The Smiths make Top 10 B-sides list with HSIN - Far Out

From Elvis Presley to Arctic Monkeys: The 10 best B-Sides of all time

The best B-Sides.

faroutmagazine.co.uk

5. ‘How Soon Is Now?’ by The Smiths​

At the peak of their powers, The Smiths were churning out indie hits at such a productive rate that when ‘William, It Was Really Nothing’ was released as a single in 1984, it was backed by both ‘How Soon Is Now’ and ‘Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want’.


In 2007 Johnny Marr told Uncut that he thought ‘How Soon is Now?’ was “possibly [the Smiths’] most enduring record. It’s most people’s favourite, I think,” he declared.

He may well be the right; the track’s post-night-out sadness has graced a million kitchens in its swooning hue of blue. Marr’s trademark tremolo is in full effect, and Morrisey’s miserable wordplay saunters over the top, swinging a wilting bouquet. Perhaps the record’s most remarkable feat is that it escapes insular oblivion behind the song and has somehow managed to worm its way onto a thousand indie dancefloor playlists.

The List

Spoiler

10. ‘Evil Twin’ by Arctic Monkeys​

9. ‘Green Onions’ by Booker T & The MG’s​

8. ‘Piss Factory’ by Patti Smith​

7. ‘Talk Tonight’ by Oasis​

6. ‘Fools Gold’ by The Stone Roses​

5. ‘How Soon Is Now?’ by The Smiths​

4. ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’ by The Rolling Stones​

3. ‘Silver Springs’ by Fleetwood Mac​

2. ‘Positively 4th Street’ by Bob Dylan​

1. ‘Hound Dog’ by Elvis Presley ​

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[How Soon is Then?]

I can remember playing How Soon is Now for my dentist and he remarked that the song was weird. I responded that I thought he was weird. Years later I head that he was taking lessons to learn how to fly a helicopter.

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

They should definitely reverse the placements of Silver Springs and Piss Factory.

And I guess we could thank Geoff for mistakenly issuing it as a b-side.

 

[How Soon is When?]

They should definitely reverse the placements of Silver Springs and Piss Factory.

And I guess we could thank Geoff for mistakenly issuing it as a b-side.

I can remember having to go to my parole officer and take drug tests. One time he remarked that he felt like he was working in a piss factory. Years later I heard that on the weekends he liked to go antiquing.

 

[The.Truth.]

They should definitely reverse the placements of Silver Springs and Piss Factory.

And I guess we could thank Geoff for mistakenly issuing it as a b-side.

In a thread the other day there were posts about Morrissey, Pet Shop Boys and Oasis all having great b-sides. I thought about asking what everyone's favorite Morrissey b-side is. HSIN is definitely worthy of the list, and that's one of my favorite Dylan songs. I might swap a few others.
That is a great Rolling Stones song. The Beatles used to do "double A-side" singles which I guess is different as both are intended to be "singles" but they would be on my list, too. I guess it can't all be Beatles, Stones, and Dylan.
Here's a live version of Patti.

https://ubu.com/media/sound/smith_patti/poetry-project_12.25.71/Smith-Patti_Poetry-Project_12.25.71_20-Piss-Factory.mp3

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

In a thread the other day there were posts about Morrissey, Pet Shop Boys and Oasis all having great b-sides. I thought about asking what everyone's favorite Morrissey b-side is. HSIN is definitely worthy of the list, and that's one of my favorite Dylan songs. I might swap a few others.
That is a great Rolling Stones song. The Beatles used to do "double A-side" singles which I guess is different as both are intended to be "singles" but they would be on my list, too. I guess it can't all be Beatles, Stones, and Dylan.
Here's a live version of Patti.

https://ubu.com/media/sound/smith_patti/poetry-project_12.25.71/Smith-Patti_Poetry-Project_12.25.71_20-Piss-Factory.mp3

Yeah, I was wondering about there not being any Beatles singles, so had to look it up yesterday to find also that they were double a-sides. Somewhere Paul is seething, or boasting that they didn’t do b-sides.

 

[Gregor Samsa]

Bit of a stretch to call Hound Dog a b-side, no?

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

It was originally done by ...




"That song sold over two million records. I got one check for $500 and never saw another." In 1984, she told Rolling Stone, "Didn't get no money from them at all. Everybody livin' in a house but me. I'm just livin."

 

[Deleted member 28251]

Bit of a stretch to call Hound Dog a b-side, no?

I don’t think it was a B side. And wasn’t Fool’s Gold and What the World originally a ‘double A-side?’

 

[Pike]

Hound Dog is possibly one of the worst Elvis songs recorded, not counting everything he did in the seventies of course.

 

[Thewlis]

Yes double A-side.

Also Talk Tonight? A bit boring. Much prefer Acquiesce or The Masterplan.

 

[Gregor Samsa]

Hound Dog is possibly one of the worst Elvis songs recorded, not counting everything he did in the seventies of course.

The idea that Elvis made crappy music in the 70’s is one of the biggest misconceptions in popular music history - and it’s usually spread by people who haven’t really listened to the stuff and who are just repeating something they’ve read somewhere. And on and on it goes, ad infinitum.

Listen to the albums Elvis Country (1971), From Elvis Presley Boulevard (1976) or That’s the Way It Is (1970). Seek out album cuts “We Can Make the Morning”, “It’s Midnight”, “Loving Arms”, “Pieces of My Life” or “It’s Easy For You”. These are some of his most devastating recordings of his life, from a time in his life when almost all he had was his music. His health was shit, his mental state too, his heart was broken and so was his family life. His voice, however, was still a force of nature, and his ability to convey loss, depression and heartbreak was second to none.

Sure, he made some iffy music during the 70’s, but that goes for the 50’s, as well - not to mention the terribly patchy 60’s.

 

[GirlAfraidWillNeverLearn]

Yes double A-side.

Also Talk Tonight? A bit boring. Much prefer Acquiesce or The Masterplan.

Talk Tonight is great (and probably their most popular b-side) but The Masterplan and also Underneath The Sky are much better. (The studio version of Acquiesce is a bit tame for my liking...)

 

[Gregor Samsa]

Talk Tonight is great (and probably their most popular b-side) but The Masterplan and also Underneath The Sky are much better. (The studio version of Acquiesce is a bit tame for my liking...)

Rockin Chair!!

 

[fact]

Porter did HSiN, not Marr.

Fact.

 

[southpawcomprehensive]

It’s good to be free is better than dad rock talk tonight

 

[Dingoatemybabby]

Porter did HSiN, not Marr.

Fact.

Thanks John, nice to hear from you!