This ain't heavy, it's my 'Brothers'

The music industry decided around 1997 or so that electronica would be "The Next Big Thing." They even coined the term "electronica."\nThe whole movement flopped, though, and no, the flop is not some new dance. For example, Prodigy was harsh and uninclusive, and Fatboy Slim couldn't make a hit no matter how much he sold out.\nThe Chemical Brothers, a.k.a. Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons, were a more interesting case, however. \nMerging New Order's stoic anti-charisma with techno puritanism, they fleshed out real songs, occasionally too long and often with the help of guest vocalists.\nSingles 93-03 collects the best of these songs. "Setting Sun," featuring Oasis' Noel Gallagher trying out a Lennonesque vocal style, remains darn near perfect, and "Block Rockin' Beats" moves along with a hyperactive mechanized drum rattle.\nThe Chemical Brothers' trademark, though, is the stun-gun synthesizer sound. Students of psychedelia, this is how they processed it for techno. They could insert it to hook the chorus and then use the Doppler effect to weave it in and out of the beat.\nUnwilling to accept shy knob twiddlers as rock stars, the American public didn't appreciate their talent. Unwilling to accept club versus radio segregation, these guys had no chance.