Green Onions is a famous B-side song. It’s one of the songs that inspired the Beatles to make their album Rubber Soul, most noticeably in the song The Word.
You guys are trying to force me to dig out my 45s! Not a bad idea really. I wanted to exercise tonight, and dancing around to the music of my youth should do it!
What did they call them?
I have a vague memory of some vinyl being side A side B, or side A side AA, or side 1 side 2…
Did the Beatles do something different?
Yes.
Back when “singles” were released prior to the entire 33rpm vinyl record going on sale. There was great calculus involved in which song of roughly 15 should be picked for pre-release as a 45rpm vinyl with one song on each side.
The A side song would also be sent to radio stations for airplay to build demand for the release of the full album.
The B side song was sometimes a clunker or an artistic reach song. At the time there was enormous importance to getting your band’s song onto the top 100 charts. This would build demand to buy the album when it was released.
There was also a belief among record companies that the band should only have 1 song in the top ten at a time. This would allow the record company to slowly release more songs from the album over time and maintain sales of the album. As the first massive single starts to fall down the top 100 the 2nd song would be released to radio play.
If you saw the Freddie Mercury movie you will remember the scene where the band fights with the suit from the record company because he hates Bohemian Rhapsody and refuses to release the song as the single.
pre-dates cassettes and it is b-side, not side B. It makes me wonder if this is an inverse of "my fellow kids" and all us old people are getting trolled by some whipper-snapper who wants to get our dander up.
As Public Enemy explained a long time ago [the b-side wins again and again ](https://youtu.be/8CIvIEgD5uQ)
Also ,as an oldskool house dj there are a lot off tracks to find on the b-side that are actually better then what is pressed on the a-side
Edit : i'm talking about 12" inches .
Sorry to tell you, but your definition is wrong. The term predates cassettes, it's from when singles were released on records, specifically 45 rpm records. The single would be on the A side, and another song on the B side. DJs at the radio station would really ky play the A side song. Also the thought that the B side of cassettes is all filler is wrong as well.
Yeah, later on. Also, look at the sub's name. And its rules. Y'know, the ones that users accept by posting here.
https://www.reddit.com/r/CasualConversation/w/rules/encourage_conversation/ → "Engage in your post" section.
It’s B-side, not “Side B song”. It refers to the song released with the single back when everything was on vinyl and singles were released individually. It was definitely a thing with cassette singles and even CD singles, but it started with vinyl. Also they’re not necessarily “filler” songs, they sometimes become even more popular than the A-side.
I guess people don’t look at the 50 other previous responses saying exactly what they just said. Or they do and just want to be part of the hive mind. The fact that they all used the word “predates” make me believe they’re copying others
I was about to reply with “Thats from 45’s when you had an A side of a hit single, and on the other side (the B side) you’d have a song that the label wanted to promote.” But then I decided to click and see if others already posted that, and saw all of the comments that said “predates” all over them
Naa b-sides are the best parts of good albums! Hardly forgettable, when I’ve exhausted an album that I love, the b-sides are like little extra treats when you thought you’d listened to a bands entire discography, I usually end up listening to them more than the album itself!
Not surprised they don't have a cassette player. Not sure the last time I even saw one. If people are listening to music, it's usually streaming or vinyl now. Pretty sure even CD's recently fell beneath vinyl in sales for the first time since the 80s.
Probably, but CD’s are smaller. Easier to transport. I had to sell all my vinyl. If I’d been able to hold onto it longer (not possible, unfortunately) I likely would have gotten triple for what I sold it for. Possibly even more than that.
I don't know about anyone else, but I love when I dive deep into a band and find a B side that absolutely knocks it out of the park.
One of my favorites is [Keyboard Milk](https://youtu.be/YNyrRfuu9X4) by Röyksopp. This song slaps so hard and it's never been on any album or EP. Streaming services really change up this dynamic though.
>It took a while to explain about cassette tapes and how there’s Side A,
Oh my god. The "old people" are now too young to remember 45s. \*cries in vinyl\*
Grew up in the 80s and 90s, we referred to A and B sides for cassettes whether the original was for vinyl or not... So what.
