Andrew Eldritch: Why won't you release a new Sisters LP?

THE place for your Sisters-related comments, questions and snippets of Sisters information. For those who do not know, The Sisters of Mercy are a rock'n'roll band. And a pop band. And an industrial groove machine. Or so they say. They make records. Lots of records, apparently. But not in your galaxy. They play concerts. Lots of concerts, actually. But you still cannot see them. So what's it all about, Alfie? This is one of the few tightly-moderated forums on Heartland, so please keep on-topic. All off-topic posts will either be moved or deleted. Chairman Bux is the editor and the editor's decision is final. Danke.
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:lol:

sounds about right ;D
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Re: Eldritch's belief that a new album would be torrented to death, thereby negating the point of releasing it...

Just wondering if there is a particular reason why computer games and movies still seem to be doing well, whilst music isnt... there's probably still more demand for music than there is for games and films put together, but is music really so much easier to torrent than the other two formats in this day and age? I guess if there was a solution someone would've found it by now, but can anyone clear the discrepancy up for me?
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Machine Regime wrote:Re: Eldritch's belief that a new album would be torrented to death, thereby negating the point of releasing it...

Just wondering if there is a particular reason why computer games and movies still seem to be doing well, whilst music isnt... there's probably still more demand for music than there is for games and films put together, but is music really so much easier than the other two formats in this day and age? I guess if there was a solution someone would've found it by now, but can anyone clear the discrepancy up for me?
Might be a thing of focussing. With films and games you really have to focus your concentration on them, while music is often enough a mere background thing for other activities. With the exception of concerts and dancing. In these cases again, it's not you who has to provide the music ...

Back to "Eldritch's belief" ... is it? I don't know. He should be well aware of, for example, the Ginger Wildheart pledge. Unlike along The March Violets' pledge, they produce CDs and vinyls straightly to order and not available in shops. Most likely, these will be ripped as well, but still, it's never like the original product. And I guess, the moral barrier is a slight bit higher, if you buy your stuff directly along pledges with the artists themselves ... and even more where this is supported by reasonable pricing.

Anyway, IMHO, now it's just not the time for a new Sisters album. Maybe some time later, but not today.
Hihi, seems I'll never stop looking forward to that, gives me pleasure and inspiration ... :lol: ;D ...
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Being645 wrote:
Machine Regime wrote:Re: Eldritch's belief that a new album would be torrented to death, thereby negating the point of releasing it...

Just wondering if there is a particular reason why computer games and movies still seem to be doing well, whilst music isnt... there's probably still more demand for music than there is for games and films put together, but is music really so much easier than the other two formats in this day and age? I guess if there was a solution someone would've found it by now, but can anyone clear the discrepancy up for me?
Might be a thing of focussing. With films and games you really have to focus your concentration on them, while music is often enough a mere background thing for other activities. With the exception of concerts and dancing. In these cases again, it's not you who has to provide the music ...

Back to "Eldritch's belief" ... is it? I don't know. He should be well aware of, for example, the Ginger Wildheart pledge. Unlike along The March Violets' pledge, they produce CDs and vinyls straightly to order and not available in shops. Most likely, these will be ripped as well, but still, it's never like the original product. And I guess, the moral barrier is a slight bit higher, if you buy your stuff directly along pledges with the artists themselves ... and even more where this is supported by reasonable pricing.

Anyway, IMHO, now it's just not the time for a new Sisters album. Maybe some time later, but not today.
Hihi, seems I'll never stop looking forward to that, gives me pleasure and inspiration ... :lol: ;D ...
Hear hear, Being. But I was more specifically thinking that the reason people illegally download music more than games or movies is that it's easier, and the latter two media have tighter controls over piracy. If that's the case, I wonder if there will ever be a technology that will come along that stymies music piracy sufficiently to prompt Eldo to think releasing recordings is once more commerically viable. Or maybe we can we can look forward to a Sisters-themed multiplayer shoot 'em up one day :lol:
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Machine Regime wrote:Re: Eldritch's belief that a new album would be torrented to death, thereby negating the point of releasing it...

Just wondering if there is a particular reason why computer games and movies still seem to be doing well, whilst music isnt... there's probably still more demand for music than there is for games and films put together, but is music really so much easier to torrent than the other two formats in this day and age? I guess if there was a solution someone would've found it by now, but can anyone clear the discrepancy up for me?
A CD can be encoded as mp3, say 192kbps, and it'd come to under 100mb.
Movies are much larger files, and even if you mess about re-encoding the files to make them smaller they'll still be quite sizeable, and a game can only be reduced in size by removing some of the content such as the large video sequences (which I've seen happen, but it requires someone who knows what they're doing to spend time messing about).

So to put it simply, music is easier to obtain because the files are smaller.
Machine Regime wrote:I wonder if there will ever be a technology that will come along that stymies music piracy
Impossible. If you can hear it then you can record it.
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This thread is like a shambling zombie. Every time you think it's finally dead (as dead as dreams of another record) it lurches back to life, moaning "braaains. BRAAAAAAAAAINS" (or "seeedeeee. SEEEEEEEEEDEEEEEEEEEE!").
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@sultan2075 ... :twisted: ;D :twisted: ... perhaps that's because, we've encounterd plenty impressing lessons ...


