Elbow – worst band ever?

A friend made me go and see Muse at a festival a few years ago.

We were a few days the worse for wear, but it just sounded like an awful bombastic din to me. Like if Queen went prog.

Don’t really know Elbow but people mentioning them in the same sentence as Radiohead, Coldplay and Mumford & Sons leads me to think they’re going to be dire*.

Why post then, if you have never heard them? 🙄 😆
I love Radiohead, and hate Mumford & Sons BTW.

Elbow have at least one song I really like (grounds for divorce). I can think of hundreds of bands who don’t have a single song I like (and as many where I despise their entire output).

Elbow are aweful, just boring, mancunian accent put to music, whine, moan, whinge…… I feel the same about coldplay, just dull, although that clap clap one they had out recently was ok. Any song with a clap clap is good!

I like Muse, can see why they are for some but the are bloody good musicians.

if Queen went prog

As a confirmed Muse hater, I shall be using this to describe them in future, thanks.

For the record, I quite like Elbow. They’re never going to win ‘world’s most exciting band’ but they are good at what they do. Would quite like to see them live (maybe time to report to the middle aged thread?!)

everyone around here (well, all the 40-something mums and dads) love Elbow cos Guy Garvey lives here. The big chubby bundle of inoffensive shite.

I think that sums up the appeal. Still what do I know? I grew up listening to Floyd, Yes and Genesis. Only the. Early stuff though when they were, you know, good.

Why post then, if you have never heard them?

Its ok sweet cheeks – I’m allowed to post in here. Says so in my restraining order. And you’ll notice I mentioned other bands too.

I feel very well qualified to engage in this thread, having seen Elbow support Muse many years ago. This was before Elbow hit the prime time airplay lists and before Muse decided they wanted to be a disco prog rock amalgam of Abba, Queen and Boney M.

Elbow were dull as ditchwater. They were touring Asleep In the Back which is a tremendously melancholy album and sounded awful in the MEN arena. As some said above, a dirge. Not a good warm up for a very on-form Muse.

Fast forward to 2005ish and I saw Elbow touring Leaders of the Free World at Leicester Summer Sundae and they were AWESOME! That’s right, awesome, not awful. They’d written some pop songs and had variety in their set. Guy Garvey had learnt to be a frontman and they exuded the confidence of a band who realised they were actually quite talented and *could* write a bouncy tune.

I love Elbow now. They write great songs with great lyrics, they have more variety than many bands and can play their instruments and sing in tune. That’s more than many bands achieve and – yes – I love One Day Like This. How can you not?!? 😀

The Smiths. The 2nd-most overrated load of crap ever after James Brown.

Now, if nothing else, that is a strong statement.

They took the acoustic ‘space’ between sounds, as used so effectively by Talk Talk, and turned it into modern day pop music with soul.

Guy Garvey seems a very decent bloke.

And I saw them in Sheffield Uni Student Union in 2010, along with about 50 other people.

They can do no wrong in my eyes.

But I can understand the backlash happening, given their ubiquity and how comfortably middle their music appears to sit now.

Simple. Elvis. I have never heard a single drone, sorry song from him that I have like. No idea what the appeal was

British Sea Power. That is all.

But they so achingly worthy….and Northern. Surely that counts for something

😆

Probably. To someone. Somewhere.

I feel very well qualified to engage in this thread, having seen Elbow support Muse…

Sorry, didn’t get past Muse. Just no point.

😛

ElbowPink Floyd – worst band ever?

Pimpmaster Jazz – Member

I’m sure there are worse, but I find every track I have the misfortune of hearing sounds like a particularly grating dirge.

FTFY[/quote]

I’d argue they’re just misunderstood.

I’d add Athlete to the list, though they are mercifully short-lived in the charts.

Fair point.

Guy Garvey bought the house next door to an illustrator I was working with. He arrived home one day to find him sat in the kitchen with his now completely pissed wife. He’d popped round with a bottle of wine to introduce himself, then just kept popping back to get another bottle. He then proceeded to get matey completely pissed as well, then staggered off back home

He likes a shandy, and is apparently an absolutely lovely bloke. One of my girly mates, who has a bit of a thing about Guy, refers to him as ‘a Labrador of a man’

Leaders of the Free World is a good album IMHO. Not fussed about any of their others

Bloody hell Elbow lol listened to their ‘new’ song on Lauren Lavernes 6 music show the other day. Why do all their songs sound the same? Not even in a good way, it’s a depressing downward spiral of sound. He’s got no range in his voice whatsoever!
Best thing about it though Laverne read out from some Muppet that she actually cried driving the car when she heard the song! I don’t know how she managed to cry, drive and text at the same time though?

The Smiths. The 2nd-most overrated load of crap ever after James Brown.

