Where the heck are the Fugees?

The long-awaited new Fugees album seems to have been pushed back from its December release date to early 2006, according to the band’s website, but still, why am I not hearing the first single, ”Take It Easy,” all over the radio? It seems like they released it to little fanfare a couple months ago, and then… crickets. (At left is lead singer Lauryn Hill performing with the band earlier this month in Stockholm.)

Okay, the song’s a bit lacking in the old-school vibe that marked the ’90s Fugees material, but that should only help it get played on present-day playlists. C’mon, people, it’s the first new Fugees tune in 10 years, and it rocks, so why isn’t it as ubiquitous right now as ”Jingle Bells”?

Theories, anyone?

addCredit(“Fugees: Frederik Sandberg/Scanpix/Retna”)