So I have a large [vinyl] record collection and when I moved to a digital DJ set up I knew one of my biggest challenges was going to be recording all those records to mp3. Over the course of the last year I’ve recorded a good chunk of them but am by no means finished. While recording the last few batches, I came across some really good B-sides that I had either forgotten, or more likely overlooked to begin with. It got me thinking…
Digital DJing is great, and you’ve heard me talk about the convenience and cost saving benefits in the past, but it apparently also means giving up one of the cooler aspects of vinyl, the B-Side. Most of the records I’ve bought over the years were purchased for 1 track, but the majority of them contain 3 or more tracks in total. Now before I get all nostalgic and misty eyed, let me tell you that I’ve got plenty of 33s with crappy B-Sides, some down right awful.
Every now and again though, I find a B-Side that is awesome and add it to my ever growing archive of music. Did you know that “Maggie May” and “Black Water” were both B-Sides?
So before I ramble on too much, let me try to make it to a point. Progress is great, digital distribution has benefits for both music producers and consumers, but are we losing something in the transition? Every track I buy is deliberate now, which means I’ll never be able to stumble across that horizon broadening B-Side ever again.
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