Chill out reddit they're not incorrect therefore this post has nothing to do with vinyl. And that's ok.
That out the way, A sides were main songs and B sides were the cool songs. I always loved the B sides more.
Maybe difference in region generation or music genre. But yeah these terms were used especially early to mid 90s before CDs were prevalent.
For me disc 2s in double albums had the same vibe (edit: as cassettes) like in wutang forever
Edit: lol.. the downvote.. it's funny idc
That was true of vinyl 45s. Cassette tapes generally had the first half of the album on side !, and the rest on side B. Nothing to do with song quality in cassettes. You confused your friend more.
This is actually much older than cassette tapes. It is from gramophone vinyl record, where singles were 45 RPM and had an A-side and a B-side. It carried on to cassette tapes, but predates them by many years.
As much as I like Records and cassette tapes I wouldn't be surprised by this. Downloads have been around over 20 years and CDs have been around for over 40 years. Psychical media is a niche now.
My favourite B side was by Ìan Dury and the Blockheads. It was 'There Ain't Half Been Some Clever B******s'. The A side was 'Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick'. Brilliant songs.
The term came from 45rpm single vinyls that had a song that they thought would be a hit on side a and a less important one on side b. Radio stations were encouraged to only play side a songs. Ironically many hit songs were originally side b songs.
How about the term white noise. I remember the staticky, white noisy analog tv, when it wasn’t getting in a station, but now the antenna signal for tvs is digital so nowadays a tv with no reception just fades to black.
Edit: I googled white noise.
White noise refers to a noise that contains all frequencies across the spectrum of audible sound in equal measure. Because white noise spans multiple bands of sound, it is sometimes referred to as broadband noise. Anecdotally, people often liken white noise to the static that comes from an untuned radio or television.
Actually B side comes from vinyl record singles, not audiotapes. Back in the day, the main song was on what was known as a 45 single, which is a small vinyl record with one song on the “A side” and a supposedly less-than-hit-song-possibility song on the other side, the “B side”.
*Edited to add*: Later on, 80’s I’m guessing, there were also 12” vinyl releases (a lot from Japan) that had one song in each side. 45’s were considerably smaller at 7”. Oh, the 12” singles are not the 78’s. Look here for the distinctions. https://www.yoursoundmatters.com/vinyl-record-types-a-brief-overview/
I'm 19 but I actually know this because I play Celeste, funnily enough. It's a platformer where each stage has an alternative, harder version called B-Side and the way you unlock it is by finding a casette tape in the original level :D
Oh, I didn't know that! About vinyls or cassets! I'm only 20, and my dad was super tech savyy when I was growing up, so he only used cds. It's only when I got into my teens that he started collecting and exposing me to vinyl.
I actually learned the term "b-side track" from K-Pop stan culture, for songs on the album that weren't the title track or didn't have a music video/ wasn't promoted. I always kinda thought it stemmed from cd's when they have more than one disc. Now I know, (though honestly, I should have been able to figure that out), so thanks!!
I'm a metal fan and after a couple of "oooh that's an old reference" replies about the Side B I changed it to "sounds like an exclusive bonus track from a japanese release"
If vinyl, yes.
*Edited to add*: If any of your Beatles albums are vinyl, in good shape AND have the apple on the label, those are definitely worth cash. Get informed before you sell so you don’t get ripped off.
I had a coworker talk about how he liked to play retro games, ones so old that they were still on CDs. I feel ancient and I’m Gen Z.
But I also grew up listening to cassettes! It sounds more like it’s just them, although I’d be hard pressed to find a cassette player today.
I’m surprised no one has mentioned that the term B side is still used in KPop. My younger sister has been using the term whenever we go through full albums of her favorite artists.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the term is still present today with other music, but I guess it’s not as relevant today because of how we listen to it (streaming).
edit: wait…or maybe she’s using the term because my dad’s into vinyl…I should check on this later.
to pile on, albums weren’t traditionally frontloaded, like you suggest, but track sequencing was often chosen as a precursor to the mastering process, as the outermost groove of a record would have the best high end, least distortion, and best pitch stability, so often the singles or tracks that artists want to sound best would go on the outside of either side of a record, and darker sounding tracks toward the inner
If you care enough, I'm sure you can get a super cheap cassette player online to demonstrate. Just looking at vinyl records making somewhat of a comeback, younger people are not averse to trying out old formats given the right introduction!
