Elbow - why? I couldn't help but wonder watching some of their Glastonbury performance last night on TV - the portly singer dressed as if about to do some DIY, leaning forward towards his adoring audience, encouraging them to wave their arms from side-to-side and telling them how wonderful they were between each song - he knows how to boost sales - he's just one of them, an ordinary Mancunian with no airs and graces, just like Elbow's music, no aspiration towards anything other than turgid 'anthems' with simplistic melodies that build, endlessly, towards the kind of 'climatic' last few minutes which make simpletons feel they're experiencing something truly epic. The BBC editor was fond of picking out girls from the crowd, girls on someone's shoulders, 'pretty' girls, of course, all called Tabitha or Tamara, having the time of their lives, all smiles - 'It's all so co-o-o-ol!' But Elbow. Such was the extent of their ordinariness that I became transfixed, unable to reach for the remote, trapped by the sluggish waves of sound emanating from the box. Thankfully, I was set free when it ended. But the residual, numbing horror remained for some time.
*****
Here's an ad break for the ladies...
The name of the game is Lightworks...Raymond Scott's music for the ad...
*****
Look at this. A beautiful minimalist design, is it not? It's a 4-disc compilation of music by Seaes, who is none other than Chris Douglas (aka Dalglish, Scald Rougish, O.S.T.) put together by the label, MEDS. The 56 tracks cover the years from 1999 to 2012, no titles, just TL (2004), ML (2000) etc. Need I tell you that's it's an essential purchase? And at £14.99, a real bargain. Only 15 of 100 left on pre-order here as I write. Fans of Chris Douglas' work will not be disappointed. More on this release soon. Something like a review.
*****
Art and Artists magazine, 1969
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