Am I the only one who find it irritating to see repeated references to the new tdf 03 in all its versions as "remixes" of the old tdf? Is there any way this can be motivated (chord structure?)? I can't hear any similarities. This proves how sloppy many writers are... I've been listening to the album on and off from day one (Germany) and I think it holds up very well. I wouldn't have minded the tdf 03 suite being stretched out even longer! I first realised this when I went running with the album in headphones: the endless doodling variations and repetitions around the very simple riff melt wonderfully into the very repetitive activity of running. I have no experience of biking, but I can imagine it being even better there, of course. But even when you run (I'm preparing for a marathon) you tend to think about your body as a sort of machine, carefully tuning its rhythm. Meanwhile you have to take care of your mind. During a long pass you establish your own little bubble, where influences from the changing landscape around you float in and out, with both physical influence: a hill! (the tdf03 becomes slightly heavier) and psychological: you keep playing little games which may take your thoughts in new directions and bring about ideas - while at the same time you are engaged in this extremely repetitive activity. Listening to the tdf03 suite captures this sensation - and when in the third "etape" they quickly open the door to that other melody: it's a brilliant moment. And very "realistic" - the sensation of getting an idea... Then, I also think it is their way of saying: yes, we could have done this track totally different, with a majestic melody: we could have done the whole album very differently - but we didn't want to. Respect! As for the rest of the record, funnily enough Vitamin is the track which doesn't really blend into the running. It lacks the "flow", it doesn't go forward, it keeps turning around itself. Like a dancer who stays on his spot. Aero-Dynamik and Elektro-Kardiogram: both perfect. Different sensations, due to different circumstances, but the body is working and the rythms are convincing. But perhaps it is La Forme which is my favourite, because this one captures that feeling of BLISS which you can sometimes reach during a long workout (and which is a motivator like a drug): when you are tired but it doesn't matter any longer because you can go on forever. It's a high, and the way the melody in this track is on the edge of banality... - that's it! It keeps humming in my head. I want to return there. I wouldn't mind a new version much longer. Then many have argued it was stupid to tack on the old tdf at the end. I understand the argument, but I think there was no other possibility. That song (song, not track) has a grandeur which the other tracks have not. But it is not a competition: it's a logical co-existence. The old tdf is like the embellished synopsis or summary of a much more detailed work. It takes all the themes and give them an airing during its short course, but it is in the main text that all the details get worked out, and here the time element is important: if you want to communicate the physical experience of cycling though these passes and on these plains there has to be repetition and slow grinding progress. So there is a nice complimentary effect between the pop-song (the trailer for the race) and the tracks (the race itself). No, I do not only listen to it when I run. But it is a good environment to get into TDF Soundtracks. Man-Machine and TEE doesn't work nearly as well. But their machinery is not muscle driven. Jan