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Elbow — High Ideals
Album: Build A Rocket Boys!
Avg rating:
6.7

Your rating:
Total ratings: 1664









Released: 2011
Length: 5:31
Plays (last 30 days): 4
There's a ladder tear in my high ideals
Like I took a chair on the battlefield
And any noble fire that was burning in my chest
Is acid in my belly at the very best

There's a bayonet in my family things
It was made in the USA to defend the King
With all the sinew, the thrust
And all the bones it splintered are dust
It's passed from hand to hand with the wedding rings

Oh, settle down little heart of mine
Oh, settle down, you do double time
You're so far away but she's right here by your side
Oh, settle down little heart of mine, ooh
Comments (162)add comment
 Chewie wrote:

Elbow really is a cracking band



Craic-ing too!
Totally inventive and groundbreaking music. 
brilliant!
Brilliant! They do an admirable job of setting even quite discordant, jarring sounds into jewel-like cerebral and symphonic masterpieces!
 ThePoose wrote:

Channeling Peter




True but that includes a lot of people.
Always good. Try listening to his Sunday broadcast on BBC Radio Sounds. It is EXCELLENT!
Channeling Peter
Elbow is an oasis in the desert of shit music.  Brilliant compositions and mix of classical, ancient and current musicianship.  Their ability to take the dark to the light and back again never tires.  Great tune.   
I find this a really strange band.  Their music is good, and a few are exceptional (eg. Fly Boy Blue Lunette).  But I just can't identify with it.  The melodies are weird, and non-identifying.
 MilesW wrote:

Beats? Really? 
 He doesn't say they improved his  opinion favourably!

 Nuance wrote:

Using new Beats headphones this year has changed my opinion of many songs.
 
Beats? Really? 
 lshinkawa wrote:
Don't know why I like this song so much.
 
Yeah!  This most excellent tune has been around for so long and it's really grown on me!
 donn366 wrote:
I've always enjoyed this song while standing at my desk making a living and listening to this song on a bluetooth speaker. It wasn't until I put on a quality set of headphones that I really appreciated the song. The feathery bass drum, lightly brushed mallet toms and the buttery maracas underpinning this song are, well, sublime. Thanks Bill and thank you Sony MDRs.
 
Using new Beats headphones this year has changed my opinion of many songs.
Elbow <3 
Guy writes the best lyrics.
I've always enjoyed this song while standing at my desk making a living and listening to this song on a bluetooth speaker. It wasn't until I put on a quality set of headphones that I really appreciated the song. The feathery bass drum, lightly brushed mallet toms and the buttery maracas underpinning this song are, well, sublime. Thanks Bill and thank you Sony MDRs.
Elbow really is a cracking band
 h8rhater wrote:
 
 
Feel free to hate critical opinions, or simply deal. Bill apparently does.
 ButchCassidy wrote:
I love Elbow, but everyone has their tastes. If it's not your 'cup of tea', rather than adding a derogatory comment, why not just hit the PSD (Play Something Different) button on the screen, and move on.
 
That wouldn't serve their need to h8 on fans of the band at hand but, I do agree that using PSD and remaining mute would be a positive move on their part.
I disagree fundementally with the PSD button. I say trust in Bill & Rebecca, it's their show, keep your mind open, distract yourself with a real world task if you don't like Depeche Mode or JJ Cale or world music or whatever. You might change your mind, you might learn something, you might like the live version more, or the cover by Tori O'Connor.

This is not a comment related to Jolene sung by Billy Ray Jnr, which was on when i started typing. It's a comment for the forum which this site should definitely have, but which Bill or Rebecca shouldn't have to bother moderating.
I love Elbow, but everyone has their tastes. If it's not your 'cup of tea', rather than adding a derogatory comment, why not just hit the PSD (Play Something Different) button on the screen, and move on.
Excited: tickets to see them a second time in November. First time, about 8 rows deep on the floor, was magical.
Elbow has been one of the bands that has renewed my faith in modern music.
There are new Steely Dan's, Who's & Pink Floyd's every decade or so.
Reigning monarchs as such.
For me, Elbow is pretty near the top of the heap these days.
Thank you!!
 lowelltr wrote:
Very good song...it's not "Lippy Kids" or "One Day Like This"...but good nonetheless!{#Cheers}

 
Good ones but my favorite has to be "Grounds for Divorce".


     peregrin wrote:
God this song is annoying. Next.

  
prickelpit96 wrote:
Overplayed: Maybe.
Annoying? Never! C'mon, it's Beethoven, a genius. 

