To be honest I don't think they will be fussed about not charting. For me the UK singles chart has become a bit of a joke since the relaxed rules on downloads where album tracks can be included came into force, I mean look at the way a song is on Glee one night and then it hits the top 20 the following Sunday. For me there is no excitement anymore in buying a single. Waiting for the Monday and popping down to the HMV to get my many formats of one song. I know I have to move with the times but i'm sorry, its shit.

I also wonder whether the fact the single was included in yesterdays Sunday Times makes it void for chart entry. Only a few years ago chart position was very very important for an artist but I think the record companies are more interested in album chart positions (and sales) and the artists nowadays are keen on live performance as that's where the cash is. Which is also why I am very surprised the Chems are not doing at least one festival in England this year as they would of course been headliners and earned a couple of quid! I mean there is a credit crunch.

don't get me wrong, i dont give a shit about the charts. but i do like to know that "the yoof" still find the chemical brothers relevant. and it would be interesting to know how successful the brothers first download only single has been. you may have a very valid point about the single being void for the chart.

i just came in to say - swoon - how fuckin good is this track?

tom n ed do it again. (top punnery)

Respec'.

sneaker:beater, on 17 May 2010 - 05:12 PM, said:

Still nothing on a physical release of Swoon ? I guess that's the reason it's not on the charts

I have a mild interest in seeing how the Chems chart. Emphasis on the word mild, as I haven'really paid much attention to the Billboard charts in years (and even when I had to, it was the American charts not UK.) How something fares in the charts has no bearing on what I like personally, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't care at all about how the Chems do in the charts. I don't like it if they chart poorly and I'm happy for their success when they are higher up in the charts.

sneaker:beater, on 17 May 2010 - 09:51 AM, said:

And there's that, too.

I think relevancy is important to longevity. The music shouldn't just be for old farts like me who raved really hard in the 90's. Sorry WhiteNoise for once again throwing out the age card but thank god there's younger folks like you who take the time to post here, you're showing interest and loving the Chems. Forum wise - in general I know we can be a bit closed off and niche like in this tiny corner of cyberspace, but in the long run I'd hope collectively we're a pretty good cross section of who the Chems' listening audience is.

I'm glad to say that I never paid attention to charts when I followed the Chems. I don't even care about the Itunes chart either...well maybe!

if you remember the second single was the salmon dance was a pretty unsuccessful single. the brothers had talked about all rights reversed as the third single, but it never happened. it was very strange there was no single to support their december uk tour. maybe i making an assumption but strong sales = high chart position = future relases.

anyway i found out it did chart in the top 100 singles last week at number, 100. ouch!

if we talk about charts - I checked out of curiousity how are the charts at lastfm

don't know how it was when it got released (probably higher),
but for the last week Escape Velocity is at 49 place in Hyped Tracks
And as we know that song actually is not released officially (vinyl only)
so we actually listen to those rips, that float around.

www.last.fm/charts/hypetrack

kosek, on 18 May 2010 - 12:10 PM, said:

Both Escape Velocity and Swoon were high in the popular tracks on HypeM (they were in the top 20). But this top gets refreshed ever 3 days.

charts are about as useful as a hole in the head these days....unless you're demographic is 8-18 year olds and you make music like lady gaga and rhianna...

sneaker:beater, on 18 May 2010 - 11:30 AM, said:

In Australia, Salmon dance was a massive hit for some reason. Every fluero singlet wearing festival trashbag new every lyric to that song, yet failed to know anything else by the chems except for something like HBHG. sigh.

Jittem, on 18 May 2010 - 06:28 PM, said:

I remember something like that during the WATN tour. All the australian fans vented on the Chems Myspace page and complained about them not playing The Salmon Dance.

