Mixtapes may be a moribund art form, but the B-side is well and truly dead. There are currently fully grown adults, human beings that you know and perhaps even respect, who are sufficiently young to have no idea what a B-side is. These are your bus drivers, your chartered accountants and your compliance managers the world over who have never experienced the joy of preferring the throw-away freebie which used to come as a party favour when you purchased the physical media version of the latest pop banger. This week on No Stairway we dive headlong into this oft-neglected box of audio delights in a search for B-sides which were inarguably better than their more successful and glamorous siblings.

Also this week, following a bumper edition of the Mail fun-bag, Bill fires a couple of well-aimed warning shots across the bow of Paul McCartney’s solo work, Carl exposes himself as a secret Eddie Vedder vowel-counter, and Tim doubles down on his hatred of The Smiths, causing a metaphysical debate about whether you can ever truly separate the artist from his haircut.

This Week’s Playlists:

Bill: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/507Vem9k08riFFe2qalpKi?si=10d8ae4fd23441e2

Carl: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1IbPDWfYMiRVMXEOSByCYU?si=f70cd840323e4407

Tim: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6K2kJD8pYZsubTY1KsRmVt?si=ad3ae32b63e44ffc

The Golden Shuffle: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/41uQWC10T9PaKi7YPjMlVB?si=f8ae60380fc04182