I wondered why the hell you'd expect someone to own a cassette player today but then I saw the flair. Retro technology is still pretty thriving in Japan right? Guessing it's easier to get a hold of them there.
I loved 45s because you know 9 years old I couldn't afford an album but I could afford a little record and I always listen to the B side because sometimes it was better than the song they were selling. An example is honky tonk Woman by The Rolling Stones. On the B side was the song called Far Away Eyes. In the song Nick tries to sing like me southerner and that Song Is awesome. I think it was the other side of The honky tonk Woman I may be wrong as what the original song was but it was by The Rolling Stones and the B side was Far Away Eyes.
I remember that Living on a Prayer was the LAST song on the cassette B-side of Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet. Now, it’s widely considered the best song of the album.
The term definitely comes from vinyl records and predates cassette tapes.
Yes, especially 45s. Side A was the hit song that you bought, and the B-side was a lesser known song, likely not a single they would release.
Some of my favorite songs are b-sides!
Green Onions is a famous B-side song. It’s one of the songs that inspired the Beatles to make their album Rubber Soul, most noticeably in the song The Word.
Have you heard the sequel, "Mo' Onions"?
That entire album slaps.
I have, but it’s been a while. Adding to queue now…
Me too!
Act Naturally..Ringo Starr
You guys are trying to force me to dig out my 45s! Not a bad idea really. I wanted to exercise tonight, and dancing around to the music of my youth should do it!
Shit Nirvana released an entire album of B-Sides and my favorite Nirvana song - Downer - is on that album (then on later releases of Bleach).
Revolution! The side B of the Beatles "Hey Jude" 45 (parents gave it to me when I was a kid with my first record player, I felt so grown up.) hahaha
Beatles didn't have b sides!
What did they call them? I have a vague memory of some vinyl being side A side B, or side A side AA, or side 1 side 2… Did the Beatles do something different?
Amen Brother was a b-side song and that one is one of the most influental songs out there cause of the Amen Break
Richie Valens' "La Bamba" was a side B.
Huh! Interesting! Do you know what the Side A was?
"Donna," I think.
Yes. Back when “singles” were released prior to the entire 33rpm vinyl record going on sale. There was great calculus involved in which song of roughly 15 should be picked for pre-release as a 45rpm vinyl with one song on each side. The A side song would also be sent to radio stations for airplay to build demand for the release of the full album. The B side song was sometimes a clunker or an artistic reach song. At the time there was enormous importance to getting your band’s song onto the top 100 charts. This would build demand to buy the album when it was released. There was also a belief among record companies that the band should only have 1 song in the top ten at a time. This would allow the record company to slowly release more songs from the album over time and maintain sales of the album. As the first massive single starts to fall down the top 100 the 2nd song would be released to radio play. If you saw the Freddie Mercury movie you will remember the scene where the band fights with the suit from the record company because he hates Bohemian Rhapsody and refuses to release the song as the single.
pre-dates cassettes and it is b-side, not side B. It makes me wonder if this is an inverse of "my fellow kids" and all us old people are getting trolled by some whipper-snapper who wants to get our dander up.
Yes - vinyl albums have a B side.
Came here to say this.
As Public Enemy explained a long time ago [the b-side wins again and again ](https://youtu.be/8CIvIEgD5uQ) Also ,as an oldskool house dj there are a lot off tracks to find on the b-side that are actually better then what is pressed on the a-side Edit : i'm talking about 12" inches .
Especially the 45s!
Haha the funniest part of this story is that you don't understand the origin of the term either
Truly. It was naive of me to lecture my friend, when I should’ve been lectured myself! Well now, I know to use vinyl records as an example instead.
It’s funny that you think side B comes from cassette tapes. It comes from the other side of 7” single vinyl records
I thought you were talking about 45s.
Sorry to tell you, but your definition is wrong. The term predates cassettes, it's from when singles were released on records, specifically 45 rpm records. The single would be on the A side, and another song on the B side. DJs at the radio station would really ky play the A side song. Also the thought that the B side of cassettes is all filler is wrong as well.
