Did you hear the one about the anarchist octet that got knocked down but gotup again? Provided the sun rises in your part of the world and/or you have aface, you did-considerably more than the recommended dosage.

Rather than pain the capitalist world with an alternate version of the popanthem "Tubthumping" for their next release, Chumbawamba will offer aretrospective of relatively obscure indie-years tracks called UneasyListening in October.

"One of the main questions we get is, 'You guys have been around for a while,how many albums do you have ... two or three?'" says Chumbawambaguitarist/vocalist Boff. "We go, 'No, nine.'"

The twenty-song compilation will include at least one song from the group'spre-Tubthumper catalog, excluding material from its 1990 debut, Slap!,according to Boff. "We decided to pick the songs that summed up a lot of yearsand a lot of different styles," he says, "not necessarily the most popularones."

In addition, Uneasy Listening will feature a few newer selections, suchas a remixed version of "Timebomb" (the original version appears on theWelcome to Woop Woop soundtrack), the 1998 World Cup ditty "Top of theWorld (Ole' Ole')" and "We Don't Go to God's House Anymore" which, intraditional Chumbawamba thieving spirit, is actually Alabama 3's "We Don'tDance to Techno Anymore" with new lyrics. "We just decided to steal the tuneand write our own song to it," Boff explains.

While Chumbawamba finish remixing "Timebomb" and artwork for the album, aremixed version of Tubthumper's "Drip, Drip, Drip," provided by Negativland,will be available on the group's web site (www.chumba.com). Once UneasyListening is completed, the troupe will return to the studio and attemptto catch lightning in a bottle again. "We don't want to repeat the formula inthe hopes that [the album] will sell the same," Boff says. "At the same time,we don't want to do something so outrageously different that anyone that likes[Tubthumper] won't go near it."

BLAIR R. FISCHER (July 28, 1998)