Phoning It In: "He's on the Phone" by Saint Etienne

Detail of a cover photo montage from Japanese fashion magazine Shiseido Graph, 1934

So I'm out of town for a week, but I'm going to be posting "phoned in" blog entries from the Pacific Northwest. And, you see, they're going to be my favorite telephone-related songs. It's a cheesy conceit - I know that - but the whole point here is that I don't have time to deliver anything better, so deal with it.

[rockist] Eurodance is, apparently, a genre. Dance pop is not something I gravitate toward, but I always thought that Saint Etienne would be an exception to my natural aversion. The English combo had a sense of sophistication and appreciation for '60s pop that gave them a level of credibility that you don't get from an act like, say, Whigfield. They were on Sub Pop, and that's got to be worth something. [/rockist]

One of their biggest crossover singles was 1995's "He's on the Phone", a song with a complicated history. Suffice it to say that the song started out as a track called "Weekend à Rome" by French pop star Étienne Daho. "He's on the Phone" has a sparkling pop melody and peppy backbeat, and Sarah Cracknell's delivery is nice as always. Even though Eurodance is not my bailiwick, I jumped on the new Saint Etienne remasters that just came out, and (a few long, boring remixes aside) I think they're a lot of fun. Plus, because I was so out of touch the first time these songs were popular, it's all very fresh to me.

"He's on the Phone" by Saint Etienne