In November, there were strange echoes from the past which have helped to shape our listening present and future. The photograph above was enough to make me want to take up smoking so I could have a cigarette after seeing it, such was it's seductive and therapeutic charm. There were limited Editors shenanigans in the eleventh month of the year but there was a huge sigh of relief, provided by Hannah from the band's unofficial forum who solved a mystery that has been a brain-itch ever since we heard Magazine for the first time. Here were some possible theories as to what Tom was singing during the chorus:-
It takes a fuck-head to run a tight ship
It takes a flat-bed to run a tight ship
It takes a bucket, do you want a tight shit?
It takes a flat bread, to rub a tiny chip
You will be astonished to learn that not one or two but all of the above guesses were incorrect. Now, we can confidently state that the troublesome lyric which has been indecipherable even after scrutinizing live performances hundreds of times until our ears developed sores is:-
It takes a fat-lip, to run a tight ship
Simple, but with a devilish twist. The source of the solution ended up coming from some absent friends of the Archive, Editors Daily, who posted a tweet from Mr Smith dated January 26th 2012. Even 5 years later and after they stepped away from overt Editors fandom, the cool cats at ED are still providing joy. Thanks to you both.
While debates were raging and hair was being removed in clumps due to excessive frustrated tearing, as lips were being read and volume switches turned up in the hope of catching the pronunciation that would lead to enlightenment, it turned out that it had been out in the open all along. Hannah found the snap that brought some sense to all the chaos and it was almost like getting to experience the treasure hunt for No Harm again, except this time we didn't even know the treasure hunt was happening because we'd all forgotten the prize had been there all along. So now we can all rest easy, and that's the end of that. But....
While debates were raging and hair was being removed in clumps due to excessive frustrated tearing, as lips were being read and volume switches turned up in the hope of catching the pronunciation that would lead to enlightenment, it turned out that it had been out in the open all along. Hannah found the snap that brought some sense to all the chaos and it was almost like getting to experience the treasure hunt for No Harm again, except this time we didn't even know the treasure hunt was happening because we'd all forgotten the prize had been there all along. So now we can all rest easy, and that's the end of that. But....
..it only changes the picture rather than completing it.
If Tom was singing this song in 2012 then it means it was part of the sessions they did with Flood, which also means that Chris was still a member of the band when they were recording. There's a list of titles that definitely did or possibly may have had some involvement by the ex-Editor, Formaldehyde, What is This Thing Called Love, Two Hearted Spider, The Sting etc and now Magazine. This is where a full track listing for those recording bouts would come in very handy indeed, so that we could compare what's been released (or is impending) to what we have already. Of course, the chances of that are slim because if there are even more songs that were attempted with Mr Urbanowicz that may eventually be made available in some newer rearranged form, it would spoil any future surprises. It's still very interesting to ponder on what Magazine may have sounded like with Chris involved somehow. Maybe he'd gotten bored with electronics and perhaps fancied going back to playing the guitar again? Or would he have continued experimenting with non-stringed instruments? We don't even know for sure if Chris or any of the other Editors were on the recording of Magazine that Tom tweeted about, it could have just been him upgrading and expanding on his home demo ideas in the studio.
In other news, Mr Rezvani is working with Editors on their new artwork. This, we can be sure of. Yet because we don't know the nature of what he's designing means that anything he posts that seems slightly ambiguous could be related to the band. A shot simply titled "location" could be a clue to a video shoot or a venue for photography. So the Bonus Materials section of the zip below contains a couple of photos which may have something to do with upcoming Editors goodness, or not at all. The risk of missing things was too high so I've included them just in case.
There were a healthy batch of Smith and Burrows photographs in November, more than any other source material as it happens, so that instinct to assume they're about to put out some new music is still strong. Surely the amount of time they're spending together with instruments and recording equipment means that there HAS to be some co-written, partially-glum ear-candy dropping in the near future? Doesn't there? We shall see.
