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...