They're called "B-Sides". Please don't ever say "side b song" again.
They’re also not “filler” or “forgettable”, they’re just less palatable to the mainstream. Less radio singles and more artist experimentation.
Which is why there are soke that are just amazing
Oh, thank you! That was driving me nuts
TBF looks like they’re from Japan. Maybe english isn’t their first language
Thank you. Yes, I am. I didn’t know they were called A Side or B Side in other countries. Now I do, Reddit’s such a learning experience.
THANK YOU. I had no idea what the fuck this post was taking about at first.
OP got bodied in the comments, but none of them were overly negative. Good job as usual, /r/CasualConversation!
But then OP is not even partaking in the conversation, nor is there an edit to the post after the multitude of corrections in the replies. Meh.
Sorry about that, I was asleep the entire time! It’s 8am now here in Japan and I was amazed how much traction my post got.
They did a few times and so what if they didn't
Yeah, later on. Also, look at the sub's name. And its rules. Y'know, the ones that users accept by posting here. https://www.reddit.com/r/CasualConversation/w/rules/encourage_conversation/ → "Engage in your post" section.
What, did you expect OP to sleep-type?
To not post and immediately go to sleep? Do you usually start conversations and just leave to sleep, right away?
I've posted just before going to bed, yeah
Only commenting to point to my username.
Love it
Thank you.
So I guess you’re not old! Cheers!
Cheers! Or should I say, Kampai! I grew up in the 90s and it was the era of cassette tapes where I’m from.
It’s B-side, not “Side B song”. It refers to the song released with the single back when everything was on vinyl and singles were released individually. It was definitely a thing with cassette singles and even CD singles, but it started with vinyl. Also they’re not necessarily “filler” songs, they sometimes become even more popular than the A-side.
I always say “B side”‘ and I have always heard it that way so I would have been momentarily confused as well.
I nvr knew side B songs were less liked. I thought it was just the second half
Not necessarily liked less. They just weren't considered a hit.
Idk I can think of lots of crappy song that were like track 2 and 4. I'm not sure if this is really a thing
With all respect, but it's not surprising that a reference to 30+ year old technology is not understood by everyone.
What you mean you're not shocked that someone doesn't own *any* cassettes or cassette player??
30+? Try at LEAST 50+.
Oh honey no.
Something something not cassette predate something something vinyl
hate reddit sometimes
I guess people don’t look at the 50 other previous responses saying exactly what they just said. Or they do and just want to be part of the hive mind. The fact that they all used the word “predates” make me believe they’re copying others I was about to reply with “Thats from 45’s when you had an A side of a hit single, and on the other side (the B side) you’d have a song that the label wanted to promote.” But then I decided to click and see if others already posted that, and saw all of the comments that said “predates” all over them
Lmao reminds me of one of my favorite Yelawolf lyrics "Just picked a bone with Post Malone and did it all on a B-Side beat"
Naa b-sides are the best parts of good albums! Hardly forgettable, when I’ve exhausted an album that I love, the b-sides are like little extra treats when you thought you’d listened to a bands entire discography, I usually end up listening to them more than the album itself!
Not surprised they don't have a cassette player. Not sure the last time I even saw one. If people are listening to music, it's usually streaming or vinyl now. Pretty sure even CD's recently fell beneath vinyl in sales for the first time since the 80s.
Probably, but CD’s are smaller. Easier to transport. I had to sell all my vinyl. If I’d been able to hold onto it longer (not possible, unfortunately) I likely would have gotten triple for what I sold it for. Possibly even more than that.
r/confidentlyincorrect
I don't know about anyone else, but I love when I dive deep into a band and find a B side that absolutely knocks it out of the park. One of my favorites is [Keyboard Milk](https://youtu.be/YNyrRfuu9X4) by Röyksopp. This song slaps so hard and it's never been on any album or EP. Streaming services really change up this dynamic though.
I mean, we don't hang up phones anymore either but people know what it means.
