Blog → "This is countdown via Etienne..."

Eagle eyed,or even regular eyed,fans of Saint Etienne will know that that was me trying to put my own spin on
Saint Etienne's This Is Radio Etienne.Kinda snazzy isn't it?

Anyway,on to the journal and i have decided that after being a fan of the Saint's for a whole month now (time's flown by really) i'm gonna make a personal countdown of my top 21 favourite Saint Etienne tracks.This list i'll probably change itself by next week and i'll probably make a revised list completely after a few months.Until then, these are the songs by the Saints i find myself going back to:

21 - Spring
Foxbase Alpha (September 1991)

I loooove Spring.It's such a perfect song for this time of year (two weeks before Easter).Released on thei debut album, Spring is a tale about a broken hearted boy,confiding to a female friend.She tells him he's 'too young to say you're through with love' and points out that he's completely obvlivious to the fact that the girl is wanting to become an item with him.

20 - Western Wind/Tankerville/The Boy Scouts of America
Tiger Bay (March 1994)

I know these are three songs,technically,but they all run into one another and feel like part of a story.It starts with Sarah reciting the 16th Century song,The Western Wynde,feeling rather rather haunting.It fades into Tankerville,a smooth,plinky and lush instrumental.The instrumental changes roughly around 2/3s of the song,and glides into Boy Scouts of America,which although seems a bit vague is either about a man about to leave his partner,showing that "The Boy Scouts of America taught him all he needs to know",or that he intends to murder her.Ooooh.

19 - I Buy American Records
Hug My Soul (12"/CD 1) (September 1994)

I Buy American Records is the only b-side on this list so at least it's a damn good one.Originally released as a b-side to Hug My Soul,it was promoted to album status on the re-issued Tiger Bay album in 1996.
Lyrically,it's about a foreign,exotic,free spirited girl who moves through the times and whom everyone admires,and how her touch can do anything, ''cause she wears my ring'.It's very guitar/folk.

18 - Lose That Girl
Good Humor (April 1998)

Originally this was supposed to be the third release from Good Humor,but was pulled at the last minute.It's rather 60s inspired,and very summery.A remix by The Trouser Enthusiasts can be found on Interlude

17 - Join Our Club
You Need a Mass of Help to Stand Alone (November 1993)

Originally released May 5th 1992,as a double A-side with People Get Real,it charted at a then-best peak of #21,just missing the top 20.This is typical 90s dance music,with the protagonist encouraging someone to 'join our club' and proclaiming "There's gonna be a storm quite soon,
Get ready 'cause we're coming through,yeah!"

16 - How We Used to Live
Sound of Water (June 2000)

This is one of Saint Etienne's longest songs,and also one of their most epic too.The song is slpit in three parts: a slow,balladish thing which laments on 'how we used to live',before turning into a fast paced dance number,before eventually ending on a more slow,laid-back groove.Originally released in March 2000,it wasn't allowed to chart as the cd single alloted time had run over,thus making it inelligable.

15 - Burnt Out Car
Casino Classics (October 1996) and Smash the System: Singles and More (disc 2) (Septemeber 2001)

Burnt Out Car is a delicate masterpiece! It was recorded during the band's wilderness years following Too Young to Die and originally appeared on Casino Classics as the Balearico Mix,being released on Continental in Japan in 1997.The original version wouldn't appear until Nice Price in 2006.It's a glorified high speed dance anthem,about wishing to destroy evidence in a burnt out car,either from a possible robbery or kidnapping or who knows?

14 - The Bad Photographer
Good Humor (April 1998)

This (reluctantly) was the second single from Good Humor and managed to chart at #27 in April/May 1998.It's a sweet,easy going,rather Radio 2 sounding number,about a girl who's fallen for a rather rubbish photographer,and she asks herself 'How did i fall for you?' Both this and Janet Jackson's All for You do sound eeringly similar.She probably ripped them off no doubt.Probably.

13 - Marble Lions
Tiger Bay (March 1994)

I don't exactly know why i like this one so much,it's all a bit random,but i just do.It's gorgeous.I just find something incredibily sad about hearing Sarah say
"Stars are calling,goodnight, darling
Don’t say good-bye
Stars are calling,take the slow train
Don’t say good-bye"

The change in music between 2:52 and 2:55 where it goes from dark to bright also makes me feel this too.

12 - Like a Motorway
Tiger Bay (March 1994)

This shows Saint Et. at their most Kraftwerk-ist,and is a dark and slow,moody thing.In the song,Sarah laments of her friend's boyfriend (after some confusion about whether he died or simply left her) and she repeats 'he's gone' repeatedly,making it rather depressing.Perhaps because of this,it only charted at #47 in May 1994,missing the top 40 since Nothing Can Stop Us/Speedwell almost exactly three years earlier.

11 - Only Love Can Break Your Heart
Foxbase Alpha (September 1991)

The very first time i played this song,i didn't get it.At all.Although that could be because i was under the perception that every Saint Etienne song would sound like Nothing Can Stop Us (which it doesn't really).Originally by Neil Young,this was Saint Etienne's second song to chart and their first to chart in the top 40,creeping in at #39.Vocals are NOT by Sarah Cracknall,but instead by Moira Lambert. Sarah was the band's permenant vocal after she sang Nothing Can Stop Us,up until then different singers sang on different tracks.

