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Gavin B. · 07-20-2013, 09:53 PM

Saint Etienne: Europop Meets House Music

Saint Etienne vocalist Sarah Cracknell in concert

Saint Etienne was one of the earliest British groups to experiment with indie pop electronica. The trio had the highly conceptual idea of fusing the pop music of Swinging London of the Sixties with contemporary club music rhythms. I befriended the band during their first American tour by writing a highly enthusiastic review of their live concert for an underground Boston weekly paper. I've managed to stay on their mailing list for over 20 years and I still get invited to their album release parties but I've never attended one because the cost of airfare to London is prohibitive.

One of my favorite songs is one they recorded for the soundtrack of Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar's 2006 film Volver staring the lovely Penélope Cruz. It doesn't really have a Spanish musical flavor but it fits like a glove into the theme of Almodóvar's film. The title of the track is Good Thing.

Earlier this year (2013) Saint Etienne released a four cd box set entitled Words and Music by Saint Etienne. The first cd was an all new album and the other 3 cds were remixes of many of Saint Etienne's classic hits. One remix, Soft Like Me was a pleasant surprise to me because I really didn't like the original version of the song when it appeared on their 2002 album Finisterre.

East German deejay Paul Van Dyk is so obsessed with Saint Etienne's song Tell Me Why , he's done a dozen different remixes of it over the years. From my perspective, Tell Me Why is the most perfect pop song I've ever heard. The lyrics have the deceptive simplicity of a Zen koan and Van Dyk's angular minimalist remix underscores the moody and mysterious atmospherics of the song.

St. Etienne Discography
Foxbase Alpha (1991)
So Tough (1993)
Tiger Bay (1994)
Good Humor (1998)
Sound of Water (2000)
Finisterre (2002)
Tales from Turnpike House (2005)
Words and Music by Saint Etienne (2012)

07-20-2013, 09:53 PM	#12 (permalink)
Gavin B. Model Worker Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 1,248	Saint Etienne: Europop Meets House Music Saint Etienne vocalist Sarah Cracknell in concert Saint Etienne was one of the earliest British groups to experiment with indie pop electronica. The trio had the highly conceptual idea of fusing the pop music of Swinging London of the Sixties with contemporary club music rhythms. I befriended the band during their first American tour by writing a highly enthusiastic review of their live concert for an underground Boston weekly paper. I've managed to stay on their mailing list for over 20 years and I still get invited to their album release parties but I've never attended one because the cost of airfare to London is prohibitive. One of my favorite songs is one they recorded for the soundtrack of Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar's 2006 film Volver staring the lovely Penélope Cruz. It doesn't really have a Spanish musical flavor but it fits like a glove into the theme of Almodóvar's film. The title of the track is Good Thing. Earlier this year (2013) Saint Etienne released a four cd box set entitled Words and Music by Saint Etienne. The first cd was an all new album and the other 3 cds were remixes of many of Saint Etienne's classic hits. One remix, Soft Like Me was a pleasant surprise to me because I really didn't like the original version of the song when it appeared on their 2002 album Finisterre. East German deejay Paul Van Dyk is so obsessed with Saint Etienne's song Tell Me Why , he's done a dozen different remixes of it over the years. From my perspective, Tell Me Why is the most perfect pop song I've ever heard. The lyrics have the deceptive simplicity of a Zen koan and Van Dyk's angular minimalist remix underscores the moody and mysterious atmospherics of the song. St. Etienne Discography Foxbase Alpha (1991) So Tough (1993) Tiger Bay (1994) Good Humor (1998) Sound of Water (2000) Finisterre (2002) Tales from Turnpike House (2005) Words and Music by Saint Etienne (2012) __________________ There are two types of music: the first type is the blues and the second type is all the other stuff. Townes Van Zandt Last edited by Gavin B.; 07-21-2013 at 01:28 AM.