Does anyone recall the phrase “deep cuts”? Most often used by classic rock DJ’s in the 70’s and early 80’s, the term refers to tracks on a record that weren’t the singles but put plainly, were the balance of an album’s content. As I heard it referenced recently, the singles were an invite into the world of the LP and the “deep cuts” were that glorious land you’d find upon arrival.
But in an era where merely the single and an artist’s personae take center stage, methinks the deep cuts have fallen off the radar for most performers because they simply aren’t needed. An artist these days needn’t delve into his or her or the band’s psyche to come up with more than the original statement, as our attention spans are now that narrow–and frankly, who really cares?
I mean, do you think the Britney tracks beyond the singles merit any attention? (Insert crack hea’ about the singles themselves.) Think Katy Perry has anything else on her mind? Fallout Boy? The Killers? There are exceptions of course, but I think you see the point I’m making.
Which brings me to Queen and something we’ll spotlight this week. Queen were obviously not at loss for singles, dominating the charts for years and years through various phases of their career. Yet they also maintained a strong level of artistic consistency throughout their entire catalog which we’ll delve into this week to underscore the ‘artist’ within the ‘artistic statement.’ And no singles – just the other stuff on the record.
Just cuz I think it’s important that it doesn’t get lost amidst the Britneys n’ shit. So, from Queen II:
Queen – Father To Son (Mp3)
Queen – Nevermore (Mp3)
Queen – Funny How Love Is (Mp3)
