I should probably just rename this section of the Archive "Smith and Burrows' Instagram", given that they've been virtually the sole attraction this month. Their album Only Smith and Burrows is Good Enough came out and they jumped head first into the hamster wheel of promotional activities. Right in the middle of the usual media obligations, they decided to do a couple of left turns in style and the first was an Instagram live chat with fans in attendance.
The Q&A parts of the chat reminded me of the kind of things fanzines would do when they were a thing back in the day. Because the people involved in making those things were adjacent to or often completely outside the music industry, they were exempt from the usual standard promotional related questioning so you'd get all kinds of weird angles being investigated. It creates a boundary free environment where the unexpected can really flourish.
As positive and sublime as it was to be given this new, relaxed access to Tom and Andy there was also negativity as we learned Tom's answer to the question "What's the worst Editors song".
"There's a b-side called Disappear which is a bit pants."
Oh, the gentle sigh of a wounded heart coupled with the passionately righteous anger of total disagreement. There are Editors songs I don't like, obviously. I'm captivated but I'm not a captive. The difference is that I would only ever tell those closest to me which ones they are. I would never dream of telling Editors or any of my favourite artists which of their compositions moved me the least. It's just bad form. Similarly, it really doesn't matter to me which of his own songs Tom dislikes, because he's entitled to whatever opinions he has on that topic. He had a big hand in creating them after all. I just recognise the subjectivity of music.
It wouldn't necessarily change my mind if a band hated a track I held close to my heart, but at the same time you always want to feel there's an unwritten synchronicity; that they were talking to you when they wrote what they did. That's where great art transcends whatever medium its in and becomes personal to you. Hearing which tunes they don't like only serves to break that perceived (and of course, false) bond you thought you had, which I believe operates both ways.
In my opinion the "worst song" debate is also a dubious conversation that fans and bands should have separately, just never with each other because of its potential for mutual unhappiness and unwanted consequences. The initial question is a weird one anyway, as the premise of asking "Which of the pieces of music that you put time, imagination, money and effort into creating do you think are a crap" seems a little insulting. Imagine the result of Tom and the rest of the group pouring over a track for years, getting it just right, and then asking fans to nominate their own worst Editors song...and that's the one that comes up. Total deflation. The only thing I can compare it to from my own musical memories is when Suede put out the record Positivity from the album A New Morning and their fanbase revolted. For whatever the reasons, a lot of folks didn't like it much and boy did they ever let the band know. To quote Brett Anderson himself:-
"...Positivity was a strange one. when i first wrote it i thought it was a
masterpiece but soon realized that many people were genuinely offended
by it. i suppose because it just wasn't the sort of thing that they
wanted from Suede (which was kind of the point). if there was ever just
one song that destroyed a band then it was Positivity with Suede."
Yikes.
All I will say in a slightly cagey manner is that for me, and only for me mind you, Disappear is not Editors' worst song.
Smith and Burrows also stopped by to visit with Mr Tim Burgess as part of his Twitter Listening Party podcast, and in doing so they drew attention to a real undiscovered gem, certainly as far as I was concerned. What a great idea that show is, and a look at the guests who have already been on should tell you everything you need to know about its credibility.
Justin returned to regular posting on his Instagram account, and
although most of his very beautiful snaps are included here, some of them aren't. I
made the decision a long time ago to avoid including any younger family members
in these posts, primarily because I feel like it falls outside of the
Archive's area of concern. Too tabloidesque. Justin shared some photos that included his
kids, and even though he's clearly cool with that, I've only collected
the ones that they aren't a subject in. Strange, maybe, but it comes from a place of respect. If you want to see the missing snaps, you can
always go look that brother up on the 'gram.
During the month, Ed managed to raise £3,720 for his Love Welcomes charity drive, many congratulations to him on that. Great work.
Quick question before we close out this entry. Do you remember that photo from Tom a couple of months ago that had the word "scheming" on it?
Well that subject may have just come up again, as Tom talked recently in an Smith and Burrows interview about an electronica project that's near but has to remain secret...for now. Would it be a huge leap to think that this simple photograph from December may have been a mighty big hint as to it's nature?
Editors Instagram - February 2021
For all of Editors' previous Instagram posts, go here.
brought to you with lots and lots of lemming-love :) x