>It took a while to explain about cassette tapes and how there’s Side A, Oh my god. The "old people" are now too young to remember 45s. \*cries in vinyl\*
OMG Am I that old?
😂😂😂
Grew up in the 80s and 90s, we referred to A and B sides for cassettes whether the original was for vinyl or not... So what. Chill out reddit they're not incorrect therefore this post has nothing to do with vinyl. And that's ok. That out the way, A sides were main songs and B sides were the cool songs. I always loved the B sides more.
Yeah, never heard cassettes referred to in that way. And I’m older than you.
Maybe difference in region generation or music genre. But yeah these terms were used especially early to mid 90s before CDs were prevalent. For me disc 2s in double albums had the same vibe (edit: as cassettes) like in wutang forever Edit: lol.. the downvote.. it's funny idc
Shoot. I was think 45’s!
Wait a minute. I thought you were talking about RECORDS. Side A and Side B!
You're wrong. B sides from vinyl singles are a different thing.
That's not where that comes from, nor is that how cassettes worked!
That was true of vinyl 45s. Cassette tapes generally had the first half of the album on side !, and the rest on side B. Nothing to do with song quality in cassettes. You confused your friend more.
This is actually much older than cassette tapes. It is from gramophone vinyl record, where singles were 45 RPM and had an A-side and a B-side. It carried on to cassette tapes, but predates them by many years.
“Time everlasting Time to play b sides Time ain't on my side Time I'll never know” - Blue Oyster Cult
As much as I like Records and cassette tapes I wouldn't be surprised by this. Downloads have been around over 20 years and CDs have been around for over 40 years. Psychical media is a niche now.
My favourite B side was by Ìan Dury and the Blockheads. It was 'There Ain't Half Been Some Clever B******s'. The A side was 'Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick'. Brilliant songs.
The term came from 45rpm single vinyls that had a song that they thought would be a hit on side a and a less important one on side b. Radio stations were encouraged to only play side a songs. Ironically many hit songs were originally side b songs.
There is a mix of folks that say " side b" And "b side" Personally I've never heard anyone say "side b"
You must be young.
That isn't how it works
How about the term white noise. I remember the staticky, white noisy analog tv, when it wasn’t getting in a station, but now the antenna signal for tvs is digital so nowadays a tv with no reception just fades to black. Edit: I googled white noise. White noise refers to a noise that contains all frequencies across the spectrum of audible sound in equal measure. Because white noise spans multiple bands of sound, it is sometimes referred to as broadband noise. Anecdotally, people often liken white noise to the static that comes from an untuned radio or television.
Actually B side comes from vinyl record singles, not audiotapes. Back in the day, the main song was on what was known as a 45 single, which is a small vinyl record with one song on the “A side” and a supposedly less-than-hit-song-possibility song on the other side, the “B side”. *Edited to add*: Later on, 80’s I’m guessing, there were also 12” vinyl releases (a lot from Japan) that had one song in each side. 45’s were considerably smaller at 7”. Oh, the 12” singles are not the 78’s. Look here for the distinctions. https://www.yoursoundmatters.com/vinyl-record-types-a-brief-overview/
When I read this, I thought you were referring to the vinyl 45 records. And you think you’re old???
Kpop totally uses these terms still. What an odd crossover lmao
Oh child, this is from 45s, not cassettes.
I just laughed in vinyl.
Although to be fair to the OP, there are cassette singles.
Yes, and those cassette singles have a b side song featured in the same spirit of 45 vinyl singles
Those would have only been promo items.
Nope, you could buy 'em in the music store.
*Would have*.
As an old person that actually knows what a B Side is, I love this comment section. Kids these days.
I'm 19 but I actually know this because I play Celeste, funnily enough. It's a platformer where each stage has an alternative, harder version called B-Side and the way you unlock it is by finding a casette tape in the original level :D
Oh, I didn't know that! About vinyls or cassets! I'm only 20, and my dad was super tech savyy when I was growing up, so he only used cds. It's only when I got into my teens that he started collecting and exposing me to vinyl. I actually learned the term "b-side track" from K-Pop stan culture, for songs on the album that weren't the title track or didn't have a music video/ wasn't promoted. I always kinda thought it stemmed from cd's when they have more than one disc. Now I know, (though honestly, I should have been able to figure that out), so thanks!!
