It’s about a 350 mile drive from Atlanta to the florida panhandle (represent!) and it, without fail, rains in alabama every time. That’s not hyperbole; i’ve made the drive there and back 3-4 times a year for the past 4 years and literally, it rains at some point on I-85 or I-65.

as the skies went from downpour to sprinkles along the route to montgomery, my ipod provided a most suitable soundtrack: Saint etienne‘s b-side album fairfax high.

At this point, i don’t really remember how i stumbled upon the band, though i think i may have confused them with etienne de crecy from a remix of air’s ‘sexy boy.’ irregardless of the source, fairfax high was the first saint etienne album i heard (march 2000) and it impressed me enough that i was hooked.

i’ve always liked b-sides and b-side albums because of the new perspective they provide on a band. some of my favorite songs in many bands’ catalogs are b-sides, and saint etienne is no different. ‘hit the brakes’ and ‘hill street connection’ are both standout tracks from this collection.