Dan wrote:
Machine Regime wrote:I wonder if there will ever be a technology that will come along that stymies music piracy
Impossible. If you can hear it then you can record it.
:lol: :notworthy:
Machine Regime wrote: Hear hear, Being. But I was more specifically thinking that the reason people illegally download music more than games or movies is that it's easier, and the latter two media have tighter controls over piracy.
...
I wonder. Among the people I've met so far in my lifetime, there are more sitcom-addicts and games-addicts than music-addicts. And among the latter, plenty are into movies and games as well. Can't imagine they download less music than films or games, to the contrary. And who knows how well games and films are doing, actually ... :eek: ... as far as I know, it is not exactly easy to make a living of films from scrap, and as to games such jobs are quite limited as well. Also, those products that get pirated are mostly widespread and well-known, anyway (exactly because they managed to get through to at least some sort of production and distribution funds). So for them it might be not that much of a loss and torrenting is not a crucial issue there. Also, these products are mostly mass products per se, which does not necessarily count for music, especially where the mass media do not support large sales for one reason or other.
Machine Regime wrote: Or maybe we can we can look forward to a Sisters-themed multiplayer shoot 'em up one day :lol:
Oh no ... :urff: ... please not .. :lol: ...
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sultan2075 wrote:This thread is like a shambling zombie. Every time you think it's finally dead (as dead as dreams of another record) it lurches back to life, moaning "braaains. BRAAAAAAAAAINS" (or "seeedeeee. SEEEEEEEEEDEEEEEEEEEE!").
And yet every time the thread pops up, you go and read it - funny old world :eek:
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Machine Regime wrote:
sultan2075 wrote:This thread is like a shambling zombie. Every time you think it's finally dead (as dead as dreams of another record) it lurches back to life, moaning "braaains. BRAAAAAAAAAINS" (or "seeedeeee. SEEEEEEEEEDEEEEEEEEEE!").
And yet every time the thread pops up, you go and read it - funny old world :eek:
You say cliche, I say classic. :innocent:

I keep hoping for signs of life other than the All-Singing All-Dancing Traveling Nostalgia Roadshow.
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This from Chris:
Should that label come along, and offer enough time, money and help (and the right sort of help), then yes, I can see it happening. Unfortunately, the chances of such a label existing are roughly as remote as finding Shergar nuts deep in Lord Lucan on Atlantis.
(see this thread) is as near as damnit saying "it's never going to happen".

Frankly it's not the first time we've heard similar sentiments from within the band.
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Machine Regime wrote: Would people like Eldo to return to the gothy, echoey stuff of the early days? The Floodland era industrial-ambient rock, or the Bon Jovi-esque metal of VS? I think Eldritch would've continued to go the latter route , given the nature of the handful of unleased gems since Under The Gun. They haven't exactly progressed, the way say Prodigy had from 'Charlie' to 'Firestarter' or Ministry from 'Cold Life' to 'Just One Fix', but the trajectory has still been interesting, and certainly has merited the honour of proper recordings.
None of the above. Eldritch was one of those creative genius types, ready to move on to the next thing. After wake, the m*****n guys just tried to do more of what they already did, but Eldritch was ready to move on and do something else. Then he started over again for Vision Thing. I would say there have been two eras of the band since.

I also see a progression in themes from the early days to what came later. There's something on their website about how you have to live a real life to write songs which mean anything. The early stuff has a sense of hard desperation to it, like it really was written by an impoverished displaced drug addict from up north. Floodland is glamorous and carries a lot of expensive ammunition but still angry and out to prove itself (which it does). Vision thing is totally self-assured, the tone is almost mocking. The 'ways of dealing with world' or whatever phrase he used for FALAA have been practised and perfected. Under the gun was as serious a p*ss take as I've ever seen, a 'final word' on pop music. Thematically the live-only songs seem to be distant echoes of things that have been well-reflected upon.

What would he write about now?

edit: hah! that's actually a word filter, nice. Is there one for goth?

edit2: nope
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"Like a dead man walking... "

I'm glad to see some real a analysis is finally taking place.

We snip the trip wire
We splinter in time
We glide into crumpled plastic
The roar of the battle lines
Sum of your love
We grip the plight bombastic
We sing:

Do I drive? or am I driven?
Can I brake - what I've been given?
Take a walk
Turn
Talk
Or crash and burn?
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Machine Regime wrote: Just wondering if there is a particular reason why computer games and movies still seem to be doing well, whilst music isnt.
IMHO this has nothing to do with piracy at all.
Back in the "good old days" (early 90ies), practically nobody owned a DVD player and computer games were just beginning to become a mass phenomenon.
Considering the amount of money people are able to spend on entertainment is limited, it's quite obvious that the success of DVD, Blueray and Games (PC & consoles) goes to the disadvantage of music.