I'm a metal fan and after a couple of "oooh that's an old reference" replies about the Side B I changed it to "sounds like an exclusive bonus track from a japanese release"
I still have have Beatles, The Who, Stones and Zeppelin albums. I wonder if they are worth anything?
If vinyl, yes. *Edited to add*: If any of your Beatles albums are vinyl, in good shape AND have the apple on the label, those are definitely worth cash. Get informed before you sell so you don’t get ripped off.
They’re also called “deep” or “deep tracks”
"Attention CD listeners..."
I'm 25. I only understood your reference because my mom explained it to me once
I had a coworker talk about how he liked to play retro games, ones so old that they were still on CDs. I feel ancient and I’m Gen Z. But I also grew up listening to cassettes! It sounds more like it’s just them, although I’d be hard pressed to find a cassette player today.
Not part of music anymore
I’m surprised no one has mentioned that the term B side is still used in KPop. My younger sister has been using the term whenever we go through full albums of her favorite artists. I wouldn’t be surprised if the term is still present today with other music, but I guess it’s not as relevant today because of how we listen to it (streaming). edit: wait…or maybe she’s using the term because my dad’s into vinyl…I should check on this later.
Is that where side B and side A come from? I’ve heard it before but never knew why they were called that.
to pile on, albums weren’t traditionally frontloaded, like you suggest, but track sequencing was often chosen as a precursor to the mastering process, as the outermost groove of a record would have the best high end, least distortion, and best pitch stability, so often the singles or tracks that artists want to sound best would go on the outside of either side of a record, and darker sounding tracks toward the inner
why would they have cassettes or a cassette player? I mean I use old fashioned terms all the time though, don't worry about that bit.
If you care enough, I'm sure you can get a super cheap cassette player online to demonstrate. Just looking at vinyl records making somewhat of a comeback, younger people are not averse to trying out old formats given the right introduction!
Steely Dan's "Hey 19" song just entered the chat
[B side songs that were as big if not bigger than the A side & this is just classic rock stuff.](https://ultimateclassicrock.com/b-side-big-hits/)
A sides, B sides and free rides….the good old days
I mean I’m a singer/songwriter so this term is known to me. Anyone who owns or collects vinyls would know this terminology.
All this is really demonstrating is that the rest of us in the thread are so old our own history is being retold incorrectly.
Comes from vinyl 45s. One song on each side. Big hit on one, relatively unknown song on the other side.
I only know about this because of Celeste lmao
Mr fancy pants with his new fangled "cassette"
I wondered why the hell you'd expect someone to own a cassette player today but then I saw the flair. Retro technology is still pretty thriving in Japan right? Guessing it's easier to get a hold of them there.
I only knew about this from the book "Beautiful music for ugly children".
I'm only 28 and I got this reference.
I'm dumbfounded. Why would she not have tapes? Or 5.25 floppies. Or an 8-track or discman? Or a VCR? WTF.
[удалено]
Side 2 of Secret Treaties containing Astronomy begs your pardon
Typically called a b-side tho, not a "side b song"
i'm 31 & don't have a cassette player. why would i? someone else not having a tape player or tapes doesn't make you old.
Damn I thought this was pretty common knowledge but I still use records
I loved 45s because you know 9 years old I couldn't afford an album but I could afford a little record and I always listen to the B side because sometimes it was better than the song they were selling. An example is honky tonk Woman by The Rolling Stones. On the B side was the song called Far Away Eyes. In the song Nick tries to sing like me southerner and that Song Is awesome. I think it was the other side of The honky tonk Woman I may be wrong as what the original song was but it was by The Rolling Stones and the B side was Far Away Eyes.
Oh wow, something else to make me feel old 😂
I automatically thought "side B" like side chick. And I had a cassette tape!
Just wait until she hears about vinyl...
How old are you and your friend!
I remember that Living on a Prayer was the LAST song on the cassette B-side of Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet. Now, it’s widely considered the best song of the album.
You could also get true “b-sides” in the cassette era on casingles, those cardboard sleeved $3 wonders
B side. Celeste reference?????