MUSIC: THE RETURN OF THE B-SIDE

MUSICIANS, PERHAPS NOSTALGIC FOR THE DAYS OF VINYL 45S, ARE EMBRACING CD SINGLES AND LOADING THEM WITH EXTRA TRACKS

We live in an age in which art is often a work in progress. Filmmakers routinely release "director's cuts" with the controversial scenes they were forced to excise restored in all their superfluously erotic or gratuitously gory wonder; the long-lost drafts of long-dead novelists are disinterred, hyped and sold to the highest Hollywood bidder; obscure demo tracks made by disbanded rock groups are remixed, released, and everybody closes their eyes and pretends John just went out for a very long smoke.

Which brings us to the return of the single. Back when music was exclusively on vinyl, singles were the medium...

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