In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separately from an album, although it usually also appears on an album. Typically, these are the songs from albums that are released separately for promotional uses such as digital download, or video release. In other cases a recording released as a single may not appear on an album.
A-side and B-side are terms frequently used to refer to the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes, often directly on the labels of two-sided music recording themselves. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company intends to receive the initial promotional effort and radio airplay and hopefully become a hit record. The B-side is a secondary recording that typically receives less attention, although some B-sides have been equally or more successful than their A-sides.
"Shining Light" is a song by Ash, which was released as the first single from their album Free All Angels. It was released on 29 January 2001. It was released as a single CD and as a 7-inch vinyl. It was also Ash's first single to be released as an enhanced CD. "Shining Light" reached number eight on the UK Singles Chart.
Singles Box Set 1981–1985 is a box set by English new wave band Duran Duran. Consisting of 13 CDs, it was released on 12 May 2003 by EMI and covers the era from Duran Duran (1981) to Arena (1984), as well as the non-studio album single "A View to a Kill" (1985).
Art Brut are a Berlin-based English and German indie rock band. Their debut album, Bang Bang Rock & Roll, was released on 30 May 2005, with its follow up, It's a Bit Complicated, released on 25 June 2007. Named after French painter Jean Dubuffet's definition of outsider art – art by prisoners, loners, the mentally ill, and other marginalized people, and made without thought to imitation or presentation – South London's Art Brut were tagged by NME as part of the "Art Wave" scene that also included bands such as The Rakes, Franz Ferdinand and Bloc Party. The band released further albums, Art Brut vs Satan in 2009 and Brilliant! Tragic! in 2011. A fifth album, Wham! Bang! Pow! Let's Rock Out!", was released in 2018.
A CD single is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term CD single is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD. It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any size, particularly the CD5, or 5-inch CD single. The format was introduced in the mid-1980s but did not gain its place in the market until the early 1990s. With the rise in digital downloads in the early 2010s, sales of CD singles have decreased.
A maxi single or maxi-single is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an A-side song and a B-side song.
The Long Blondes were a five-piece English indie rock band formed in Sheffield, United Kingdom in 2003 by Dorian Cox, Reenie Hollis, Emma Chaplin, Kate Jackson and Screech Louder.
"The Last of the Famous International Playboys" was the third single released by Morrissey. It reached number 6 in the UK Singles Chart. The song was not featured on one of Morrissey's main studio albums but can be found on the compilation album Bona Drag along with the B-side "Lucky Lisp". The artwork for the single features Morrissey, aged 7, up a tree in Chorlton-on-Medlock, Manchester—literally a boy at play. "The Last of the Famous International Playboys" is notable for featuring three of Morrissey's former colleagues in The Smiths—Andy Rourke, Mike Joyce and one-time Smiths rhythm guitarist Craig Gannon—all of whom also appear on the B-side, "Lucky Lisp".
Someone To Drive You Home is the debut album by The Long Blondes. It was released on November 6, 2006. It received widespread critical praise and was placed 7th in the NME's best 50 albums of 2006 list and features in many other best of lists for 2006.
"Giddy Stratospheres" was a 7-inch single only release by Sheffield band the Long Blondes. It was released on 29 November 2004, on Angular Records. The single was accompanied by two B-sides, "Polly" and "Darts". The single was re-released in 2007 and was the third major label single from their debut album, Someone to Drive You Home. The single peaked at number 37 on the UK Singles Chart. Both versions were very well received by critics.
The Wolfmen are an English rock music band formed in 2004, and centred on Marco Pirroni and Chris Constantinou. The Wolfmen’s line-up also includes Zelig Preston Heyman on percussion.
Year Zero Remixed is the third remix album by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, released on November 20, 2007 in the United States, and on November 26, 2007 in the United Kingdom. It features remixed versions of tracks from the band's previous studio album Year Zero; these remixes were created by various producers and recording artists.
Couples is the second album by the Sheffield band The Long Blondes. It was released on 7 April 2008 by Rough Trade Records, with the first single, "Century", released on 24 March 2008. The quotation marks in the album title were included as a reference to the David Bowie album "Heroes".
"Guilt" is the second and last single to be taken from The Long Blondes' second album "Couples". It was released on 30 July 2008 as a limited edition 2-track 7" vinyl only.
"New Idols" is the first single to be released by Sheffield band The Long Blondes. It was released on Thee Sheffield Phonographic Corporation in June 2004 and was limited to 500 copies. The 7" vinyl is now highly collectible.
"Appropriation " is a 7-inch single and CD release by Sheffield band the Long Blondes. It was released on June 13, 2005 on Angular Records. The song is a homage to Hitchcock's 1958 film Vertigo. it has been said that this song is told from the point of view of Judy, due to lines such as "When I met you, I never wore dresses like that" and "You can't have me, make me act the same".
"The Other Side" is a song by David Gray. It was released on 9 December 2002 as the first single from his sixth studio album A New Day at Midnight. The song deals with the theme of death, in the context of a heartbreaking failed relationship and the author's reflections on his own and his ex-partner's emotional and spiritual failings. The B-side "Lorelei" also appeared on the Japanese pressing of the album as a bonus track. A rare official remix by Novation was released as a promo-only vinyl, but has never been released on any other format. The single peaked on the UK Singles Chart at #35.
Allstar Weekend was an American pop rock band based in Poway, California. The band gained its popularity from the Disney Channel television network. The band currently consists of lead singer Zachary "Zach" David Porter, bassist Cameron Quiseng, drummer Michael Allen Martinez, lead guitarist Nathan Darmondy, and rhythimist Tom Norris. In September 2011, guitarist Nathan Darmody left the band and later pursued his solo career. They were best known for the singles "Dance Forever", "Come Down with Love", and "A Different Side of Me". They disbanded on August 4, 2013.
Complete Rarities: I.R.S. 1982–1987 is a 2014 compilation album featuring songs released by alternative rock band R.E.M. during their time on I.R.S. Records. In addition to the band's I.R.S. material, this album also features the tracks from the band's first single, which was released in July 1981 on the Hib-Tone label.