ARR is my best track on WATN. It should of been a single!

inchemwetrust, on 18 May 2010 - 10:19 PM, said:

I LOL'd.
But we did get a an alternate mix to ARR--I bet that was planned for the single if it had been released. Well, maybe.
At least there was something.

i gotta say, idk what were ed & tom intentions, but the melody keeps playing in my head

maybe its because is a repetitive song, cant hardly notice noticeable changes in the song

escape velocity didnt surprise me either... good song for a disco or a live audience, but it isnt enjoyable when u r at home/chillin'

im not having bad expectations, i hope this album is going to have good stuff, variety in styles, and not only danceable songs



BTW Don Diablo remix of Swoon is mind-blowing

CHEMS keep it up! i still love you! lol

inchemwetrust, on 19 May 2010 - 06:19 AM, said:

hahaa, man, that was the worst part of that tour, the stupid fucking crookers remix of salmon dance was at EVERY dance music festival that whole year.

the chems finally come to australia, and all the fluro wearing, ghb taking jerks rock up ready for 2 hours of electro hau5,

what they got was a phychedelic experience, Me and my mate went to 4 of the shows, following them up and down the east coast, we scored front row at all shows, but the last. we were one row back, in this amazing ampitheather-esque stage, we were at the same hight as tom and Ed, and only litterally 3 metres from them.

the people in the front row? idiots, every last one of them, one of them turns to me and says,

"This is awesome"

i said "yeah, they are our favourite band, we've been to the last three shows, i'm glad you are enjoying it"

"OH! are they going to play the salmon dance?!"

"i don't think they like to, it's not really what their live sets are about"

"SERIOUS?!?!?!?!?!!"

"yeah man, it's a great song, but it's not really the vibe of this thing here"

"NAAAAAAH BUT THATS MY FAYVRUTT SONG!!!!"

"i don't know what to tell you dude, it's not happening"

at this point he tells a few of his other friends on the front barricade the news...
general uproar between them all, then one of them, yells, no joke, at tom:

"PLAY THE SAMMMYYY!!!!"

of course tom hears him, as we are so close, looks up, and shakes his head


"WHAT THE FUCK!!? PLAY IT!!!!"

... tom shakes again

"FUCKIN PLAY IT!!"

tom taps Ed on the shoulder and mimicks the guy "PLAAYAYAYAYA IIIIIIIT" the pair point and laugh at him, my friend Marcus yells at the dude to shut the fuck up, and at that stage (just before surface to air) the guy concedes and says to his friends: "Let these guys in, they are big fans"

the show from that point on was intense, unbelievably close to that massive screen.


two days later on the chems webpage the "Chems TXT" is: "Thanks to our mohican friend for telling that salmon guy to shut up."


that was the greatest week of my life.

end rant.

awesome story ! But the guys were nice to let you go to the front. I remember in 2005 at the Zenith, during the "Surrender to the void" intro, there was a guy close to me who yelled "oh ! It's Surrender !" and then until the show began, he kept saying stuff like "yeaaah ! Surrender ! Woooo !" I think you can actually hear it in my recording of the show

Hahahaha, I love that story!!

Tom and Ed played at Marlay Park, Dublin back in 2005 I think it was.And as the crowd exited the park onto one of the tiny lanes that rings the park we see a beautiful vintage Bentley driving towards us all.Thats the lads I immediately said and sure enough with the car having to come to a crawl as it met and was surrounded by the crowd, there's Tom and Ed sitting in the back with a look of growing concern on their faces!I'm sure I saw Ed mouth the words, "You're fired", to the chauffeur!However the masses parted to allow them through safely with a mixture of applause and we're-not-worthy type bowing.Think they were quite relieved.

BUFFETT, on 19 May 2010 - 11:20 AM, said:

That could have been a scary situation!

But being chauffeured in a Bentley - now that's class. Perhaps next time it will have tinted windows.

dj_sirbadgelot, on 19 May 2010 - 02:31 AM, said:

HA! I knew there had to be a story behind that TXT! Definitely a tale to tell to the next Chem generation!