Newsletter September 1999

This month, we've got something new. That's in addition to being almost on schedule, thanks for noticing. The DJ corner collects 55 sound samples extracted from the masters of many Sprawl tracks, in mp3 format. Mostly chunks of big horns and vocals, they can be flown over the top of a dance track or used as the basis of a brand-new piece. Use them as playthings or, if you're a pro, kindly drive the dance floor crazy. The nerds among you can use Pretty Vacant instead of the error beep, and drive yourselves crazy. Use a simple audio application to slice and dice if you must knock yourself out.

After the great reception of last month's Wire special, we've got a few more items. Kevin Eden, the writer of the definitive Wire biography Everybody Loves A History, contributes a long piece about the first four years of the group, up to their departure from EMI Originally written for a boxed CD set which never came out, it's one of the clearest and most revealing pieces ever about the group.

Also from Kevin comes the definitive Wire discography. Complete as of this month, we'll see how soon it expands again. As member Bruce Gilbert (interviewed last month) puts it, 'We're taking the old banger for another spin round the block.' Which is to say that they are reforming the four-piece and hosting a concert at London's Royal Festival Hall on October 30^th.

To augment his Wire recording memoirs, Mike Thorne contributes a short piece on Outdoor Miner, the single that was almost the hit in the UK. Things went wrong. Could have been a contender.

Recording returns to the Stereo Society as BETTY prepare to enter the studio to record Millennium Man with Mike Thorne. Wildly opportunistic, it will be the perfect soundtrack to jumping in the fountain in Trafalgar Square or flicking peanuts at the Times Square ball as it dribbles down your TV screen. We'll be boosting their site real estate considerably at release time, but don't forget to check out the present state of their sprawling mansion. The recipe really works, too. For now, we've added details of their three albums and where to get them.

If that still leaves you unsatiated by BETTY's honeyed tones, you can throw your Sprawl CD in the player and listen to them there. Or play the continuous streaming version of it. Our Radio page has hour-long sequences, and from this month on we now offer them in Liquid Audio format as well as RealAudio.

Last of all, please forward this note to a friend (or an enemy, if you prefer). After our peaceful summer, it's time for the Stereo Society to get back in the world's face again.