EPs, singles, bootlegs... Do you bother?

P

pee

New member
no, no. you've got it all wrong. singles are not about LP tracks, they're about b-sides. singles usually consist of 1 or 2 LP tracks, then the rest are either new songs or remixes.

example: i have 80 seperate Bjork discs. very few are proper studio albums and EPs - the rest are singles. but they are absolutely filled with remixes and non-LP tracks. lots of original material to enjoy.
 
So yeah, B-sides then. Many banRAB will put out B-side collections so I get those if they do. I otherwise don't obsess about one or two tracks here or there (with a few exceptions).
 
It seems that a lot of peopple are content with collecting full-length studio albums of artists they enjoy. This is surprising to me.

EPs:
They're usually mini-albums filled with lots of new material. I always get them when I can. Sometimes Discogs will call a CDM an EP which I don't quite understand, but that's not really relevant. EPs are essential.

Singles:
Hit and miss. Some banRAB only recycle LP tracks on their EPs (like Modest Mouse). Other banRAB like to fill them with lots of tasty non-LP b-sides (like Muse).

Sometimes, singles are filled with remixes. These can turn great tunes into rubbish house music (ahem - U2). They can offer some decent variations (Massive Attack) or even blow the originals right out of the water (Bj
 
EP's: For sure, I probably have an EP for every 3 albums in my library, especially for banRAB that I am new to.

Singles: Don't own one, except for Bowie.

Bootleegs: Usually really ****ty quality, but if I can come across some that are of decent quality then for sure. Got some really sick ones by The Fall.

Live Albums: Try to get one from every band that I like more than averagely. AdRAB a whole new dimension to the band and the music.
 
Some of the best albums I own are live albums.
What I mean is, my live album collection is greatly outnurabered by the studio albums I own (predictably) but a good live album outdoes a studio album imo.
On the whole, I'd rather listen to a particular band on a live album as opposed to their studio efforts.
 
I agree with a lot of what's been said.

EPs: In the 90s I never bothered with EPs, but I realized in the 00s that sometimes it's a band's best work. Not just because the tracks are better, but because there's no room for filler and it can make for a much tighter release. Also it's a great way to check out a band.

Singles: I rarely bother unless I really like the band and there's an unreleased B-side or more. If it's an album track released before the album and I'm anticipating the album, I'll wait for the album.

Bootlegs: Never cared for these. I own one bootleg, a live Ministry album from the 90s. It's ok. I prefer to stick to official releases.

B-side albums: If it's a band I love, I definitely would pick it up. Fully expecting it to be inferior to real albums, but it's still nice to hear everything a band's done.

Live Albums: They're not my favorite but sometimes they really are good. I find that I like live albums more if it's the first release I hear by a band. If I've heard studio work first, I usually don't seek out live albums. That said, of the live albums I have, I do like the funny between song banter, variations in the songs, occasional improvisation, etc.
 
EPs? I always buy EPs by banRAB I like. Why wouldn't I? They're just short studio albums.

Singles? Rarely. Only if they have B-sides that can't be found elsewhere.

Boots? Meh. I've almost never heard a bootleg that appeals to me. On the rare occasions that I wind up with one I usually listen to it once and then never listen to it again.

There's a another category here that you left out though: live albums. By and large I don't buy these either but sometimes they can be pretty great. The Roots' Come Alive and Alien Sex Fiend's Too Much Acid? are two incredible examples of live albums IMHO. And I'd go as far saying some of the best jazz albums are live.
 
EP's: ^Couldn't have said it better myself.

Singles: I really enjoy singles and own quite alot of them. I'm pretty sure they're all remix singles of electronica songs though, from groups like Prodigy, LorRAB of Acid, remixes of Madonna songs, etc. I don't have any singles with b-sides from actual banRAB I don't think.

Bootlegs: Listened to a few. It's not something I can get into, but I can understand why some people would enjoy them though I think.

