Sonic Sunday: B-Side Bonanza Vol. 2

The B-side project rolls along this week, with five more great tracks. Remember, folks, my list still isn't complete so you are more than welcome to email me with suggestions and requests.

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1. "Acquiesce," Oasis - I don't know what it is that makes me feel alive/I don't know how to wake the things that sleep inside/I only wanna see the light that shines behind your eyes

I've never been a huge fan of Oasis, partly because I've always seen them as over-confident Beatles imitators and partly because of my desire to punch Liam Gallagher's teeth down his throat. But I can overlook those things occasionally because Noel Gallagher does know how to write some extremely catchy songs. I guess the main problem is that too many of those songs sound alike. I kind of feel like the world only needs about 10-12 Oasis tunes, which would make up one really terrific album. You would expect a band like this to not have anything to offer in the way of b-sides, but "Acquiesce" is actually much better than the single it backed (the nice-but-nasally "Some Might Say") and, in my opinion, better than just about all of their singles except "Don't Go Away." It's also one of only a few tunes that features both Gallagher brothers' vocals and, despite their hatred for each other (Noel has made it clear that this song is about friendship, not brotherly love), their on-record chemistry really makes the tune something special.

2. "How Can You Be Sure?," Radiohead - Seen all good things and bad, running down the hill/All so battered and brought to the ground/I am hungry again/I am drunk again/With all the money I owe to my friends

Radiohead have a ton of b-sides and, as a casual-to-moderate fan, I really don't have the patience to sift through them all. I knew I would probably include one of theirs in this mix, but how could I be sure which one? (Har har...see what I did there?) I had only heard a handful of their b-sides, so I asked Barbara of Bad Tempered Zombie for some recommendations. But since she's a true Radiohead geek, I thought it might be easier to do some "general public" polling. After asking a few other friends and doing some online research, it seemed like the two huge "fan favorites" were "Talk Show Host" and "A Reminder"— both of which I knew and disliked. So, just as I was getting ready to name "Fog" Radiohead's best b-side (one of Barbara's recommendations), I happened upon "How Can You Be Sure?" and loved it immediately. No surprise, considering that it was a b-side from The Bends, my favorite Radiohead album, but which had actually been recorded back before Pablo Honey. I've always preferred the less "artsy" Radiohead that this song features. I just love when they stick to simple songs with plaintive vocals sung over beautiful melodies. Call me crazy.

3. "Maidstone," Squeeze - The shopping precinct's closed, it's like a graveyard/The chain falls through the spokes as I unlock my bike/I cycle to the pub where I meet with my friends/And I know that it's love as she pours me my pint

Speaking of fan favorites, this is THE lost Squeeze track. According to Glenn Tilbrook, it's the band's most requested b-side, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's one of their most requested songs, period. (Who among us can resist the charms of the mandolin?) As if relegating this to back-of-the-single status wasn't bad enough, it backed "Sunday Street," a cloyingly cheesy song.

4. "Rain," The Beatles - I can show you that when it starts to rain, everything's the same/I can show you, I can show you/Rain, I don't mind/Shine, the world looks fine

My roommate argued with me about including this track since it was the b-side to "Paperback Writer," a non-album single. But I rarely listen to him. I mean, so what if the single didn't come from an album? It was still released as a single. Am I right? I'm right. Anyway, this song deserves to be on the list because it's beautiful and uplifting and it has backwards lyrics that don't summon the devil. They might bring Kachina dolls to life though, so be careful.

5. "U," Pearl Jam - Thought it was easy to fall in love but you, you, you/You're different this much I know yeah you, you, you/It might be your guile, it could be your mind/It might be the way you take your time/Oh, you, you, you

Finally, here is a song by not only my favorite band, but also an American band. It's about time someone broke up the monopoly the Brits had on this post. This is one of my favorite PJ songs (I know I probably say that about nearly all of them) because it's just so damn happy. It's probably the happiest PJ song ever, and was fittingly the b-side to one of their other most cheerful tunes, "Wishlist." Although I do appreciate how well Eddie Vedder does heartbreak, it's nice to catch him in such a good mood.

I actually posted this once before (on Eddie's birthday), but I was pissed that it was the Lost Dogs version and not the original. I was finally able to rip the original to my computer, so now you can all finally hear the proper version. As I mentioned back then, there aren't that many differences between the two versions, but there is an undefinable sweetness to the original that somehow gets lost in the re-recording. The charm was sucked out. It's the same thing that happened to U2's "Sweetest Thing," which I posted last week.

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