Lippy Kids

It probably deserves it's own thread...

You've seen the clip already though, right?

Luke Lewis for NME.com wrote:

It was a very Elbow moment - I woke up this Boxing Day morning to the sun streaming through the window and the band's new track, 'Lippy Kids', playing on my wife's laptop in bed next to me. Good thing she wasn't playing Motorhead's 'Killed By Death', that would have really killed the moment.

What a gorgeous, subtle song 'Lippy Kids' is. Guy Garvey said a while back that Elbow's forthcoming fifth album - their first since 2008's 'The Seldom Seen Kid' made them an unlikely arena band - was being written with larger venues in mind. He can't have meant 'Lippy Kids', because it's hardly the kind of anthem you'd punch the air to while scoffing a £7 Earl's Court hotdog. In fact, it couldn't be more understated.

No-one captures childhood nostalgia quite like Elbow. Garvey has an ability simultaneously to summon the carefree child's thoughts and the reflective adult's - he did it on 'Scattered Black And Whites' (off 'Asleep In The Back'), and he's done it again here.

It's a classic Garvey lyric, using idiomatic English (has anyone ever used the phrase "simian stroll" in song before?) to find beauty in unremarkable everyday detail.

He's watching these lippy kids on the street corner, larking about, walking on walls and stealing booze - but to him they're not chavs or hoodies, they're "freshly painted angels". It's an affectionate portrayal of Northern scallywags that never descends into Hovis ad schmaltz, or 'Round Are Way' geezerishness: an impressive lyrical feat.

That sense of restraint is mirrored by the music itself. The song resists the urge to swell to a roaring climax like, say, 'Newborn'. It's a mark of Elbow's maturity as a band that they just let the song work its elegant magic, and then fade out.

It's clearly a track that's integral to the themes of the forthcoming record - 'Lippy Kids' was in fact originally the album's working title, though it's now been changed to ‘Build A Rocket Boys!’ - a line from the song. The album is out on March 7.

Link

As I said in the other post, my mom and I love that song because it sounds like Elbow used to do. The Arena-Thing frightens me a bit, I hope it will mean guitarwalls like in "Bitten by the tailfly" or "Newborn" and not hooting trumpets and bombastic stuff a la "Elbow the musical"

Lippy kids is a nice opener for me . Listening to the other songs we will undestand it better.


I hate that indie-integralism: "Unlikely arena band". Ridicolous. I don't mind about minimalism or epicsness, i simply hear good songs or bad songs. I like Yo La Tengo and Arcade Fire, Nick Drake and Bruce Springsteen. I don't like Elbow because they are indie, but because they write great songs.

Ok... what kind of a band makes you cry listening to a new song... What king of effect is that?
Elbow just did that to me.
I was crying watching that video and thinking the whole time why I'm crying. Can't explain it...
I just did.

Amacing song. Very excited for the upcoming album.

Thanks for that beautiful experience.

Love and Greets from Germany.

Elli!

Dano wrote:

Lippy kids is a nice opener for me . Listening to the other songs we will undestand it better.


I hate that indie-integralism: "Unlikely arena band". Ridicolous. I don't mind about minimalism or epicsness, i simply hear good songs or bad songs. I like Yo La Tengo and Arcade Fire, Nick Drake and Bruce Springsteen. I don't like Elbow because they are indie, but because they write great songs.

Agreed!

I really, really love it. The way it sounds, what it says, and how well it sets the theme and mood for the rest of the album. I am a very satisfied customer.

I don't think they meant the unexpected arena band as a negative statement, but rather that it was a huge jump going from the venues Elbow normally had to arenas. And let's be honest, in 2007 and early 2008, we would have never thought that Elbow would be doing arena gigs.

I love this song and as stated before, it's an incredibly emotional song but it wouldn't seem that way if I only read the lyrics without actually listening to it. Guy's delivery is phenomenal. t's amazing that the same man who tugged at heart strings w/ Scattered Black and Whites has been capable of doing it with various songs on the albums after AITB. I can't think of one other front man who has been capable of doing that. Can anyone think of one?