10 - Sylvie
Good Humor (April 1998)

'Sylvie' was the first single from the groups Good Humor album,showcasing a new organic sound with more instruments and less electronica.A tale of a boyfriend stealing hussy of a little sister,it charted at #12 in January 1998.

9 - Mario's Cafe
So Tough (March 1993)

Mario's Cafe is a great song about a group of friends meeting up in a cafe and discussing their lives and what's been going on in the world outside,including things as 'Eubank wins the fight' and 'did you see the KLF last night?' and name checking characters and what they're doing and generally joking around and having fun.It really should've been a single.

8 - Nothing Can Stop Us
Foxbase Alpha (September 1991)

Nothing Can Stop Us was Saint Et.'s first single to chart,yet also the first single to miss the top 40.It was also the first single to feature the vocals of Sarah,previous tracks had different singers.This was also covered by Kylie Minogue,and at one point was going to be her new single from her Kylie Minogue album,but was eventually used as a b-side to the Confide In Me single.Apprently,Kylie didn't like doing the 'talking bits' so was encouraged to do them.

7 - He's On the Phone
Too Young to Die - The Singles (November 1995)

He's On the Phone was a collaberation between Saint Etienne,and French singer Etienne Daho.It is actually a remix by Motiv8 of "Accident", which appeared on the Saint Etienne/Étienne Daho Reserection EP, released a few months previously in June, 1995It was co-produced by Steve Rodway,and according to him the band had never intended to use "Accident" as single material, but had given it to him for remixing as it was "the only new track they had" at the time of the release of Too Young to Die.It very nearly charted in the Top 10,at #11,and helped the album go top 20.It is arguably their most recognasible song,and is a big favourite in gay clubs.

6 - You're In a Bad Way
So Tough (March 1993)

You're In a Bad Way is a great little pop song for whenever you're needing a pick up.Beginning with a smaple from Billy Liar the lyrics describe a man who is depressed and has ceased to care for himself - the singer tells him "jeans are old and your hair's all wrong,don't you know that crewcuts and trainers are out again?" The song is also a very deliberate throwback to the 60s,and helped it chart at #12 in February 1993.

5 - Pale Movie
Tiger Bay (March 1994)

This was the first single to be taken from the Tiger Bay LP,in February 1994,charting at #28.A mix of Spanish guitar and folk music (which was used apprently because they wanted to make the video in Spain,which they did),the lyrics use surreal imagery to describe a man's love for a mysterious woman.The title is not sung,but there are a few references to cinema : In the bed where they make love , she's in a film on the sheets , he shows dreams like a movie, she's the softness of cinema seats." The song has some 'la la la la's' that Kylie would be quite proud of!

4 - Who Do You Think You Are
You Need a Mass of Help to Stand Alone (November 1993)

At the time,Who Do You Think You Are,was not on So Tough when it was released.It's actually a cover of the song by Candlewick Green (whom i don't know) from 1974,and is a certified song by the Saints (joined with Debsey Wykes of Dolly Mixture fame) that gets you up and dancing! Both Sarah and Debsey's vocals work incredibly well,and in the video they appear as a team,against Bob and Pete who dress up as kings.

3 - Hobart Paving
So Tough (March 1993)

The double A-side to Who Do You Think You Are,was Hobart Paving, a song about an unhappy woman,staying together with a man that she doesn't love.The song uses characteristically surreal images such as "Rain falls like Elvis tears" and "Just like a harpsichordist she moves".The curious title may be a reference to from a construction firm called Hobart Paving in the town of Croydon, where Bob and Pete grew up. It charted at #23 in May 1993.

2 - Hug My Soul
Tiger Bay (March 1994)

Hug My Soul! This is one of my fav's and up until last week,this probably would've been #1.A rather sexy song with some very lush production,it's about the protagionist singing to her boyfriend that 'i'll be there,to run into your arms' and at points is desperate enough to 'run around the streets to find you,
shout your name, i want to hold you.' It was the third single from Tiger Bay,and the second to chart in the top 40,at #32. The first verse is oddly reminescent of the Andrea True Connection song, More More More.

1 - Avenue
So Tough (March 1993)

And so the winner (at least for now) of this list is one of what i think,is one of Saint Et.'s best song,Avenue. The lyrics describes a young woman who remembers of her affair of a man called Maurice from years past (and in the end goes back to him).Going in an unconventional way,this is one of the Saint's longest songs,creeping in at 7:34,instead of a more regular 3 minute pop song (the hard-to-find edit of the song butchers it up completely).Probably because of it's anti-commercialism,it only got to #40 in the charts in October 1992.The song is a long time favourite with many fans,if only for the now infamous lines "I was the little girl that snogged who liked to snog your face." and "Oh,how many years is it now, Maurice?" and the more peculiar "Oh, the clowns no good." (which is probably why you can also hear circus music) Finally,of note is the intro and outro of the song which sounds like it's being recorded in a large hall,making it a bit more haunting.

Credits
idiotsdream (YAY!! I wrote this! It only took 4 hours!)
amazoniowan (For being a Saint Et. fan and sending me those songs on Saturday (I love the 12" mix of Hug My Soul by the way)
JamieJ73 (For piquing my interest in Saint Et. and making me curious enough to try them again)
Mike W (For inspiring this post)