It Took Seconds

Five minutes and thirty-five seconds: “Filthy” is one of my favourite Saint Etienne singles and also somewhat of a path-not-taken for the group. They’d originally started out with the masterplan of being a rotating-vocalist conveyor belt of hits, before they had the good fortune to find their perfect singer in Sarah Cracknell. But at the same time when you hear how great and laidback Q-Tee’s vocals are you wish they’d had time to pursue the original vision too. As it is this is a fascinating side trip: a snapshot of the band as a blissed-out, pop-oriented Massive Attack type outfit, snaking around its five-and-a-half minutes like it’s the perfect length for a pop song.

What would your 5’35” track have been?