Hach, wäre man damals Elise gewesen. {#Hearteyes}

prickelpit96: must psychic, Für Elise just played right after Elbow {#Notworthy}
peregrin: must be .... I am lost for words, not liking an Elbow song??!!!{#Doh}
 peregrin wrote:
God this song is annoying. Next.

 
Overplayed: Maybe.
Annoying? Never! C'mon, it's Beethoven, a genius. 

Hach, wäre man damals Elise gewesen. {#Hearteyes}
This is the one that turned me on to Elbow. Thanks, BillG!
 peregrin wrote:
God this song is annoying. Next. indeed !  .. the whole band is.

 


Very good song...it's not "Lippy Kids" or "One Day Like This"...but good nonetheless!{#Cheers}
God this song is annoying. Next.
overplayed

Very enjoyable..


Sexy voice.....
Ah, yes, all the critics that have not "sold out"....'tis music, kids, enjoy what you like and let go of what you don't.....
Sometimes it seems we have not moved far from 1962 and Telstar.
 That_Jeff wrote:
This song sucks. And it gets such regular play! It's extremely irritating.

 
You know, there's one button called PSD. You don't like one song, you simply click it;-)!
 That_Jeff wrote:
This song sucks. And it gets such regular play! It's extremely irritating.
 
Nope.  This song is very good, and it doesn't get played often enough. It's quite thought-provoking. 
This song sucks. And it gets such regular play! It's extremely irritating.
Ah, it's Elbow again.  Must be Radio Paradise.

Oh well, I like it anyway. 
I'd love to know what went into getting that amazing "crash—boom—bang—bing" vamp. There's a couple of guitars and at least one keyboard in there. I wonder what else?
 piñata wrote:
Memories...
 
Doesn't the song need to be a little more than 2 years old for this kind of comment?
Memories...
 Rotterdam wrote:

Thus, I am a musical idiot. I love this and am moved and transported by it. Am very happy in my stupidity and lack of musical taste.
 
Make it a society then, as I do like this too
Sunday grey afternoon - not cold enough to call it winter though. The ideal mood for this Elbow. His softly tired voice singing High Ideals fits the call for musical cocoon. I give it a 7 looking to grow
..this song is starting to give me ideals..ones that involve highness..

..7 >> 8..
 stevendejong wrote:
I never thought I would say this, being a true fan of Elbow, but can we please hear another one of their excellent songs instead of this one?

The album this is from has nearly only very strong songs. This one is fine, but not incredibly so. It's being played a whole lot, and I see the ratings drop a little every time I come to this forum page.

What about Lippy Kids, for instance? Or With Love? Both have been uploaded...
 
Meanwhile, the ratings have dropped quite a lot more, so I thought I should bring my old post back up :-)
Sounds like a young Peter Gabriel voice withtodays musical influences, not that that's bad, just my thoughts
A certain "Stingish" lack of vibrato.
 pk53 wrote:

how about once a year...that'll do; there are MUCH better Elbow tracks

 
 
I don't mind this but agree with the above sentiment.
 lkovathana wrote:

Ya, it's not good.  Self-indulgent.  Thin.  Without musical merit whatsoever.  Morbidly shitty.  Ugh, please do not play this anymore.
 
Thus, I am a musical idiot. I love this and am moved and transported by it. Am very happy in my stupidity and lack of musical taste.
 adroc wrote:

Plays in last 30 days: 6

I'd prefer to hear this more than once every 5 days.
 
how about once a year...that'll do; there are MUCH better Elbow tracks

 
 emmidad wrote:
PLEASE reduce this in the rotation! It's played way way too often.
 
Plays in last 30 days: 6

I'd prefer to hear this more than once every 5 days.
 LemonSqueezy wrote:
what utter guff
 
You squeezing that lemon too hard!
 Proclivities wrote:

You say that as if it's a bad thing, though I'm not sure if there were ever a "virile" muzak.
 