I'm reminded of the prisoner story Guy shared in relation to Scattered Black and Whites, how the prisoners didn't view it as an emotional song when they only read the lyrics but were bawling their eyes out once they listened to the song. And I think the same experience can be said about Lippy Kids. It'll be interesting to see how successful the single is on the radio charts.

And if anyone wanted it, I have a HD .mp4 version of the video. I've been having a little trouble with getting a decent mp3 to share, but at least it's something: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=L5VAVYTG

I think this is a fantastic and beautiful song. I really cannot wait for the album.

A few garbled thoughts:

Need to listen to this more than once to make more comment but... when Mrs Eag called me over to the computer I was worried. I've started getting nervous about this record since I heard the comment about tunes for arenas. I was worried when I saw Lippy Kids was the opener as it was a song that we'd heard about before, a theme of the album, a single? My worry was because Elbow write perfect opening tracks. Every Elbow opening track is perfect, and couldn't be anything but Track One. I was worried when Mark started strumming harder as the song built a little - is this about to turn into some U2-arena-soft-rock thing? I'm worried someone's stolen all the razors the band owned...

It actually came out pretty good though, right? Not just Jupp's beard, the song, I mean. It's a little grower that I'll have to get on in the earphones to really appreciate, but so be it. As ChrissyBoy said in the other thread, perhaps it doesn't build to a crescendo, but maybe the following song takes it up a notch.

As I expected - it's just wonderful. Thank you lads, you've done yourselves proud!

Dano wrote:

I hate that indie-integralism: "Unlikely arena band". Ridicolous. I don't mind about minimalism or epicsness, i simply hear good songs or bad songs. I like Yo La Tengo and Arcade Fire, Nick Drake and Bruce Springsteen. I don't like Elbow because they are indie, but because they write great songs.

Surely right, I am just a bit frightened of a "One day like this" pt two or more stuff for "Elbow the Musical"...

I just finished watching the video, and I absolutely love the song. I can't wait to hear the rest of the new songs. I am so jealous of everyone who will get to see the lads and hear the new songs this spring.

Just gorgeous! Can't wait for more to come. What a wonderful exciting year ahead to look forward to.

@TL: why are you having problems with Elbow becoming an arena band? I don't think that the music is so much different. Ands songs like "One day like this" always belonged to their repertoire. It's Elbow style. It's not like U2's Achtung Baby were they changed almost everything about their music.
And I don't care if Elbow play in front of 100 or 100.000 people. I'd still love them. And I would love the fact that they are played on radiostations all over...
All this Indie-/Mainstream talk gets on my nerves.

Like Dano said: I don't love them cause they are "Indie" - I love them cause they are Elbow and write great songs....

I am just REALLY excited for the new album and the new tour and can't wait to see them again. My last handshake from Guy has been a while! *LOL*

Well, arena bands have one big problem for me: it gets physically too huge for me. It is a lot more difficult to get first row. And I need first row not just because I am a "fan since the beginning" but also mostly because I am too short and too weak to stand somewhere in the crowd
The Rushconcert I'm going to will see me on the balcony in the first row, so I can see at least the whole stage but for example Peter Gabriel who I adored as much as Elbow and still adore, I always try to get first row, so I can cling at least at the grating.
Elbow are in Germany not that big like Gabriel yet but in Berlin at the Astra there was a huge gap yet for security (!!) and photographers before the stage and Guy did not shake any hand at all because of this. I could not record a video of "Newborn" because of the Security personnell
At Collogne it was still small and personal and "One day like this" got "pimped" a bit for me because Guy kissed my hand (sigh!! )
Musically it might be a taste question, I just don't like "ODLT" that much, it does not move me like "Leaders of..." which is a stadion singalong too. Or my beloved Newborn. Or the huge wall of shoegazenoise of "Bitten by the tailfly" where I even like the brass section!
If stadium sound means that it rocks like "Fallen Angel", "Grounds for Divorce", "Leaders...", "Coming Second" ect. then I have no problem at all...