Speaking of songs that still have yet to be released, have you heard Dream Dark as Your Heaven yet? If you're pausing to reflect and consider your answer, the response that eludes you is "No". It's still not available to hear, but I'm not giving up on it. No song left behind, dammit!
Lastly, the band are going to be posting their Spotify playlists each month starting with Tom's which appeared right at the very end of November. His selection was:-
1. Drop - Cornelius
2. Wait - Wang Chung
3. Like an Eagle - Dennis Parker
4. Something to Remember Me By - The Horrors
5. Don't Delete The Kisses - Wolf Alice
6. Please - Blanck Mass
7. Burn It down - Daughter
8. Lord - Young Fathers
9. New York - St Vincent
10. 8 (circle) - Bon Iver
11. Territory - The Blaze
12. 20:17 - Ólafur Arnalds & Nils Frahm
13. III. Mrs Dalloway: War Anthem - Max Richter
14. Your Own Spell - King Creosote
15. Together We Will Live Forever - Clint Mansell
16. Daydreaming - Radiohead
17. Sugar for the Pill - Slowdive
18. Lostmyhead - The 1975
19. Big Picture - London Grammar
20. Mustn't Hurry - Fever Ray
21. Blue Ocean Floor - Justin Timberlake
22. An Ending (ascent) - Brian Eno
23. Chained to the Rhythm - Katy Perry and Skip Marley
You'l be able to spot some collaborators, some influences, some bizarre anomalies that betray their forbidden but undeniable pop leanings, a 1970's porn star (with a fantastic song, by the way) and a controversial figure from The Weight of Your Love. It's up to you to work out who's who. The fact that each band member is contributing every month means that the lists will cease at the end of March next year, which is coincidentally when the big announcements are due regarding future plans from Editors. Consider this the beginning of your 4 month countdown. Enjoy the stuff ;)
Editors Instagram November 2017
download here or download here
Complete 2016 collection
1. Drop - Cornelius
2. Wait - Wang Chung
3. Like an Eagle - Dennis Parker
4. Something to Remember Me By - The Horrors
5. Don't Delete The Kisses - Wolf Alice
6. Please - Blanck Mass
7. Burn It down - Daughter
8. Lord - Young Fathers
9. New York - St Vincent
10. 8 (circle) - Bon Iver
11. Territory - The Blaze
12. 20:17 - Ólafur Arnalds & Nils Frahm
13. III. Mrs Dalloway: War Anthem - Max Richter
14. Your Own Spell - King Creosote
15. Together We Will Live Forever - Clint Mansell
16. Daydreaming - Radiohead
17. Sugar for the Pill - Slowdive
18. Lostmyhead - The 1975
19. Big Picture - London Grammar
20. Mustn't Hurry - Fever Ray
21. Blue Ocean Floor - Justin Timberlake
22. An Ending (ascent) - Brian Eno
23. Chained to the Rhythm - Katy Perry and Skip Marley
You'l be able to spot some collaborators, some influences, some bizarre anomalies that betray their forbidden but undeniable pop leanings, a 1970's porn star (with a fantastic song, by the way) and a controversial figure from The Weight of Your Love. It's up to you to work out who's who. The fact that each band member is contributing every month means that the lists will cease at the end of March next year, which is coincidentally when the big announcements are due regarding future plans from Editors. Consider this the beginning of your 4 month countdown. Enjoy the stuff ;)
Editors Instagram November 2017
download here or download here
And if you want to view Editors' previous adventures on the interwebs, check out the links below:-
January 2017 - download here
February 2017 - download here
March 2017 - download here
April 2017 - download here
May 2017 - download here
June 2017 - download here
July 2017 - download here
August 2017 - download here
September 2017 - download here
October 2017 - download here
November 2017 - download here
June 2017 - download here
July 2017 - download here
August 2017 - download here
September 2017 - download here
October 2017 - download here
November 2017 - download here
Complete 2015 Collection
Complete 2016 collection
brought to you with lots and lots of lemming-love :) x
