Top 5- Elbow

Hey there! It’s me again. The fish brain is back.

I finally made my Instagram! I post almost exclusively the Killers but a bit of other stuff on there, and also will put the votes on there as well. I’m @justanothervictimsince2004, so yeah.

I’ll also be updating my Spotify playlist with the five songs from this week, so if you want to listen to everything we’ve done so far and listen along, it’s on there. Due to my lack of imagination (fish brain) it’s just called Top 5 Playlist, and I’m still just Wolfcat. Might change to Fish Brain though. Might even make that my name on here. We’ll see.

Since Elbow lost the last vote, they’re back this week.

You might know who these guys are: they did the John Lewis Christmas advert song one year, which was a cover of Golden Slumbers and was freaking incredible. It’s here if you want to listen to that. I’d recommend it.

Today’s list looks a little like this: One Day Like This, Grounds For Divorce, Magnificent (She Says), Weather To Fly, and Gentle Storm.

So, with that, let us begin our journey. To England!

One day like this

We start off pretty slow. Just a bit of piano, and violin.

The beat’s enough to get you moving, and the music is bright enough to put you in a relatively good mood. This song’s really good for mornings. I say this from first-hand experience.

As for the meaning, it’s pretty simple. I say this, but may end up writing like three paragraphs, so you have been warned.

The first verse is someone waking up, apparently hungover. I mean, if some of Elbow’s other songs are anything to go by, they probably are hungover. Anyway, the rest of the song goes on to make it pretty clear. It’s a love song. Not quite what you’d typically expect, but hey, since when have my expectations on this ever been accurate or even close?

What I like is the part when it goes quiet. You know, the part that most songs have, that in a movie would symbolise the hero having a low moment like they always do? Well, in this song, it’s the same as the other verses, with the violins between each line, except instead of long notes using a bow, they’re plucking the strings. It’s the same tune, it’s just a much sharper sound. It makes it interesting, because Variety Is Fun™.

The outro is pretty repetitive, but it’s one hell of an anthem. It’s that song that has everyone waving their arms in the park, stadium, concert hall, wherever they are. It’s optimistic, bright, and generally puts you in a good mood. It’s one of the songs that when you’re in a crowd and all singing it, the rest of the crowd don’t feel like strangers anymore. Songs with that ability to bring people together, (and, if you’re me, calm you down enough to be not terrified of crowd anymore) can be rare, and that’s what people mean when they call it an anthem.

It’s like Mr. Brightside in that respect.

I’m sorry, but you can’t have seriously thought I’d call something an anthem and not menion Mr. Brightside. You guys should know better.

Grounds for divorce

The title alone gives you the feeling that the song isn’t going to be like the previous one.

We start and… definitely not. One Day Like This didn’t have nearly this much guitar.

It does start out relatively tame, though. A bit of guitar, a little piano, and vocals.

And then we hit the chorus, and oh there you are. The guitar gets a lot more intense.

Meaning wise, I don’t actually know. According to Genius, it’s a description of the daily life of an alcoholic, which kinda makes sense? I mean there’s a lot of references to drinking, but I’m not really seeing anything to dispute or go deeper on that.

This song is a lot heavier, a lot darker, and a lot lower than the previous one. Where it was light and optimism, this is darkness and pessimism.

That’s pretty much all I can say. Sorry. I’ll try to do better.

Magnificent (She Says)

Hey, look! It’s my favourite one!

I’ve never understood why this song has a title in brackets. It says magnificent enough for that to be what people think of when they hear it. However, there were people who thought that Have All The Songs Been Written? was called One More Song, which it’s not. I can kinda understand why, but it says ‘Have all the songs been written?’ a lot, and I know for a fact that it does not say one more song at any point.

Anyway.

The beginning of this song, for me, has always been really calming. Listen to it, and you’ll see what I mean. I used it to calm myself down during takeoff/landing when I was slightly more terrified of planes a few years ago, and if you know me, you know how hard it is to calm me down. So yeah.

The lyrics are telling a story of innocence, about a child who seems to love the world unconditionally, and the world doesn’t know how much it needs her, or people like her. It’s optimistic, with the kid saying ‘It’s all gonna be magnificent.’ It’s bright, and happy, and reassuring. It’s a good song for if you’re having a bad day. It has a way of lifting you back up and calming you down. Along with the KFOG Live From The Archives version of Save It For A Rainy Day, Prismism, Gimme Your Heart, Some Kind Of Love, Be Still, and a few others, it’s one of the songs I listen to in certain situations, nervousness being one of them.

