About Time

It's seven years since I started uni and began with my musical education (bollocks to International Business Management, who really cared about that?!) Flush with the newfound wealth of a student loan and what I assumed was a bottomless overdraft, I decided to go to as many gigs as I could, and take chances on albums I'd never heard. Consequently, some time towards the end of 2001, I read a few positive reviews of 'Asleep in the Back' by Elbow, and took a punt on it. Not long after, they blew me away in the Basement of Newcastle Uni (my first proper gig, notwithstanding those headlined by chart-topping bands at that giant cowshed by the Redheugh).

Since then, they've been the model of a 'critically acclaimed' band (Sorry, I hate that term. It's just lazy). They're now on their fourth album, each of which has been reliably brilliant. None of them have quite got me like Asleep in the Back did, but nothing this good ever has the same impact as it does the first time round.

You can almost set your watch by what you'll get from each new Elbow album. Killer lines you can steal on Valentines day? Yep. Mordant wit? Definitely. Surprising groove underpinning a couple of songs? Of course. Killer first single? Almost always. Knee-weakening bellowing from Guy? You knows it.

That's not to say that this is a boring band. Far from it. Knowing what to expect from a band doesn't make them dull. The fact of the matter is that Elbow are one of our warmest, most rewarding bands, especially in the live arena where Guy's voice can really get under your skin.

In a just world, they would be treasured by the record-buying public. But we all know that it isn't quality which dictates what sells, just as we know that the record-buying public (or what remains of them) are, for the most part, idiots.

So Elbow have been perpetually just below the radar. Big by the standards of picky buggers like me, small by the standards of Arena bands like Keaneplay and Embrace Patrol. Whether winning the Mercury Music Prize is their 'big push' remains to be seen, and it's pretty irrelevant anyway. What is good about their victory is the simple matter of public recognition. People talk about awards and chart positions and the like meaning nothing, and that's true when the winner is somebody shit. However, when it's a band like Elbow who've been quietly and effectively punching us in the chests for over a decade, it's heartwarming to hear an acceptance speech that goes,

"This is quite literally the best thing that's ever happened to us. I know I'm supposed to say something cool, but it's literally the best thing that has happened."

It's been argued that the Mercury can be the kiss of death for bands, but no band is less likely to have their heads turned by something like this than Elbow. It's also been argued that their victory is unjustified as the Mercury is meant to reward innovation, but that's pretty churlish. Far better Elbow win it than some tuneless fuckers with a rave fixation.

I've uploaded two of my favourite Elbow songs for your enjoyment:

Grounds for Divorce (from The Seldom Seen Kid)

Any Day Now (from Asleep in the Back)