CD Singles..

[The Curmudgeon]

Do you still buy them?

Once upon a time, boys and girls, for The Curmudgeon, a new single by an artist or band I "followed" was something of an event. And with good reason, too. Often CD singles were released in two parts, and with that meant..

1. Cool limited packaging (fold out digi packs, tins, 3" CDs).
2. Bonus tracks, which could be new songs, cover versions, live tracks..

Back In The Day (ugh! I do apologise) these bonus tracks could be better than the actual single itself, and when you added up the tracks from singles released you often had a full albums worth to enjoy. There were often three tracks (or more) on each single. Like I said - CD singles could be something very special indeed. Hell, take Prince - his "Cream" and "Gett Off" maxi singles weighed in at over 35 minutes each.

Changed days now, though. The incentive purchase of tins and posters and whatever else they packed along with the single are now banned. Also, a 3 track single is now known as a "maxi" single, but can still only be less than twenty minutes long or its not eligible for the charts. The other part of the single can only be two tracks.

Basically, then - less songs for the same money. I can't help but think we're being ripped off.

It's probably a sign that the majority of the new music that has come out over the last year or so has not been to The Curmudgeon's liking, but I've bought very few CD singles. Or maybe its the fact that I grudge buying the odd CD single now for the title track and some tatty, worthless remix. Which is basically what you're looking at in CD singles nowadays.

And now there's downloading, which is becoming more and more popular with each coming week (more and more acts are charging into the top ten on download sales alone). So the very nature of the single - title track you bought the thing for, and undiscovered rarity that comes with it) will soon be gone forever. Record companies aren't going to waste time with B-sides if they don't need to. "What's that? Give you another song when we don't need to? No no - you download the one track and we'll charge you for this other one".

It's a sad, sad state of affairs. So what about you then, Dweller? Are CD singles still important in YOUR life?

video.xnxx.com/video6175/Maid_Service

[InvisibleWolfMan]

You know, I really miss feeling like I've just GOTTA get a single from an artist. I used to buy the 45's when I was younger (snagged myself the PARTMAN w/ FEEL YOU UP as the last freshly minted 45" I'd ever buy) as well as the casette singles....then the CD singles.

I really loved it when they switched to the CD singles and they eventually started to tempt me with differnt package designs/cases/CD shapes and sizes (got an Elvis shaped single of LOVE ME TENDER...a present for my mom which I inherited back after her untimely death).

The last CD single I bought? FEEL by Robbie Williams. Why? probably due to the fact it was less than £.50 and I couldn't be bothered with buying his whole album. And that's the point I'm getting at....

Most albums these days suck.

Where's the concept albums? The albums full of great songs and excellent fillers? Ahhhhhh....we get the "recycled" albums now. Albums that sound the same, seem the same, have several cover songs on them, the "cross-over" songs, the "featuring xxxxxxxxx xxxxxx" songs, the "exclusive remixed remixes" songs...

Shit.

[hackersanonymous]

I very, very rarely buy CD singles. However, I'm with the Curmudgeon on this one, in that some of the singles I've bought have contained some absolute gems - something I also fear will be lost with downloading.

How long will it be before record companies become simply "music" companies, as they no longer produce records in the physical sense? It's not something I'm looking forward to.

While it's true that pretty much the first thing I do when I buy a CD (be it single or album) is rip it to MP3 or WMA. However, I still have the physical object - I can admire the art, thumb through the inlay etc (OK, mostly with albums there).. What am I meant to do with a download only medium? Look at how many bytes it takes?!

To my mind, the music industry is basically gagging to move to download only. What? Faff about with photographers, artists and jewel cases? Delivery? Tsh! Get one of the geeks to bung it on a server, and watch the pennies come in..

What's that? Your PC's hard drive died? You didn't back it up? Quelle domage - buy 'em again.

It's not something I'm looking forward to.

We need the physical medium. It can reflects the time, inspiration or mood of the artist.


Toodles!

[The Curmudgeon]

Christ, that's something I never even THOUGHT about. What if your entire music collection is soley on your PC, and then your PC dies?

Consider THAT another part of my arguement in the future.

[Ben]

As the Fortress Dwellers may already know, I am a metalhead, and metal artists have released a ton of great singles in their time.

Not but the other day I picked up a System of a Down (newer band) "Maxi" single with two live tracks and the one cover track. Fear not, it also had an "exclusive" video for another song (live) and then one of those videos all over MTV.

2 live tracks, 2 videos, and the one track that's all over the radio, all for $1.99, which I would guess is around half a pound? That same day I saw a Black Sabbath single from way back with two tracks, but I refrained from spending my money because there seemed to be an absence of anything special. Iron Man and Paranoid are both on the album soooo... back to EBAY for me. Great place to pick up old singles cheap.

Anyway, I found a great deal on a newly released single, which also contained a coupon which gave me two dollars off the band's newly released album (woohoo! My money back! Kind of.). So I wouldn't count all of music out when it comes to releasing good singles (thank the Lord for metal), though I will admit I only come by a good single once a week at the store. However, that's still a hell of a lot better than what you can find in say... the rap section.

[The Curmudgeon]

Ugh, the sheer horror that is The Rap Single.

1. Album version.
2. Clean version.

And that's usually it. Failing that, some sorry-ass remix or laughable "accapella" version.

I'm into a lot of rock bands, but of the "metal" variety I could only say I'm really into Marilyn Manson, Slipknot and Korn. I have no idea if those are "metal" or nu-metal or whatever you want to call it. And there singles, more often than not - suck. Manson has the odd genuine B-side on his singles, but Korn's and Slipknots have always been woeful mixes. Which is why I have most of the Korn albums, the three Slipknot albums and none of the singles.

After reading your post Ben, it just convinces me more and more that singles are going to become a thing of the past. All of the things on that maxi single, video's, live tracks, new songs - or just the one track for the same money. Which do you think the record company is going to prefer?

[hackersanonymous]

The whole subject of having single copies of data is tempting me into geek mode :-)

We all know that the correct solution is to ensure that you keep backups of all of your songs. However, we also know that that's a major pain in the bum...

I mean - where do you stop? How often do you backup these audio files you pay for? I suppose it all depends on how often you pay for downloaded material...

Or, if you want to save hassle on discs, you could always buy yourself a second hard drive, but they're not exactly giving them away for pennies.. And even then, you still need to discipline yourself to backing them up...

Anyhoo..

I'm glad I've been able to add some fuel to your fire, Curmudgeon - long may it continue to burn.

Toodles!