Maybe I’ll make that a post, as well. I should really make another list.

Also, the instrumental part has the same quality as the beginning. Overall, it’s a soothing, understated song that may be one of Elbow’s best. I certainly think so, given the above paragraph.

Weather To Fly

This is it, folks. The uncharted territory.

Well, let’s see what happens.

I like this. It’s real slow, low-key, (loki), understated. It’s not trying to catch your attention straight away. It’s a slow burner.

Oh, I think I do know this one.

Anyway. I think this song’s talking about the past, how everything was simple, about the aspirations they had, how it all seemed doable. It was ‘perfect weather to fly’. The allusion to flight gives you an idea of the situation. They were in a situation where they could have done anything, been anything, seen anything they wanted. It makes you think, though: is this just talking about the past, or is there a hint of regret in the words? Did they miss their chance to fly? It gives you a lot to think about, and you all know how much I love songs like that.

I might have to add this to the list of stress-songs. I might even make that a public playlist on Google Play, Spotify, YouTube, whatever. Tell me if you guys want me to do that.

Personally, knowing Elbow, I think it is regret, that they didn’t take the chance when they were young (heh). However, knowing me, I’m probably completely wrong. Oh well. I never said I was good at this, guys.

Gentle Storm

*a hurricane, but nice.*

Despite the title, it does start with a beat. It doesn’t go much farther than that, though.

I do want to take a moment and acknowledge that most of this album is pretty slow, and it’s good to listen to if you just kinda want some soothing background noise. I tend to use Prismism for that, but that’s slightly more upbeat, unless it happens to be Gimme Your Heart on repeat, but that usually ends in tears.

Like One Day Like This, I’m pretty sure this is a love song. You know, for the amount of times it says ‘fall in love with me’. Besides from that, I think it’s talking about how they think they were meant to be together. The ‘gentle storm, rage my way’ part is saying, well, the world might have gone to hell, but at least they have each other. I have a conspiracy theory that the album (Little Fictions) has an overarching Zombie Apocalypse™ storyline.

I’m definitely making that a post.

Sorry this is short, but I’m running out of things to say, so it’s time for…

Conclusion

When someone asks ‘what’s your favourite band?’, Elbow is not usually my answer. But I do like them a lot, and their stuff has helped to calm me down when I need it. Also, they’re a riot to see live.

So my verdict is, they’re worth a chance.

Honourable Mention: Head For Supplies

I love this song, purely because it’s so gentle. It never builds, it just calms you down. It’s a song you can fall asleep to.

Thanks for reading if you’re still here and aren’t fed up with me by now!

Sorry this is late, I’ve been sick the past few days. So it’s coming out today.

I’m thinking, starting next week, that as well as Saturday’s Top 5 I might do a smaller post on Sunday, like my Zombie Apocalpyse Conspiracy, Murder Trilogy, Brightside Series and Blurryface posts. Tell me which of those you’d want to see, and I’ll try to get on that. Also, tell me if you want me to make the Stress Songs (awaiting post) into a playlist.

So that’s it from this fish brain for this week!

Now that Elbow’s done, it’s time for another vote. I’ve gotta say, I’m excited for this one. Both of these are gonna be fun.

First up: it’s the frontman of The Killers, king of the gold suit, hailing from Fabulous Las Vegas (and he’ll never let us forget it)- it’s… Brandon Flowers! If you want to listen to one of his songs to help pass judgement, Crossfire is here.

And next, also a member of the Killers, the reason they exist to be exact, the man behind Mr. Brightside’s opening riff, it’s- Dave Keuning! If you want to listen to one of his songs, Restless Legs is here.

Hey, I might give you guys examples of the contenders’ music from now on. It might help.

Well, I’ll see you guys next week, with the winner of the Flowers-Keuning showdown.

Finally, in the wise words of Brandon Flowers, Dave Keuning, Mark Stoermer, and Ronnie Vanucci:

We hope you enjoyed your stay. It’s good to have you with us, even if it’s just for the day.

Fish brain out.