I think "Virile Muzak" would be a good name for a band...
what utter guff
PLEASE reduce this in the rotation! It's played way way too often.
I love Elbow, but this song - and album - is a little soft. Guy Garvey did say he was pretty happy when they were making this...it just shows to go ya that good art and happiness don't mix. Just ask Van Gogh...
 countolaf wrote:
I can't hear this anymore. The track sucks.
 
Ya, it's not good.  Self-indulgent.  Thin.  Without musical merit whatsoever.  Morbidly shitty.  Ugh, please do not play this anymore.
 stevendejong wrote:
I never thought I would say this, being a true fan of Elbow, but can we please hear another one of their excellent songs instead of this one?

The album this is from has nearly only very strong songs. This one is fine, but not incredibly so. It's being played a whole lot, and I see the ratings drop a little every time I come to this forum page.

What about Lippy Kids, for instance? Or With Love? Both have been uploaded...
 
I agree with the above statements. {#Angel}
 countolaf wrote:
I can't hear this anymore. The track sucks.
 
I agree with the sentiment. 8 -> 5
 hikinfiend wrote:
An OK track, but I agree it's being played too frequently lately!
 
Plays in last 30 days: 6 -> You call that too frequently?
An OK track, but I agree it's being played too frequently lately!
I don't get it, and I don't like it.  
I can't hear this anymore. The track sucks.
I never thought I would say this, being a true fan of Elbow, but can we please hear another one of their excellent songs instead of this one?

The album this is from has nearly only very strong songs. This one is fine, but not incredibly so. It's being played a whole lot, and I see the ratings drop a little every time I come to this forum page.

What about Lippy Kids, for instance? Or With Love? Both have been uploaded...
this is one of those bands where you go out and buy everything they've made and are not disappointed...cue Leaders of the Free World and Cast of Thousands.....

Thanks to RP, I'm a rabid Elbow fan, and I've infected my family. Even my kids!


So I bought the freakin' album. Worth every penny.
 Gregorama wrote:
Elbow seems to be one of the most creative bands to emerge over the past decade. They continue to amaze both in lyrics and arrangements.
 
Kinda how I feel about Alice In Chains and the 90's.

8 to 9
 Gregorama wrote:
Elbow seems to be one of the most creative bands to emerge over the past decade. They continue to amaze both in lyrics and arrangements.
  

 Ya!
 TJS wrote:
Sounds like an inbred cross breeding experiment between Herb Alpert, a high school band, an electronic drum machine, and castrated musak.
 
You say that as if it's a bad thing, though I'm not sure if there were ever a "virile" muzak.
Elbow seems to be one of the most creative bands to emerge over the past decade. They continue to amaze both in lyrics and arrangements.
 WonderLizard wrote:

Copy that.
 
Yoga ?!
They played this song 10 times this month?
cant find another Elbow song?  Keep thinking its Peter Gabriel every time...
Keep the Elbow coming! Beautiful to my ears... :-)
Please stop with this crappy song...
Sincerely yours!
 pinnyrat wrote:
I need to buy this freakin' album already.
 
Copy that.
 TJS wrote:
Sounds like an inbred cross breeding experiment between Herb Alpert, a high school band, an electronic drum machine, and castrated musak.
 
I guess everyone likes this more than me then...
Sounds like an inbred cross breeding experiment between Herb Alpert, a high school band, an electronic drum machine, and castrated musak.
I need to buy this freakin' album already.
 kurtster wrote:
This little ditty is right on time, just what the head needed to hear right now.
 
Because your big head is why.
the begining reminds me of the movie "Trouble With Angels".  {#Innocent}
I like most of the Elbow stuff I've heard, but this, with it's incessant bass line and cutsie cord progressions just feels like fingernails on a chalkboard to me.  {#Stop}
the daily ear worm
Started listening to Elbow after their Live at Abbey Road episode. Great set.
Good, but too long
 
This little ditty is right on time, just what the head needed to hear right now.
That pretentious orchestral four-chords-of-doom thing really grates on my eardrums.
 Valley_Boy wrote:
Just now, the CD cover reminded me of Milwaukee's Beast Mode... Anyone know what I mean?
 
