I know in the past I’ve waxed on lyrically about how much I love cracking open a CD case and listening to the sound of the disc spinning and that first track playing. Yes, I love that a lot. Sometimes I’m frustrated, though, by some filler or B-side songs that sometimes seem to fill up a full length album. But not always.
In the past you’d spin your LP or load your cassette in the deck and enjoy the best songs, the fan faves and the radio singles and they mostly came off Side A of the record or the tape. Then you’d turn it around and possibly feel you’re stuck with a side of fillers, or lesser known songs. Hence the term, B-sides. Let me not generalise, this is not true for every disc you’ll ever own, but I think we have all spent hard-earned cash on music we don’t even like and that we simply skip over till the remote batteries run flat.
Nowadays, you don’t need to feel obligated to own those ‘fillers’ when you select the songs you want to download – which is a real plus. You get to fill your PC or iPod with all your sing along favourites that get maximum radio play or fill up the dance floor.
So, if you go to a gig to listen to a band you really admire, you’ll be able to sing along the whole way through the set! Cool right? But is that what being a true musical connoisseur is all about? Don’t you want to spend time listening closely to the lyrics of the B-sides songs, and discover a musical gem? Where the band just gets a bit experimental, because they know it won’t be a radio single and you start to appreciate their real musicianship, their true artistry! This seems to exclude most pop albums, but I know you get my drift. I’m being a music snob right now, but I think there is a lot more to music then the sing along radio hits. Some discs have a hidden track that starts to play about a minute or 2 after the final track on the disc, and I love those surprises! The first one I ever encountered was on Alanis Morrisette’s Jagged Little Pill, but it happens a lot! Then there’s a cover version or two that sometimes comes out better than the original artists creation! I can’t imagine my life without U2’s Trip though your wires or Pink Floyd’s Brain Damage and Eclipse. Modern fans wouldn’t download those, because they don’t know those songs.
Don’t miss out! Go looking for those musical gems, even in your current collection! No miner ever held a diamond that jumped right out of the ground and landed in his hand!
