Sunday, September 29, 2024

It's Always Rubbish On The B-Side

 

The B-sides topic has been pretty successful so far, plenty or readers’ responses and suggestions. One of these was taking an opposite approach and instead of focussing on cool non-album tracks why not select some that were just filler (no killer!), thank you Richard and Jonder!

As one musician eloquently expressed himself: "Our Buddah releases were known for their ridiculous B-sides, like A-side played backwards in order for the business dudes to copyright something with themselves as writers, even though they couldn't write songs."
 
Jonder suggested "B-Side Pisstakes” and thinking of Napoleon XIV’s “They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!” B-side (VIX noɘloqɒИ - !ɒɒɒH-ɒH ,γɒwA ɘM ɘʞɒT oT ϱnimoƆ ɘɿ'γɘ⑁T), a novelty record from 1966, yes, taking the piss indeed!
But I decided to give it another twist by having artists taking their B-sides literally…
Tracey Ullman’s “The B-Side” definitely takes it to the extreme, but don’t underestimate Morris Minor and The Majors, their “Another Boring B side” also makes it very clear how they feel about it…
On the other hand Khruangbin & Leon Bridges’ “B-Side” is a pretty cool song!
First price though must probably go to Wall Of Voodoo, they released a special 12” in 1982 named: Two Songs By Wall Of Voodoo.

Side One was their hit “Mexican Radio” and the other side just showed “There's Nothing On This Side”!

Anyway, here comes “It's Always Rubbish On The B-Side”, a highly dubious collection (from nonsense to blues to rap to rock and beyond + 2 tracks from the first compilation) which probably won’t be played often but might make you smirk a bit!
 
Question: What's your favourite novelty record?
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13 comments:

  1. JWDenSeptember 30, 2024 at 12:29 AM

    "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)" - Beatles

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    1. jonderOctober 1, 2024 at 8:03 PM

      That was the first one I thought of when Koen came up with this theme!

      Delete
  2. RichardSeptember 30, 2024 at 2:16 AM

    These are hard questions about the psychological nature, the bare essence of art. Novelty, Is that "I want my baby back" "The flying purple people eater" "My boomerang won't come back", Peter Sellers' "Hard Days Night/Help" Elvis- Are You Lonesome (lach-version) https://www.discogs.com/release/472793-Elvis-Presley-Are-You-Lonesome-Tonight-Lach-Version. Oh now you have got me thinking. There is a bottomless pit in probably every country . In Germany Mike Krüger had Der Nippel, and a shed-load of other similar songs were outed. "There is a hole in my bucket" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVAvMIhvqfk
    In the punk era The Yobs , Captain Sensible, Crass (Who Dunnit)....
    Novelty is of course dead-old https://www.discogs.com/release/11044541-Miss-Jones-And-Mr-Spencer-Mandy-And-Her-Man
    You can find Mandy in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsrkSemp6cI to The big millionseller My Ding-a-ling by Chuck Berry.
    Another one deserving my recognition Gershom Kingsley - Popcorn as does Piero Umiliani – Máh-Ná-Mah-Ná
    You asked my favorite. I will not spill much words before I get to this absolute belter of a hitrecord. A song played as much as 30 times as an encore during the early concerts this band gave. (though is also as good as it gets https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnd1NzV51Zk)
    https://www.discogs.com/release/12368342-Napalm-Death-Electro-Hippies-You-Suffer

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  3. Viacomclosedmedown on youtubeSeptember 30, 2024 at 8:29 AM

    Regarding the cool new robots logo...did you guys know if you look at the Chicago Bulls logo upside down it shows a robot sitting sexually on a crab!! At any rate I like that novelty song I posted on a recent homemade radio comp that I still don't know who the band is but the song is about his "little Nash Rambler" race (guy was stuck in second gear however and it WAS NOT A RACE) as the song speeds up to superfast proportions as the race challenge unfolds. Mebbe someone knows.

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  4. AnonymousSeptember 30, 2024 at 6:55 PM

    It’s called BEEP BEEP by The Playmates.

