Record Store Day always reminds me of my love for physical media, and this year was no exception. One of the best parts about the event is all of the singles that would otherwise not be released. Be it the Warner’s “Side by Side” series or a heart-shaped Neon Trees single. All of the songs are classics and most feature my favorite part of the single: the B-side.
B-Sides are typically tracks that didn’t make the record: cover songs, alternate takes and, in the days of R&B, “Part 2.” These songs are kind of hit or miss depending on the band. They can be gems, or just an extra song to make it worth paying for the single. Occasionally a B-side will become a hit because a DJ on the radio liked it better than the A-side. “I Will Survive” and “Maggie May” are classic examples of this, and “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” is a good modern example.
The unfortunate thing about B-side is that unless it gains mass radio play, most of these songs are doomed to the obscurity of collectors and completists (those who have to have everything a band releases). While some people like to feel special because they know about these songs, I can’t hope that some of my favorite songs remain unknown for some shallow reason. With that, I’d like to present a list of my favorite B-sides.
“Modern Girls and Old Fashioned Men,” which featured Regina Spektor, is the B-side to the Strokes “Reptilia” single. While “Reptilia” is catchy as all get out, I can’t help but love the collaboration between two of my favorite artists. With a catchy guitar riff and building percussion, the song drops into a verse that is classic garage rock and classic Strokes, augmented with Regina singing harmonies underneath Julian Casablanca’s fantastic vocals.
“Wake Up Exhausted” falls into the cover category of B-side, and is one I might never have discovered if it hadn’t been for Spin.com. The site featured a video of Alkaline Trio playing the song with Tegan Quin, the original writer, and being that I love the original Tegan and Sara recording, I decided to seek out this new version. While it’s a little less distorted than the video and lacks Tegan’s vocals underneath, Matt Skiba’s voice fits the song very well. A very minimal cover, it still makes a great song and a great singalong when life’s got you down.
There is also the occasional B-side compilation album that catches my eye; specifically in mind is B Is for B-sides by Less Than Jake. A collection of tracks recorded for the 2003 album Anthem there isn’t a bad song on the disc, (although my favorite is “National Anthem”). A precursor to tracks like “Conviction Notice” and “Abandon Ship,” its one of the most outright political songs the band has released. It covers themes of debt and disillusionment, with lines like “and the for sale sign that’s hanging round your neck might as well spell defeat” and “my American dream is to have it / a little bit better than my parents ever had it.”
Looking at my Record Store Day purchases, I can say that the Childish Gambino “Heartbeat” single has a pretty great remix for a B-side, and the Regina Spektor release is great, even though both songs are in Russian. My favorite at the though is Justin Townes Earle’s single, which has “Nothing’s Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now” on the A-side, and a cover of “Sneaky Feelings,” a cover of a song from Elvis Costello’s 1977 debut on the B-side.
The single will never be a lost art, unlike the album, but I do worry that singles are becoming cost-prohibitive. I spent a lot of money on Record Store Day and I feel like I have less to show for it than normal. As much as I love having vinyl singles to spin when I’m bored and doing homework, if the cost stays around $7 or $8, I might have to look to other ways to get the same tracks, which would be a shame for my quickly growing collection.
What are your favorite B-side tracks? Let Jeremy know at jgartzke@wisc.edu.
