On Anger With the Post Office

Over the weekend, I mentioned that I’ve recently started collecting some rarities relating to Elbow, the Mancunian band that I utterly adore. Toward the end of the post, I mentioned that I’d ordered the Build a Rocket Boys! Souvenir Book from Elbow’s current UK tour. In the book, frontman Guy Garvey talks with artist OliverContinue reading “On Anger With the Post Office”

More on Downloading Elbow’s New Single

This morning, before nine o’clock Eastern, I received an e-mail from HMV. With the subject line “it’s on its way” (no capitalization), HMV was writing to tell me that Elbow’s Build a Rocket, Boys! was in the post, and I should have it in seven to ten days. Naturally, I’m hoping for seven days. DeliveryContinue reading “More on Downloading Elbow’s New Single”

On Downloading Elbow’s New Single

The spring of Elbow has begun. “Neat Little Rows,” the first single from Build a Rocket, Boys! released today. And, like a crack-addicted monkey, I had to download the song. Oh, I’ve seen the video the band released in January: I’ve even used some audio jiggery-pokery to get a listenable mp3 from the video’s audioContinue reading “On Downloading Elbow’s New Single”

On Christmas Day Tidings

Merry Christmas, one and all! Since I’m not around to blog today, I’m going to share with you two videos. The first, the trailer to what I’m most looking forward to today, Doctor Who‘s “A Christmas Carol”: The second, because I do love Elbow, the England FIFA World Cup 2018 bid video, which amounts toContinue reading “On Christmas Day Tidings”

On a Coldplay Demos Album

Earlier this week, Coldplay released their newest single, “Christmas Lights.” It’s a Christmas song, though not a particularly festive one. It’s a piano-based ballad, a bit like A Rush of Blood to the Head‘s “The Scientist” by way of Viva La Vida. Much like Carbon Leaf’s Christmas album, Christmas Child, it’s a song set atContinue reading “On a Coldplay Demos Album”

On Peter Gabriel’s Next Album

Sometime early next year, Peter Gabriel will be releasing a new album, Scratch My Back. The Guardian describes it thusly: “[The album] is a ‘song swap,’ according to one of Gabriel’s collaborators, where the singer and a host of ‘extremely legendary artists’ will cover each other’s material.” And one of those artists, supposedly, is Elbow.Continue reading “On Peter Gabriel’s Next Album”

On the George Gershwin/Brian Wilson Collaboration

George Gershwin. Brian Wilson. Together again, for the first time. I read comic books. Of course I’m going to use that hoary cliche, “together again, for the first time,” when describing a unique collaboration between George Gershwin, dead since 1937, and the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson. Collaboration, you say? What’s this? Wilson will be finishedContinue reading “On the George Gershwin/Brian Wilson Collaboration”