So, Saint Etienne's first single (not counting last fall's Xenomania mix EP of oldie "Burnt Out Car") in three years, "Method Of Modern Love," was released last week and debuted on the U.K. chart at the sideways-smile emoticon position of #56.
MOML gave international fans of the trio a bit of a headache, as those wanting to secure a physical copy were met with the CD single only being dispatched to buyers with a U.K. address. Then there were the various downloads available...also only to English buyers.Adding to the fanfare anticlimax, there was also no video and no major radio play in Old Blighty for "Method."
But, let's face it; Saint Etienne have surely given up on any aspirations of ever-elusive chart glory after 19 years. Yes, it's nice when your favorite bands dent the Top 10 now and then, especially when they've been slogging away at it for this long.
Hell, I was in London the day the Pet Shop Boys made it to #10 with "Miracles," and I wanted to kiss the nearest homeless woman I could find in joy!
However, Saint Etienne have always been the underdog. The wayward Balearic bastards of the Britpop movement. Jarvis Cocker dragged Pulp out of a decade-long bout of obscurity and pulled six consecutive Top 10 singles out of his bony arse while Oasis, Blur and Suede bitch-slapped each other to the top of the charts in the early-to-mid-'90s.
All the while, Saint Etienne, who once had Oasis opening for them on tour, scraped to #12 with their classic "You're In A Bad Way." Two years later, they bested that by hitting #11 with "He's On The Phone," a Motiv8-produced track that is the closest they've got to a giddy pop predecessor to "Method Of Modern Love."But the only real time the threesome cracked the U.K. Top 10 was when Sarah Cracknell guested on Paul Van Dyk's 2000 dance track, "Tell Me Why (The Riddle)." With a "featuring Saint Etienne" credit, that technically got the band a #7 hit.
Cracknell herself came close to the Top 10 again last year by singing atop Mark Brown's "The Journey Continues." Alas, like "He's On The Phone," that single peaked at #11.Saint Etienne were written off by their original fans for abandoning their dance sound, and slagged off by Britpop fans for being Johnny-come-latelys. But show me an artist who's lasted as long that hasn't hopped on a current bandwagon du jour at least once or twice?
I don't care. I like my Saint Etienne being the underdog. Because, really, as pop fans, we all kind of know what it's like being the underdog. I like "Avenue" and "Shower Scene" as much as I like "He's On The Phone" and "Sylvie."
And I defy Girls Aloud, Lady GaGa or Rihanna to come close to breaking my heart the way "Hobart Paving," "Like A Motorway" or "Teenage Winter" still do with each listen.
Looking back—or, rather, listening back—over SE's catalogue, I'm proud to have bean a fan from the beginning. If pop truly can be art, then, for me, this is it.
I bought Foxbase Alpha on cassette at Disc Jockey in Spring 1991, and I ordered the two-CD/DVD London Conversations: The Best Of Saint Etienne from Amazon UK today. (It's on sale!)And I'll be in it till the end. Saint Etienne have always been there for my savage amusement, putting a spell over me...and smelling like lemon flavor.