Short Bits

• Pet Shop Boys made it official and announced "Numb" as the next single on their website. It was an expected move because the track was originally recorded to be a single for "PopArt", which is finally getting it's US release October 3rd, and after two dance singles they must have wanted to show off the slow side of the album but I'm disappointed because it's likely the last Fundamental single which strands the utterly amazing "Integral" in the "fan-favorite" category instead of turning it into the politically important populist anthem it should be. PopJustice were right on the money when they said that it should have been the first single ages ago.
  
• The Modern have called it quits or at least they are doing some reshuffling. Electronically Yours found a press release buried on the band's forum that announces the band's intention to change it's name to Matinee Club in conjuction with some line-up changes. I'm late getting on The Modern bandwagon because they have one of the least functional official sites I've ever used and a myspace that often autostarts on a song clip, but XO recently helped win me over with a few posts on the band. Apparently what material The Modern had completed will still be released and their US debut EP is still on for later this year.
  
• The Lovemakers are releasing a series of cover songs in a one a week on fashion on their myspace as they ramp up for their next album. Synthman Jason Proctor left the band this past spring to pursue a day job at a start up and they replaced him with a guitarist so these new covers confirm suspicion that their edgy take on Human League styled synthpop from their self-titled and self released debut album is now in the distant past and you can read this recent interview to see their thinking behind it. Still their version Gilbert O'Sullivan's "Alone Again (Naturally)" is the best of the bunch in these new covers so it's worth checking out.
  
• DJ Fresh's album Escape From Planet Monday is finally up on US itunes this week so you can grab "Throw" which features Neil Tennant singing the chorus. It's more of a mood piece with a bit of spoken story than a traditional song so it makes no sense outside of the album but it's not without it's charm reminding me a bit of Bilingual with a bit of latin groove going on and a similar guitar style on the track. Stop by fansite Tennant-Lowe.com and click on the "PSB Mp3 Player" to give the track a listen.
• I was probably the only person on the internet not angry about the upcoming Depeche Mode Best Of because the band have recieved more exposore for Playing The Angel and the supporting tour than Exciter brought them so I understand that urge to go back and cash in and DM usually do more troubling things to their fans like release three versions of their remix album, but then I noticed that this a "Volume 1". What's that about? They last released singles compilations that split the bands material into two eras in 1998 and one would think that this would be for the more casual fan that wanted an overview of the band's history. Why is this "Volume 1" when they've only released two albums between Greatest Hits collections? Does this mean that "Volume 2" coming in the spring? I suppose it doesn't matter because the same die hard collectors that already shelled out hundreds of dollars to get the remastered DM albums that have been released this year will pull out their credit cards and hand over more money to Depeche and EMI-owned Mute. Oh, I'm not expecting too much from the collections new track "Martyr" even if it got good reviews from an associate of the band that heard it being recorded. PTA is good album, but really short on strong songs with single potential and despite the heavy gothic overtones there are moments of brightness on the album so I doubt that was left off for simple "not fitting the record" reasons. Then again, I've become a bit cynical about DM over the years. Hopefully I'll be proven wrong.