electronic :: interweb

electronic have had two official websites: one made by warner bros to promote raise the pressure (now stored at the internet archive), and another created in 1999 for the twisted tenderness album (originally located at electronic-net.com, though it hasn’t been archived anywhere). the former was criticised by bernard sumner and fans alike for being somewhat insufficient, but did feature what appear to be alternative words on the lyrics page and some exclusive graphical content. the second site included news, faqs, a biography, lyrics, pictures, videos, and real audio excerpts of every song on the album; bernard sumner claimed “the new electronic website is a great site—the last one wasn’t so good so i hope it goes well” in an interview for top of the pops.

an aol webchat conducted in new york on 15 july 1996 was both funny (q: what is the most successful song in your career? a: how soon is monday) and informative (bernard confirming the words from the last verse of get the message and the fact that he wrote the essay in raise the pressure), but their impact on the internet could never be fully exploited as by the time it took off as a major promotional tool they had moved on to new order and the healers. they’ve been better served by extensive sections on new order online and worldinmotion.net; other notable sites that included articles and discographical information include ceremony, fac63.de.vu and especially get the message.

all four electronic albums are available on amazon.co.uk, 101cd.com, cd wow!, hmv.co.uk and play.com—the brilliant american version of twisted tenderness can also be found on amazon.com and the ideal copy. ebay and matt’s cd singles are the best places to find electronic singles at a decent price, while left legged pineapple, eil.com and musicstack.com are also worth a look. 101cd.com can be quite slow, and eil.com charge full prices, but it’s worth getting an account on both for the gems that regularly appear; this writer found the exceptionally rare german second nature cd on the former and the us get the message promo on the latter. you should find most things on ebay, however; every british cd single is attainable and completely worth it.