Goodbye, thanks to all of you

[Wolkenkrabber]

On REMs final album the band appeared on the front cover, waving. When they subsequently announced their split, Michael Stipe said: Surely you didnt miss the big fucking clue that we were waving goodbye on the last album?

The final words on Direct Buki are currently my signature. In the context of the track it makes me chuckle. Maybe it's just a bit of throwaway fun. Or, maybe not?

Someone's probably going to be annoyed at me for spoiling the BITE fun, which is understandable.  But given the way the recent Guardian interview went,  maybe the Chems will do a Michael Stipe, and say: "Did no one notice the clue?"

ps: I made some comments on Facebook a while ago that I think Tom will continue to make music no matter what, and I still believe that.

[chemreact]

It was also released for Japan only. Read between the lines. Maybe they are saying Goodbye Japanese fans, we aint' never going back there again. It was a shit experience and you all are too weird. Thanks to all of you.

[whirlygirl]

I haven't heard Direct Buki yet, but I will say when I heard about the Goodbye, thanks to all of you - the same thing crossed my mind, but I didn't want to put it out there in the universe. But it does raise an eyebrow.

[WhiteNoise]

Naaah. They're certainly at a point in their careers where they're thinking about what it means/takes to keep on being The Chemical Brothers, but I don't think Direct Buki is some orchestrated attempt to cleanly close the curtains.

I don't think they're planning to step down soon, rather, they're just uncertain about what else there is to say, and that could mean anything from 20 more years of the Chems or a farewell by the end of the tour.

Ed's current situation reminds me of Karl Hyde's, from post-Oblivion With Bells to today. If you watch interviews of him ahead of Barking he talks a lot about friction between him and Rick and how working with someone for so long caused the whole Underworld thing to lose its charm. Later, skip to his "solo" material and he talks about loving doing his own thing and stepping away from being "that Underworld guy on stage, etc", and this continues with the two albums he did with Eno. Finally the Dubnobass remastered tour comes along, and particularly in that BBC show they did you can hear how much respect Karl had regained for Rick in his absence, almost apologetic at times, really praising his work behind the synths. It took time away to re-realize why he's doing what he does. And though the Ed/Tom thing's not an analog for Karl and Rick's three decade partnership, I feel like Ed's in a similar doldrum. And he's not out of it yet. But after these years of passionately working on scholarly work  entirely his own, maybe rejoining the tour in the fall will light that Chemical spark again? I hope so.

[Csar]

I hope so, too, Whitenoise. And: as long as there isn't an album titled "Return to Planet Dust", the whole splitting up thing is out of question for me.

[satur8]

Cool theories. I did not give it thought as anything other than a sample or chem-like sound (until this thread).

I'm still more astounded Direct Buki is not on the album proper, so it's possible there is a message to Japan.  Maybe more-so if it was recorded in Japanese.

[Mob1]

I don't really understand Europeans.
They are the Chems god damn it. Do they know how much they mean to the Electronic scene? Every single time they release anything, we go mad and that will never change. How many electronic bands have this privilege? Not even Sasha, Tong,  Fatboy Slim, Underworld, The Prodigy, Orbital or ANY dj/band from the last 15 years has this kind of "Pull" that the Chems enjoy in the industry! Maybe the XX, but that's mostly hype, the chems have credentials to back the super-hype. The Chems appeal to both hardcore fans and casuals alike, that's pretty  pretty rare.
What I'm trying to say, the Chems hit the EDM jackpot, and no reason is good enough to split. And if I were their manager and they told me the want to split I'd shoot myself.
I dare you to name one dj/band more powerful in the industry than the brothers.

[Ben_j]

I just see this line as a goodbye at the end of the album. I don't think it means they're splitting. If they were splitting however, I'm sure Tom would carry on making music.

[ThePumisher]

Spontaneously plot twist: is the voice really saying "Goodbye" or something japanese?


fun plot twist: maybe it's eric's wife answer to all the animals

[Nekcore]

They won't split.  Because if they do... There will be a massive riot on this planet.

[ThePumisher]

They won't split.  Because if they do... There will be a massive riot on this planet.

Like when Take That split up back in the days.

[chemreact]

No Offense but this is a pretty shitty song to say their last good-bye on. I'd imagine it will be another dramatic epic masterpiece like Psychedelic reel or S2A as their last chems track before they say goodbye.

Or it could be like Taste of Honey, I don't even know anymore after Born in the Echoes.

[Explud]

It's just the ending of the track. I think they're added it just for fun.
Keep it simple, guys.