I can agree w/ a lot of what you said, TL, about the problem being the hugeness of the venue and not the hugeness of the music. I think we can all agree that Elbow music can be "huge", even when it's not necessarily loud or anthemic. It just has a way of sounding epic sometimes. But seeing them in smaller venues, as I have been fortunate enough to have done on the couple of times I've seen them perform, is definitely a very special thing.

Having said that, I am very excited about being able to go to the MEN gig, because I think it'll be an atmosphere/experience I've never had before with Elbow, and I am looking forward to it. In a way, I've always been a little bit bummed about the smaller nature of the venues they tend to play here in the States, just because I think of them as such an earth-shakingly awesome band, and it kills me that there aren't gigantic crowds here waiting to see them play when they tour the US. At the MEN, at least I can see them with all the fans and excitement that I've always felt they deserved! I guess my enthusiasm for them has always been arena-sized, so I am happy that the surroundings will match my feelings for once, if that makes any sense!

Well... guess most of us around here are fans from day one - or lets say the beginning...
So everyone has had the chance to see them in small venues. And I agree... concerts in smaller places are more intimate and fun if you stand in the front row.
But it's the ordinary run of events... It's natural that if they become more successful - which they luckily have - they play at bigger stages. Nothing's wrong with that.
I'm just looking forward seeing them again on tour and for the album to listen to.

Btw.: I really can imagine Craig pointing out to the audience: "has anyone tape with - cause I forgot mine...." *LOL*

Yea, and I know for sure, if they get arena-big I try it like I do at Gabriel-concerts. Be there early and get a save front row.
And my mom said, as long Guy sings nice we even stand the slightly pompous stuff...no one else but him could sing "Powderblue" which is a very old one and also not really a fave one of me...

Well, I heard it for the first time yesterday morning and was immediately underwhelmed - but I'm listening to it again for around the 10th time and.....

I'm totally mesmerised by everything about the song.

The delivery of it by Garvey, the sparseness, the tone of the song, for god's sake I'm writing this with chills through my body - I've fallen in love with it, unashamedly.

My Bury Vest wrote:

Well, I heard it for the first time yesterday morning and was immediately underwhelmed - but I'm listening to it again for around the 10th time and.....

I'm totally mesmerised by everything about the song.

The delivery of it by Garvey, the sparseness, the tone of the song, for god's sake I'm writing this with chills through my body - I've fallen in love with it, unashamedly.

Guess there's nothing more to say....
It has been clicked almost 25.000 times and probably 100 come from me...

My Bury Vest wrote:

Well, I heard it for the first time yesterday morning and was immediately underwhelmed - but I'm listening to it again for around the 10th time and.....

I'm totally mesmerised by everything about the song.

Love it!

Just had a chance to get my second listen, earphones... it's gorgeous, isn't it? Can't wait

I've only listened to it once.

It reminds me of "Scattered Blacks & Whites" crossed with the band's cover of "Mercy Street."

There are some lyrical moments that really worked for me. (Don't ask me which one those were. A Doctor Who viewing intervened between the listen and this.) I'm really and truly pleased with it.

Lippy Kids is today's Song of The Day on the Hitfix "Immaculate Noise" music blog! Their verdict? "...a stupendous, sad bastard of a song. Just the kind of stuff I like from Elbow." Check it out:

http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/immaculate-noise/posts/song-of-the-day-elbows-lippy-kids-from-new-album

EDIT: And, FWIW, they LOVE the album title, incorrect punctuation and all.

It's a haunting, really haunting song.

I've heard it OOPSed (Out-of-Phase Stereo), and with the piano foregrounded and the vocals backgrounded to a dirge-like quality (which makes it sound more like classic proggy Elbow, actually), "Lippy Kids" is nothing short of a remarkable achievement.

We must remember it's a live version. Do you think the record version has the same arrangements?
I think they add cello.