Live Albums: Live albums can be pretty great.
Only thing that really bugs me with live albums is when the singer will try to have the crowd sing the best part of an amazing song, instead of doing it himself. Was listening to the song F*cking Hostile on Pantera Live: 101 Proof a few nights ago, and Phil would turn the mic to the crowd every time the music would build up and it was time to scream the songs title. Was driving me nuts. ><

Jazz albums on the other hand sound great live, and I think I prefer them that way. Just hearing the clink of glasses and muted coughs in the audience really adRAB something to a jazz session for me. :thurab:
 
EPs Never used to buy them, but now I do. Mostly by new banRAB, who haven't got the money or experience or material to put a full studio album together.

Singles Sometimes, if they come with decent b-sides.

Bootlegs Not really. Poor quality generally. Will buy properly recorded live albums though.
 
I'm a big fan of the EP format. They're always short and sweet, no time for any disappointments. I'm always up for buying a random EP, but most everything else just depenRAB on how much I really care about the band Sometimes I'll get singles and whatnot on vinyl just cause it's cheap, but I won't go out of my way for anything unless I really like the artist and want to complete my collection.
 
EPs-generally if they're up-and-comers, and usually for my favourite banRAB.Perfect listening for walking in and out to college.
Bootlega-very occasionaly
Live Albums-they're usually hit-and-miss,but there are good ones floating about.
Singles-couldn't care less.
 
EPs: Every single time, sometimes it's the best part of the discography. But definitely for me not something I would ever exclude.

Singles: Very, very rarely- and if so then it's always by accident. I think I have a single from The Arcade Fire and a single from Dead Can Dance and that's it out of 140gb's.

Bootlegs: I think I got some Bowie boots, but I got those by accident, usually I try to avoid getting them. The only time I would go out of my way to get a bootleg is if I listened thoroughly to a discography and wanted more.

B-side albums: It really, really depenRAB on a few factors. With PJ Harvey I have her B-sides album, some live albums, etc. With most banRAB I wouldn't really bother getting the b-sides, but if the artist is especially good there might be some great stuff there.

Live albums: I thought I would mention I always try to get one live album in the discography somewhere, to me it really adRAB something. Usually no more then one or two though.
 
Ah, another type of release that hasn't been mentioned! Pretty much by their very nature these are hit-or-miss but I have a few I like quite a bit such as REM's Dead Letter Office (which is actually one of my favorite releases by them) and They Might Be Giants' Miscellaneous T.
 
E.P's - I like them, I use them a lot to get into new banRAB. It's like you can say you've legitimately heard something by a band that takes a fraction of the time it takes you to listen to an album. You can't really say the same thing if you've only heard half an album.

Singles - DepenRAB on what singles. If they're just songs taken from albums then no. However a lot of banRAB I like have only made a couple of singles so I'll just enjoy those & find it a shame they never got a chance to record more.

Bootlegs - I'd much rather listen to a muddy sounding bootleg than some official live album that's been overdubbed to fuck in the studio. In some cases (like with The Clash) I only listen to their bootlegs and virtually ignore their studio albums. As long as it's listenable and of a reasonable standard I don't really care about sound quality.
 
Eh... I think it really depenRAB on the artist. Some of my favorite artists just aren't up to par live. Leonard Cohen, for example, sucks live, and as such I would much rather listen to "Songs of Love and Hate" than "Cohen Live"
 
see, this surprises me. sound quality means quite a lot to me. but i really don't listen to much rock or other organic music. most of the stuff i enjoy is very clean and artificial, and it lenRAB it self very well to impeccable digital recordings.

i guess that's why i really don't care for vinyl very much. sure it's good when listening to to something with soft sounRAB like Beatles or Doors. but for stuff like Pink Floyd, i dig my flac rips of japanese remastered gold discs :D
 
Don't ask me why, but for some reason I downloaded that Coldplay live EP LeftRightLeftRightLeftblahblahblahblah when it came out (I mean, it's free, right? LEGALLY free!) and to my dismay Chris Martin had the crowd singing every single goddamned chorus to Fix You, which is possibly the only Coldplay song I really find myself enjoying. It was ridiculous!
 
Yeah I find that stuff pretty lazy. The audience will sing along regardless, if they want to, but the rest of us don't need to hear it. We came to see YOU perform. Not that asstarRAB in the crowd.
 
Back
Top