By John Matthew Hall
The death knell of the single may well have been prematurely sounded by over-zealous music commentators, but with the news that Woolworths no longer plan to stock the CD single, perhaps it's time to read the last rites.
Woolworths' commercial director Jim Batchelor said: "Digital downloading is now the true customer choice for listening and purchasing single music tracks... unfortunately the physical singles market is in terminal decline."
For many technologically progressive music fans, the decline and fall of the CD single is long awaited. A downloadable track is almost instantly accessible, totally portable and won't clutter spare rooms in 10 years' time.
However, there's still something about the passing of the CD single that fills me with a sickly mix of melancholy and nostalgia - perhaps because the format was one of the last mass-produced refuges of the B-side.
Gone are the days where a familiar "hit" track fades into the exotic world of the B-side; a hidden sanctuary of experimentation, self-belief and innovation. Sure, the medium may have flourished in the 7" vinyl format, but its relevance was more than maintained by the CD single.
Artists like Elvis Costello, Suede and Oasis cemented the quality of their prolific output by banishing some of their greatest songs to the B-side wilderness. The B-side was almost a musical genre by itself; with a very separate cult history to its populist sibling - the single. There are even books, websites and late night cable TV programmes dedicated to the field.
In the digital age, a CD single looks like a clunky relic of a bygone era, but by entirely replacing it with single track downloading, we risk closing a hugely intoxicating chapter of musical history.
Five Great B-sides:
1. Acquiesque by Oasis (B-side of Some Might Say)
2. La Bamba by Richie Valens (B-side of Diane)
3. Straight To Hell by The Clash (B-side of Should I Stay Or Should I Go)
4. There Ain’t Half Been Some Clever Bastards by Ian Dury (B-side of Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick)
5. Revolution by The Beatles (B-side of Hey Jude)
I'm fortunate enough to still remember flipping the vinyl to the B-Side and finding some great tracks. It was a great outlet for many songs that would have otherwise been lost. However I also remember some of the dross that was also included! I can imagine that the likes of iTunes could no doubt suggest B-Sides when people purchase singles. No doubt the digital age will continue to use its technological power to cross-sell and keep the B-Side alive. Maybe they should be free, just like they were in the good old days!
Posted by: Jason | Wednesday, 28 May 2008 at 10:07 AM
The CD - whether in album or single format - has always been a banal and rather pointless cultural artefact. It lacks the physicality and beauty of the vinyl record and brings little of its own to the table. I look forward to its demise. (Also, CD players have taken 'built in obsolesence' to hitherto undreamt of heights - rarely lasting very long and being invariably unrepairable.) Of course, many of us have continued buying vinyl ever since CDs were imposed by the technocrats. Urban musicians and the 'underground' scenes are still producing 12" singles with B sides and have been for years. The most exciting music being produced in this country is being sold on vinyl 12". The rest doesn't matter hugely. Of course record company execs will want us to buy downloads, in the same way that they want us all to be on Facebook gleefully declaring our consumer 'preferences'.
Posted by: AP | Wednesday, 28 May 2008 at 10:23 AM
Great piece but don't be such a technophobe because the future of music is digigtal.
Posted by: Jules | Wednesday, 28 May 2008 at 01:22 PM
well done for highlighting There Ain’t Half Been Some Clever Bastards as a great bside. ian dury is often overlooked but was a true genius. would be good to have a definitive list of great bsides sumwhere.
my choice would be no fun by the Sex Pistols
Posted by: Andy Dunmore | Wednesday, 28 May 2008 at 07:24 PM
If I had my way digital fans would be shot. Bring back the gramophone!
Posted by: Carlo Marx | Thursday, 29 May 2008 at 04:55 PM
Some of my favourite songs are B-sides. I use to love knowing them because you could also sieve out the fans from the proper fans (that used to matter when you were younger for some reason!), + it was also just nice to hear what didn’t make the album and thinking to yourself, ‘this song is FARRR better than track 5 on the album!’ Alas now, gone are those thoughts and revelations & debates. Sad times.
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