the sequenced mega-mix patching bits and bobs of all their ‘hits’ into one horrendous racket. No wonder the download became so popular – who wants to pay for this sort of junk?

So RIP to the ‘B’ side. I shall miss you.

Lush, My 100th Post...and an Apology.

Sometimes time can show you just how wrong you can be and hold you up as a solid gold liar. No matter how sure of yourself you were once upon a time you can virtually guarantee that the passage of time will come and bite you where it most hurts, in the ego! I am and always will be, a huge fan of so-called shoegazers, Lush, a band who operated between 1989 and 1996. As this is my 100th post, I felt they ought to feature. Their first recorded effort was a 6 track EP named ‘Scar’ and it just blew me away with its jagged rhythms, soaring harmonies and endlessly modulating melodies. After a few stunning singles and what seemed an eternity their first proper album finally arrived in 1992 – ‘Spooky’ and I was straining at the leash to hear it.

And that’s where the trouble started. The difficulty with ‘Spooky’ stemmed from the fact that it had been produced by Cocteau Twin Robin Guthrie and he had given it an effects-drenched maelstrom sound close to that of his own albums. There immediately followed a wave of fierce criticism from critics and fans alike directed at Guthrie’s dense, impenetrable production on what should have been, after all, Lush’s first triumphant foray into the world of albums and when I first bought it back in ‘92, I was one of the most vociferous. How dare he mess about with one of my most favourite bands? Why were the vocals drowned in the mix? Where were the dynamics of the band? I was so disappointed that the potential of Lush had been utterly ruined that I pontificated about how crap Guthrie was as a producer and how I’d never look at a Cocteau Twins album again. So there!

However, it pains me to admit that from a perspective of over fifteen years now, my view has mellowed somewhat and on continued listenings, I find that actually, this is a very fine album indeed.

Its dizzying dream pop, so characteristic of the prevailing shoegazing genre of that time now sounds nostalgic and exhilarating. Whilst many reviewers bemoan the fact that Lush’s contrived atmospherics were inferior to the efforts of others such as the aforementioned Cocteau Twins and the likes of My Bloody Valentine and Ride, I think they are missing the point. Lush were primarily a band that created great pop songs and then submerged them in swathes of effects, rather than following their peers and developing aural landscapes for their own sake.

‘For Love’, ‘Covert’, ‘Untogether’, ‘Fantasy’ – pop songs all. Add to the basic premise of a good song their effortlessly intricate vocal harmonies and their lightness of touch despite the layers of guitar noise and you have a concoction that sounds a bit like The Beach Boys meets The Cure at a Trance workshop. Or, in other words, music that satisfies both the head and the heart.

In retrospect, it’s stunning stuff from one of the most underrated bands in the history of underrated bands. Sorry Robin.

Pop! What is it Good For (Slight Return)

In a previous post I referred to Paul Morley’s 6 Milestone Singles as revealed during his TV programme, ‘Pop. What is it Good For?’ Well, as promised here are mine.

For those who are new to this concept, these are 6 singles that have specific memories for me as turning points in my own musical journey, rather than just a list of my favourite singles that would probably be a little different albeit with some overlap. So, no ‘Strawberry Fields’ or ‘God Only Knows’ which would appear in my best ever list but in this context have no ‘Milestone’ significance.

So, without further ado, here they are:

‘She Loves You’ – The Beatles
For anyone of my age, it is likely that they will have been influenced by the moptops. This single burst into my life in 1963 and set in motion a lifelong passion almost by force. Even listening to it today after 45 years, when I’m a bit bored by it, it still has a real energy that just bursts out of the speakers at you. Genuinely life changing.

‘Back Street Luv’ – Curved Air
The single that opened up the door to albums irrevocably. After this, the pick ‘n’ mix of the singles chart was no longer enough and the purchase of far too many earnest progrock albums ensued.

‘Your Generation’ – Generation X
Billy Idol and cohorts arrived in the nick of time to blow away the cobwebs from the complacent 1970s corporate rock and suddenly, punk was the lifeline that got my musical interest back on track. I even started buying singles again. The likes of The Stranglers, Adverts, Sex Pistols and many of the punk associates like Siouxsie and XTC followed in a great rush of loud, invigorating, life affirming noise.

‘Scar’- Lush
A 6 track EP (on new-fangled CD) that took my breath away with its harmonic complexity, aural architecture and jagged rhythms. It introduced me to the world of Shoegazeing and to Lush in particular and I was hooked. They are still my favourite band ever despite their lack of success and just about everybody else’s derision.

‘Shine On’ – The House of Love
About as near to a perfect single as I’ve ever heard and it was created in the 1990s, long after the birth of popular music. Everything works, from its hushed verse to its sing-a-long chorus, heady harmonised middle section complete with gut-wrenching key change, beautiful evocative lyric and rampant guitar lines. There are not many songs that have everything. This one does and it helped to demonstrate that perfect pop is not just the preserve of the 1960s as many would have you believe.

‘Patience’ – Take That
A bit of surprise this one, but it has reminded me of the greatest lesson you can learn about pop music - that it can still surprise you, even 50 years on if you keep an open mind (and ears). This is a wonderfully constructed song that gladdens the heart. The fact that it is Take That is absolutely superfluous – never discount anybody in this game or you miss out.

Sing-Sing

Well what a start to the New Year!

Those who know me will understand that I was more than a little cut up when my all-time favourite band, Lush, understandably split up in 1996 following the suicide of their drummer. Out of the ashes of Lush, guitarist Emma Anderson teamed up with singer Lisa O’Neil to form Sing-Sing which, over the last 10 years, has produced two excellent albums, ‘The Joy of Sing-Sing’ and ‘Sing-Sing and I’, on a sort of DIY basis whilst relying on fan donations for finance. See Video of 'Feels Like Summer' below for a good example of their work.

I have just received their New Year newsletter which informs me that they are throwing in the towel owing to a combination of babies and getting a proper job. I suppose the allure of living on bread and cheese for your art begins to pall once you are past 40. So I am bereaved again. Sob!

For those interested, they are selling off their albums for £1.96 each until the 18th of January from their website.