New Saint Etienne single!

Hot on the heels on the "just inside the top 40" (aka scarping in at #36) success of their Side Streets single, Saint Etienne have apparently given given the go ahead from Sanctuary for a second single from the Tales From Turnpike House album.

As they put it on their official site: "Sanctuary have agreed that we can take another single from Tales From Turnpike House, with mixes. And other quality b-sides. Which will probably bankrupt them."

This is good news, as the Saint Etienne remix was sorely lacking from the last single, even though there were 4 b-sides.

Nail in Singles coffin a little deeper

This weekend saw the first official singles chart to include Internet-downloadable music.

As much as it's a big confidence booster for the emerging distibution method, it's a worrying nail in the coffin for the venerable single - 7", 12" and CD - that's been a mainstay in the British record industry for over half a century, in one form or another.

Sure the format has taken it's knocks and the CIN - those people who officially make chart rules - don't seem to be able to figure out how to get more people to buy singles, but I'd like to think we can rescue the physical distribution model before the singles chart ends up being just like the States.

Link: NME story

MY VIEW: Just a side note, why does the CIN insist on music fans buying a single spanning two or three very very short discs at variable cost? I can end up spending more on a single than I do on the whole album, usually with the same version of a song spread over three or four formats.

Case in point being the new Nine Inch Nails single, "The Hand That Feeds You" released today. There's actually three pieces of music available - the single version, and two remixes. For some reason, it's taken Island 3 formats to release all these tracks (including having all three on the CD single), including 2 mixes on a 9" vinyl single, and 2 on a DVD single.

It's ludicrous when you get examples like Japan and the US where the few singles that are released are jam packed with enough goodies to sway fans to make the purchase.

Reach up for the Sunrise!

I promised myself I wouldn't update this thing while I was on holiday, but somethings are too good not to share.

With the impending release of the new Duran Duran material in the next couple of months, I came across a link for the new video. As a fan, reports of the filming have been quite abundant, but to see the finished product kinda makes the extremities tingle just a bit.

A kindly soul has put it on a website in Divx format for all and sundry to download and watch (thus not having to waste hours and hours in front of shite music channels like I did in 1993 just to see the Ordinary World video).

Also of note is the actual track-listing of the Sunrise single (more for my own benefit than anything else):

UK CD1
1. (Reach Up For The) Sunrise [Album Version]
2. (Reach Up For The) Sunrise [Alex G Cosmic Mix]

UK CD2
1. (Reach Up For The) Sunrise [Album Version]
2. (Reach Up For The) Sunrise [Nevins Radio Mix]
3. (Reach Up For The) Sunrise [Ferry Costen Dub Mix]
4. Know It All
5. (Reach Up For The) Sunrise [Video]

Australia will release the following

CD1
1. (Reach Up For The) Sunrise
2. (Reach Up For The) Sunrise [Alex G Cosmic Mix]
3. (Reach Up For The) Sunrise [Ferry Corsten Remix]
4. (Reach Up For The) Sunrise [Peter Presta NY Tribal Mix]
5. Know It All

So again, the UK CD1 is a redundant purchase if you grab CD2 and the Aussie one. Rumour has it there's a mopping up US single coming out 28 September that should feature everything (as they generally do).

Whoosh!

Before Sunrise

According to the Mirror tabloid, the new single (or at least video) from Duran's much-delayed forthcoming album IS going to be Sunrise.

"About to release their first studio album in 19 years, the video for cool track Sunrise will see Andy Taylor filmed among 10,000 clubbers at Ibiza's Manumission tomorrow, Nick Rhodes in a spaceship, Roger Taylor in a vintage car, John Taylor on a LA beach and Simon Le Bon, above, driving a BSA motorbike along the Spanish coastline"

Here's hoping something does finally materialise in the shops and ... God forbid ... they actually capitalise on the momentum that the new singles boxset will generate.