This has been a tricky one.
What I'm sharing here is the full audio commentary for Editors' The Weight of Your Love album, released almost a decade ago (yikes!). I originally ripped this from Tape TV, a music streaming site that I believe turned up its toes and departed to whatever afterlife you may subscribe to in 2016. Candidly, I was still refining my technique for capturing videos when this aired there back in 2013, and the version I had looked great but had so many audio issues it was ridiculous. There was lagging between picture and sound, which had gaps big enough to drive a truck through. The past 3 days have been spent fixing all the problems with the sound to make it into something more pleasing to the ear. It's not perfect. There are still little bits of static, pops and crackles here and there but had you heard the original...you'd get why this is an improvement. All that remains of the video which has since been lost, sadly, is the still image from it that accompanies this post. My apologies. I learned the lessons from these dark and disorganised times.
This collection of commentary tracks was picked up by Spotify, but in the years that followed it appears to have become something you can no longer play. It was because of this that I decided to put it back out there again for all of you who might have missed it. If there was a specific reason why Spotify made it unavailable, I'll no doubt find out soon enough. Probably when an angry copyright holder contacts me to let me know what a disgrace of a human being I am.
The Weight of Your Love is a strange little album, and it's all to do with the context of its inception. In 2012, the band had almost broken up but the introduction of Justin and Elliott had given them a stay of execution. Initially drafted in as extra hands to play Werchter, a funny thing happened. New relationships formed, and these five individuals actually began to show signs of developing into a cohesive unit. Tentative steps were taken to see if they could actually create music together, rather than just playing pre-existing material, and the second chapter of Editors commenced. But...
The Weight of Your Love has the sound of a personality crisis, which I think is something that speaks directly to its turbulent assembly. This was Editors, but it was also a brand-new band in terms of the internal chemistry of its contributors. Roles had yet to be settled into, and there was perhaps still a little bit of a shifting going in the balance of equality between everyone. Most of the interviews around this time saw Justin and Elliott being referred to as "the new guys" by both press and band-mates, yet only one side was being darkly sarcastic. This carried on for years. It was from these circumstances that the album was created.
Even if you think you know Editors, this will test your knowledge. Did you know that they specifically set out to "remove the darkness" from Two Hearted Spider? That The Phone Book was intended to be much more of a driving, stomping kind of tune? It's crazy because, to me, the whole essence of that song is about the fragility of the music married to those lyrics of quiet resignation. From the beginning to the end that track sounds like one long sigh. I like it for Tom's words, which I think are some of the best he's ever written, and also for the fact that this is to my knowledge the only Editors song where Ed plays with brushes instead of sticks.
Russell talks about revisiting old demos, and the new freedom that came with changing the lineup:-
"We can do anything we want again with these songs"
It' a side effect of the personnel shuffle that may have been overlooked. Over their tenure as Editors Version 1, the four people involved had a certain chemistry and that's what made the music special. However, there would always be compositions that never quite made it for whatever reason. Demos that we as fans never knew existed. Once the chemistry between the musicians was altered, however, there was always the possibility that what once wasn't working would yield fresh results with different input. I wonder how many other songs have been resurrected this way?
It' a side effect of the personnel shuffle that may have been overlooked. Over their tenure as Editors Version 1, the four people involved had a certain chemistry and that's what made the music special. However, there would always be compositions that never quite made it for whatever reason. Demos that we as fans never knew existed. Once the chemistry between the musicians was altered, however, there was always the possibility that what once wasn't working would yield fresh results with different input. I wonder how many other songs have been resurrected this way?
Oh yeah, Clint Mansell is not the evil song-wrecker he was portrayed to be at the time TWOYL came out. We were all just suffering from recency bias. Nothing is a beautiful song on record, and a weapon when it's played live. Luckily, it can be two things at once. Poppies say GRRrrr...
This commentary must have been recorded at least a month or two out from the July release date because Tom actually states that he thinks the album is going to be called The Weight Of Your Love. It had yet to be confirmed.
Enjoy ;)