For some reason, I do.  That figure on the cover is a little slimmer than Prince Fielder, though.  I guess Fielder gets to go into that mode more than any of his team-mates.
Quite a likable tune..

 fingerpin wrote:
I've yet to hear an Elbow song I didn't like. :)
 
Ditto.

Oh, go kiss your elbow.
These guys are pretty effing brilliant.
This is irritating to me today.  
I've yet to hear an Elbow song I didn't like. :)
 ad4tise wrote:
Off tune and in pain.  This is not my taste at all!!
 
Off tune?  Do you mean out of tune?  Not hearing that!  IMHO, he is one of the few really talented singers out there today.
Some of their music gets a little too sacharine/showtuney for me, but throughout it all Guy can SING... 
Off tune and in pain.  This is not my taste at all!!
This is interesting and pleasant.  Though, so far, I seem to like material from the Seldom Seen Kid CD much more.
Don't know why I like this song so much.
Overplayed, IMO.
Just now, the CD cover reminded me of Milwaukee's Beast Mode... Anyone know what I mean?
Bought it, finally.
. halfway down my arms

actually I have two of these
I like Elbow plus I am honored to have them put my likeness on the CD cover
 ericeobrien wrote:
This is my first exposure to Elbow, but after the first few bars, I thought it was a new Peter Gabriel song....
 
wish lead singer's voice was as good as Peter's. love the music... singer grates on me, personally.
Saw Elbow on Sunday at Terminal 5 in NYC: a great show.  They are so good!

Build a Rocket Boys!

{#Clap}
This is my first exposure to Elbow, but after the first few bars, I thought it was a new Peter Gabriel song....
````````` ce wrote:
Every time I hear this intro, I think it's something of Dutch art-pop group The Nits, somewhere around the mid-'80's.
Apart from the singer's voice and (lack of) heavy Dutch accent, I think the similarities last.

Time to finally upload some of those great live tracks from Urk....
 
I have Nits CD! So they sold at least one on this side of the big pond.
I'll have to pull it out and see if I can connect to them the way I do with Elbow.
Love Elbow. I have this CD and Seldom Seen Kid

Every time I hear this intro, I think it's something of Dutch art-pop group The Nits, somewhere around the mid-'80's.
Apart from the singer's voice and (lack of) heavy Dutch accent, I think the similarities last.

Time to finally upload some of those great live tracks from Urk....
hear this song every day. over it.
wow. this guy's voice is angelic
This is growing on me.  
Love these guys.

Don't blame commercial radio, blame the listeners.  To survive a station must cater to it's listeners, it's segment of the market and their tastes.  Innovative stations are still there, both on-air and now the internet, such as Radio Paradise.
 robh wrote:
despite me accepting that they're a damned clever band and way and above a lot of the tat out there today, they do nowt for me and leave me cold
 
Sorry to hear that. When I hear them, I immediately de-stress and suspect that my brain starts alpha-waving. I really love them.
 trissi wrote:
 Commercial radio must die.
 
I blame commercial radio for a large amount of really bad music and what few decent songs that do come out get played every few hours and people get REALLY sick of them by the time something replaces it. 

Of course, listening for something good on commercial radio is like finding a tasty meal at McDonalds.  It might be not be impossible, but it doesn't happen very often.

Elbow is like Radiohead for me — overall, they straddle the divide between innovative and annoying. However, unlike Radiohead, which is usually on the wrong side of that divide (those falsetto vocals set my teeth on edge), Elbow is usually on the right side, as they are (for me) in this song. The other song on the album that has received some play, Neat Little Rows, tends to fall on the annoying side, however. And Mirrorball is one of my favorite songs. 
 
That fingersnapping thing reminds me of West Side Story.
What relief! After a 2.5 month absence from RP, I return to a song by Elbow. Commercial radio must die.
despite me accepting that they're a damned clever band and way and above a lot of the tat out there today, they do nowt for me and leave me cold
 bronorb wrote:
Downloaded this album a couple of weeks ago, been playing it steady since. Quite amazing.
One of the most creative bands to come around in a long time.
Well worth it.
Good article by Guy Garvey (the lead singer) on shortlist.com.
https://www.shortlist.com/entertainment/guy-garvey-writes
 
Just pulled up the article.  The dude looks a lot like Ricky Gervais, at least in that pic.

As for this song, I think it's good, if not quite up to the standards of their last album.