Hunt For The Best B-Side is a series of findings. Instead of listing
some of our personal best B-sides. we thought it would be better to test the
reader. The B-side is an integral part of music. Well, it was up until the
digital age. You may know it as a simple, filler track to complete a
double-sided 7" vinyl - I know it as a magical touch, a discovery that sets
the average single apart from the rest. Having a standout B-side on vinyl to
me, means repeat. You're not just there to listen to the A-side to which you
purchased it for. That undiscovered, unheard B-side holds the key to some of
music's great mysteries. So over a period of time, we'll be hunting down the
best B-sides we know from the depths of 70s rock 'n' roll, to the beginnings of
hip-hop and beyond.
"Roller Coaster By The Sea" is the B-side for the original British
pressing of The Modern Lovers' "Egyptian Reggae" from 1977. Now
"Egyptian Reggae" is itself an instrumental recording, one of The
Modern Lovers' best if I may add. But it's B-side has to be one of the
strongest and most encouraging B-side's to have graced the 70s replication of
the 50s beat.
The beauty of The Modern Lovers', especially Richman, is their ability to
create the emotional aspect of song play in to one another. With "Roller
Coaster By The Sea", Richman has taken the fun essence of a theme park, roller
coaster, and matched it up with the up/down roller coaster of life. In doing
so, with his unique lyricism, Richman tells the story: "You see I
went on the roller coaster last night when I was feeling bad. Down by the sea
in Santa Cruz and I was feeling sad. But we went down, and around, and it
knocked me out of my head." It's about how a sad soul can be
turned around by having just the one thing in life that keeps the child within
us, fun: "Hey, roller coaster by the sea, thank you for helping me.
Roller coaster by the water, you made me feel more as I oughta." The
Modern Lovers aid this aspect of fun by replicating the sounds of a roller
coaster, with their 'woah's', replicating the noise we seem to make when going
up and down, up and down, wooah, woaaaaah, wooah, woaaaah. Legendary
instrumental accompaniment to a simple message on how to turn your misery to
fortune.
~Eddie
