January 13, 2006

Throwaway Song

First my definition: A throwaway song is a song that a band or musician doesn't finish, but puts it on their album to fill a track. A lot of throwaway songs come out as the B-sides of singles (do people still release singles? more importantly, do people still buy singles?). U2 are kind of notorious for their throwaway songs. They've put them on albums, they've released them as B-sides, they've turned them into hits. I made a statement at one point that I was recently reminded of. I called "Crumbs From Your Table" a throwaway song, when I first listened to Dismantle. I'm revising my stance. It's a good song; it's about hunger, poverty, disease, etc.

Crumbs From Your Table - U2

From the brightest star
Comes the blackest hole
You had so much to offer
Why did you offer your soul?

I was there for you baby
When you needed my help
Would you deny for others
What you demand for yourself?

Cool down mama, cool off
Cool down mama, cool off

You speak of signs and wonders
I need something other
I would believe if I was able
But I'm waiting on the crumbs from your table

You were pretty as a picture
It was all there to see
Then your face caught up with your psychology
With a mouth full of teeth
You ate all your friends
And you broke every heart thinking every heart mends

You speak of signs and wonders
But I need something other
I would believe if I was able
But I'm waiting on the crumbs from your table

Where you live should not decide
Whether you live or whether you die
Three to a bed
Sister Ann, she said
Dignity passes by

And you speak of signs and wonders
But I need something other
I would believe if I was able
I'm waiting on the crumbs from your table

3 comments:

The Mad Fishicist said...

Even Better Than The Real Thing.

I used to call them stinkers.

Anonymous said...

thank you for revising your statement!

Anonymous said...

I don't have much to offer on throwaway songs, but I will say this: B-Sides offer a look into the full dynamic range of a band. B-Sides are too often labeled as such because they stray outside the norm. It's not easily packaged in with the rest, and therefore a harder sell. Whose to blame here? I could point a lot of fingers, but that's not the point.

B-Sides often find their way into my list of all time favorites. They are often raw and edgy, stripped of the set formulas. They offer a new angle, a new point a view.

Long live the B-Sides

The Wood