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Downloads of the week
By David Smyth, Evening Standard 05.01.07
Cult favourites: Biffy Clyro
Look here too
The Complete Depeche Mode goes on sale, hard-rocking Glaswegians Biffy Clyro release an early taster of their revitalised sound and Nick Cave returns to his garage rock roots...
DIGITAL BOX SET OF THE WEEK
The Complete Depeche Mode
In the old days, buying a box set was shockingly expensive. Now the iTunes store has made completism a lot easier, exclusively offering digital recordings of virtually everything Depeche Mode have recorded. That's 644 tracks and a large downloadable booklet at the click of a button, for a not unreasonable £139.99.
SNEAK PREVIEW
Biffy Clyro
The hard-rocking Glaswegians have been cult favourites for years, but a new record label, a more ambitious recording process and a major UK tour this month indicate that the next album, Puzzle, will be the one to break them big. Discordant new song Semi-mental has just been released to download stores as an early taster of their revitalised sound.
IN THE NEWS
This Sunday's singles chart will be the first to incorporate all download sales, not just those connected to a physical release. It means the list will look a bit odd, with old tracks returning to the hit parade if they sell enough online, and when The Beatles finally digitise their songs, we can look forward to the Fab Four occupying at least 38 slots in the top 40 for the next 12 months.
THE BUZZ
Grinderman
Nick Cave has returned to his garage rock roots and formed Grinderman with three of his Bad Seeds. Cave plays guitar, a rare thing for him, and makes a terrifically scuzzy racket on first fruit Get It On, released in download stores on Monday.
THE BLOG
Marathonpacks
This Indiana-based MP3 blogger puts a lot more effort into his writing than most, but he doesn't stint on the downloadable music either. He recently put up four 70-minute mixes of his favourite songs of 2006, a nicely varied collection that includes Sonic Youth, Cat Power, CSS and Justin Timberlake. www.marathon packs.com