What? How can you fail to like lyrics such as:-

“So I broke into the Palace
With a sponge and a rusty hammer
She said I know, and you cannot sing
I said that’s nothing, you should here me play piano”
😛

Two whole pages before someone mentions The Fall?

Its ok sweet cheeks – I’m allowed to post in here. Says so in my restraining order. And you’ll notice I mentioned other bands too.

I’m ‘allowed’ to do lots of things sugarbaps, and I also know when I have nothing to offer :wink:.
Yes, you mention some other bands, none of which have much in common imo, in relation to a band you have never heard. Well done. And based on that you dismiss the band in question. Again, well done. Bravo.

In the spirit of adding something to the thread, what bands do you like?

PS. I neither particularly like nor dislike Elbow. I own one of their albums. It’s okay, I guess.

He likes a shandy, and is apparently an absolutely lovely bloke. One of my girly mates, who has a bit of a thing about Guy, refers to him as ‘a Labrador of a man’

I should be clear – I’ve heard they’re all great blokes and I’d happily share several pints with them while discussing popular music.

Their music just makes me want to take a drive with a hosepipe.

That’s the funny thing about music.
You don’t always get to choose the song that can break your heart,or stop you in your tracks when you hear that intro.
Like little time machines,they whisk you back,and nobody will ever understand why that cheesy tune holds you transfixed. 😉

You’re all wrong, just some are more wrong than others.

I do dislike the popularity of bland inoffensive music, but I suppose it’s better than actual rubbish music from “celebs” instead of actual musicians. And I can happily listen to Elbow et al without wanting to actually smash the radio. Not like the latest Chemical Brothers track that’s been on 6music, or one other that I can’t remember.

But you do get the opportunity to turn the radio off, or to another station.

That’s the way I view BowEl.

The Lighthouse Family, HTH.

Like if Queen went prog.

Queen started prog. I don’t mean they initiated the genre – they were of that ilk.

mr potatohead – Member
Agree about the Smiths, Morrisey’s voice is the musical equivalent of root canal surgery

I don’t mind Morrisey’s voice, it’s the lyrics particularly in a lot of his recent solo stuff that are utterly crap. (Smiths stuff I’ve found little to hate and will listen quite happily).

Their music just makes me want to take a drive with a hosepipe.

Don’t forget to disconnect the catalytic converter first.

In the spirit of adding something to the thread, what bands do you like?

My favourite band has already been mentioned – the Vengaboys. Fantastic.

tenfoot – Member
The Smiths. The 2nd-most overrated load of crap ever after James Brown.
What? How can you fail to like lyrics such as:-
“So I broke into the Palace
With a sponge and a rusty hammer….

Spanner, not hammer.
🙂

If you want a pint with them go to the Brook at Rammy most Thursdays , or they even have their own bottled beer ” build a rocket boys ” made by Robinsons

Panic Street Cleaners for the win. I broke the car stereo once, ‘switching’ it off when one of their songs came on. And I have arms like a Tyrannosaurus Rex..

I’d put Morrisey as a very close second though. Dreadful….

worse? m-people, toploader etc all give me that weird second hand embarssment thing.

however i absolutely love music my wife toils to even regard as music.

give me a unwavering metallic 3 hour drone any day – over any searching for the hero inside yourself…

Even though I don’t really know their music, I don’t think anyone is questioning what jolly nice chaps they are.

Thought of more:
Scouting For Girls
Kooks
Razorlight
+ all that other floppy haired pop/rock sh*te that was being knocked out at around the same time.

I’m not an elbow fan but One Day Like This is a tune. Immaculately crafted and I like how his voice can’t quite hit the full range. Obviously inoffensive and middle of the road but that doesn’t make it bad.

(It’s basically the same song as Fix You by Coldplay, which I also sadly have to admit is great)

The worst band ever is, at the moment, Chicks. Later I might think it’s someone else.

philjunior I agree about the Morrisey lyrics, they manage to be utterly pretentious without actually meaning anything -hit me with a daffodil mummy I think I might be a bit dead

Ah but the great thing about the Fall is that if you don’t like the latest album, all you have to do is wait 10miba for the next one

I hate the music you enjoy, therefore I am better than you.

My favourite band has already been mentioned – the Vengaboys. Fantastic.

I hate them. Never heard anything that they have produced, but a mate told me they sound just like Cradle of Filth, and I can’t stand that banal rubbish.

I’m not a huge fan of The Fall, but they’re kind of beyond good and evil aren’t they?

and – yes – I love One Day Like This. How can you not?!?

Well the pathetic strings for a start.

Gunz – Member
The Lighthouse Family,

Why is everybody still debating it? Gunz has surely settled things once and for all.