    They also cut a version with slightly different lyrics for Britain where the average person wouldn’t have known what a Nash Rambler was. - Stinky

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  5. art58koenOctober 1, 2024 at 7:41 PM

    Here you go: https://mega.nz/file/fQ8knLqQ#RjjgWOBCb-tY9-eh_JTO2nzqi0sZMXmdJmHCaysQW90

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  6. jonderOctober 1, 2024 at 7:43 PM

    Do parodies count as novelty records? What if the parody is a successful song in its own right (like the "Snuff Rock" EP from the Albertos)?

    On the other hand, if the novelty wears off, is it still a novelty record? The whole fad of "Song A in Style B" got old pretty quickly. Richard mentioned acoustic versions of punk songs (or was it punk versions of acoustic songs?) Groups like Dread Zeppelin, the Bad Livers, the Nutley Brass and Lounge Against The Machine... and the rock performers doing ironic versions of rap songs (although I did like The Gourds' version of "Gin And Juice") ... The Pop-O-Pies progressed from doing an endless version of "Truckin" to doing multiple versions of "Truckin" in a variety of styles, as if they were beating the concept of a novelty song to death.

    Then I started wondering about "novelty songs" by outsider artists like the Legendary Stardust Cowboy, Hasil Adkins, the Shaggs, Wesley Willis -- they were trying to entertain us, not to make us laugh. So many questions ...

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    1. Viacomclosedmedown on youtubeOctober 2, 2024 at 8:04 AM

      We have a local band--a guy who owns our local record store out of his garage in our "Village of the Arts" neighborhood where every house is an art project but he played a cover of "You Be Illin'" (the old RUN-DMC song) in a slow incredulous kind of way that slowly got the arms up along with them--kind of a slow agreement on behavior. As you say so well, "beating the concept of a novelty song to death" LOL

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  7. RichardOctober 2, 2024 at 4:48 AM

    Oh, The Legendary Stardust Cowboy, Is he novelty, or do we mortals from planet earth just do not grasp this. And how about the music made by people we wrote off as sick, medically ill, Daniel Johnson, Adolf Wölfli, Larry Fisher. Do we appreciate them as an act of rebellion against the eikels of an eagles? Do we like them as we like Diana Ross, now, or Dolly, Blondie, Ray Davis, Elton any old person, who lost the ability to perform at an adequate level?

    Here is some other thing about albums. The Hidden Track. It can be a mystery double groove. or just an copyright not-cleared gadget https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqFPotB_HXY from https://www.discogs.com/release/93090-Caresse-Sickmob-RU-Xperienced
    or https://www.discogs.com/release/2475799-Various-Speed-Metal-Hell-Volume-Three where A7 Regurgitation– Laryngitis is nowhere mentioned on that album.

    And some bands did a fuck you album. Melvins - Prick, or Head of David - H.O.D.I.C.A. - The Shit Hits The Fan.
    Or the greatest tribute, novelty, fuck you song I know John Denver - The Ballad of Richard Nixon much like https://www.discogs.com/release/1421098-No-Artist-The-Wit-And-Wisdom-Of-Ronald-Reagan

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  8. AnonymousOctober 2, 2024 at 7:49 AM

    My favorite novelty song definitely changes. My Ding A LIng was a favorite in adolescence, as was The Streak (both were #1's if memory serves). Earlier favorites were the aforementioned Beep Beep, and They're Coming To Take Me Away.

    Today, it might be a song by an artist I'm working on compilation-izing: EL VEZ (Robert Lopez of The Zeros). Maria's The Name (Of His Latest Flame) mixes in a liitle West Side Story, and the hook from I Want Candy, to remake one of Elvis' best non-early-rockabilly tracks! - Stinky

    Maria's The Name (Of His Latest Flame):
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_LmZdR5eIg

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  9. gobloodsOctober 2, 2024 at 10:20 AM

    I still have my copy of The wit and wisdom of Ronald Reagan...Still rocks after all these years :-)

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  10. tsi&hrjsOctober 2, 2024 at 5:47 PM

    I nominate "Like A Dribbling Fram" by Race Marbles on Tower Records from the Fall of 1965. A classic in its own right!

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