It's just a lame excuse by AE. In fact I think he's scared to release something mediocre that will rather damage (or at least won't bring something new to) the legacy of the Sisters.

Just look at the stuff other "old" bands like Metallica, The Cure, Bauhaus, G'n'R etc. have released in the last years. It's dispensable and wasn't commercially succesful either.
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Machine Regime wrote: Just wondering if there is a particular reason why computer games and movies still seem to be doing well, whilst music isnt... there's probably still more demand for music than there is for games and films put together, but is music really so much easier to torrent than the other two formats in this day and age? I guess if there was a solution someone would've found it by now, but can anyone clear the discrepancy up for me?
A lot of computer games have a heavy amount of online play built into them, which you can't access with a downloaded copy. It's every bit as easy to download XBox games for example as a movie or CD as far as I've seen. And the music industry is blaming piracy rather than admit it's paid a lot of people far too much money over the years and not recorded much music worth listening to.
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Elystan wrote:
Machine Regime wrote: Would people like Eldo to return to the gothy, echoey stuff of the early days? The Floodland era industrial-ambient rock, or the Bon Jovi-esque metal of VS? I think Eldritch would've continued to go the latter route , given the nature of the handful of unleased gems since Under The Gun. They haven't exactly progressed, the way say Prodigy had from 'Charlie' to 'Firestarter' or Ministry from 'Cold Life' to 'Just One Fix', but the trajectory has still been interesting, and certainly has merited the honour of proper recordings.
None of the above. Eldritch was one of those creative genius types, ready to move on to the next thing. After wake, the m*****n guys just tried to do more of what they already did, but Eldritch was ready to move on and do something else. Then he started over again for Vision Thing. I would say there have been two eras of the band since.

I also see a progression in themes from the early days to what came later. There's something on their website about how you have to live a real life to write songs which mean anything. The early stuff has a sense of hard desperation to it, like it really was written by an impoverished displaced drug addict from up north. Floodland is glamorous and carries a lot of expensive ammunition but still angry and out to prove itself (which it does). Vision thing is totally self-assured, the tone is almost mocking. The 'ways of dealing with world' or whatever phrase he used for FALAA have been practised and perfected. Under the gun was as serious a p*ss take as I've ever seen, a 'final word' on pop music. Thematically the live-only songs seem to be distant echoes of things that have been well-reflected upon.

What would he write about now?

edit: hah! that's actually a word filter, nice. Is there one for goth?

edit2: nope
A nice view ... :notworthy: ...
however, there is lots one could write about, but as you quoted above:
you have to live a real life to write songs that mean anything ...

If nothing that bothers can reach you, there's not much chance to feel the need to write about anything at all ...
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^ He could write a whole album about people wanting him to release a new album. :lol:
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Dan wrote:^ He could write a whole album about people wanting him to release a new album. :lol:
http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/ ... 730012D6CF

:?: :D
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Well that's the single sorted then. One song won't go very far on an album though.
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Quiff Boy wrote:
Dan wrote:^ He could write a whole album about people wanting him to release a new album. :lol:
http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/ ... 730012D6CF

:?: :D
misheard ? i dunt fink sa! :lol:
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Bartek wrote:
Quiff Boy wrote:
Dan wrote:^ He could write a whole album about people wanting him to release a new album. :lol:
http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/ ... 730012D6CF

:?: :D
misheard ? i dunt fink sa! :lol:
Though with Far Parade as the B-side that would already give a pretty 7" ... ;D :lol: ...
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I honestly think the missed opportunity was the record deal that fell through with MUTE. AE commented that he liked the company, they "got" the Sisters, but it fell apart during an admin mistake. I think he'd have knocked out a few albums with them by now...he even made reference to an album that was going to be released through them, so it was least around in concept. Mute have a history of long successful relationships with bands that have a strong songwriter of their own...most obvious examples being Depeche Mode (Martin Gore) and Erasure (Vince Clarke). Gore is at least as controlling as AE,and I've never heard him complain about his record company being obstructive or stopping him from making the records he wants to make. Hell, they let him write "Songs of Faith and Devotion" when DM were at their peak...it opened with distorted guitars and even had a gospel number that was released as a single.
I think that would've been the perfect relationship and environment for AE..nevermind!
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You're probably right. Anyway, it's decades ago ...

What admin mistake, btw? ... :eek: ...
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Being645 wrote:What admin mistake, btw? ... :eek: ...
Wasn't there a leaked contract or summat?
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Someone sent a fax, possibly to the wrong person, saying scheduling was bad (an album release on the same day as Simply Red or something). Someone took offense. 20 years later, there will never be another record.
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sultan2075 wrote:Someone sent a fax, possibly to the wrong person, saying scheduling was bad (an album release on the same day as Simply Red or something). Someone took offense. 20 years later, there will never be another record.
Oh hell ... :urff: ... :cry: :cry: :cry: ...

Do you also know WHEN this happened?
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