Saint Etienne
Pale Movie

Capturing an artist's essence in a single piece? Fascinating idea, sure, but also difficult, risky, sometimes impossible, other times simply unfair: for instance, the fact that Nena is generally remembered for just one successful single really makes me mad, to put it bluntly. In this case, I chose the piece myself, so it's a different matter, it's personal, but certain premises still remain: "Pale Movie" is Saint Etienne, but Saint Etienne is not only "Pale Movie", heaven forbid anyone thinks that even for a moment. That being said, why this one? Saint Etienne churned out many amazing melodies during the early phase of their career; I think of "Spring", "Nothing Can Stop Us", and "London Belongs To Me" from the first album, "You're In A Bad Way", "Hobart Paving", or the more sophisticated "Junk The Morgue" from the second; compared to these, "Pale Movie" sounds, how shall I say, a bit commercial? Staying within the "Tiger Bay" realm, I could have chosen between two masterpieces like "Hug My Soul" and "Like A Motorway", or a big hit like "He's On The Phone", particularly dear to me as it wonderfully reworks the melody of "Week-end à Rome" by Etienne Daho, drawing out an energy and a dance potential just hinted at in the original. Yet, in the end, it's "Pale Movie"; because I'm a bit flashy inside, obviously, I've demonstrated this many times before, but there's also more to it.

A song like this, with such an impact and evocative power is something absolutely unrepeatable, even for Saint Etienne. Four verses, a single, gradual crescendo that takes on increasingly visionary tones, starting from "All of his friends have been wondering, why he spent so long with her, he's so dark and moody, she is his sunshine girl" to reach "Like roses grow in a churchyard, her skin white as the milk, just like a Sherpa Tensing under a Manilla silk"; everything is meticulously studied, even a chorus that isn’t really a chorus, but simply a "lalalalalala" that acts as a cyclical interlude, almost like a ritual mantra. The main structure features an agile and immediate beat, rooted in disco, Hi-Nrg, interspersed with powerful drum breaks also used as a recurring interlude, perfectly mirroring the structure of the vocals. An acoustic guitar with flamenco tones (perhaps inspired by "Innuendo"?) and orchestrations invoking a cinematic but also a '60s pop imagery, the result of the previous album "So Tough"'s experiments, developed with a more "radio-friendly" approach: this is the accompaniment and the unmistakable touch of Saint Etienne, which makes "Pale Movie" the masterpiece it is, especially crafting a spectacular wall of sound in the instrumental bridge, the composition’s climax. The whole thing is over in less than four minutes, the quintessence of the perfect single, a flawless Pop composition.

"Pale Movie" might be thought of as the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" of Saint Etienne; it's a comparison far less far-fetched than it might seem, Nirvana were a trio, SE too, both had/have (fortunately) a charismatic blonde vocalist; during that period, Saint Etienne recorded for Sub Pop which, evidently, after the grunge/noise boom, after launching Nirvana, was searching for new fields to expand into, finding in Saint Etienne maybe not a new Eldorado but an undeniable source of prestige and acclaim. The most obvious and fundamental difference is that Sarah Cracknell and Saint Etienne were perfectly aware and lucid, fully in control of everything; no beautiful loser charm then, but a much more enduring temporal resonance and not less influential, in a completely different sphere. Power without control eventually overwhelms, this is well-known, and the "niche" success of "Pale Movie" was only partially a blessing, as SE would have had the physique du role and intelligence to withstand the impact of a disruptive explosion of popularity, perhaps also fueled by Sarah Cracknell's extraordinary beauty; they would have deserved it, but in the end, what's done is done. Certainly, seeing exactly seven years later a shabby imitation of "Pale Movie" climb the charts worldwide, also reviving a character who had been irrelevant, outdated for years and deserved to remain so, is really annoying, but that's how it went, and then one only needs to listen to this song again, be captivated by Sarah Cracknell’s siren voice and everything passes, the sliding doors, the lousy imitations, but who cares... lalalalalala lalalalalala...