Doesn’t time fly? The world was a very different place 12 months ago when what would soon be the recognisably scary orange and black colour scheme loaded up and Extreme Listening Mode came into being. Since then we’ve seen a lot of changes but what has been undeniable is that ELM has continued to exist. Hey, baby steps and all that.
We came into being after much prodding by the Wookie, our creator and general driving force. The initial name was going to be ‘Left of the Dial’ after the Replacements song, but was deemed to be a bit too archaic to anyone under 30, which was true. If you’ve ever wondered where the phrase ‘extreme listening mode’ came from, it’s in reference to my habit of wanting to play my entire record collection in about 20 minutes. Why listen to songs the whole way through? That’s for girls, frankly.
We initially planned to do album reviews, but that was sort of abandoned as the site developed. The rationale was simply that you could get those reviews elsewhere and quicker. Instead the development was more organic, with the site becoming one of Scotland’s premier sites for live reviews. We’ve reviewed over 100 bands in the last year. Also, the news, rants and pisstakes seemed to go down well and we are great believers in giving the public – the great, unwashed, demanding public – what they want. We’re those type of guys. We’ve also been delighted by the amount of great music that we’ve turned people on to and that they’ve turned us on to in return.
In an Oscars stylee, I’d like to thank our plethora of talented guest writers, and also ScantRegard, Vespertine, Chenks, E-Streeter, Salamander and Mrs. Morrissey. I kid! I kid because I love! Their contributions add another dimension to the place and all of them hate David Gray. That alone marks them out as stellar humans.
Thanks also to our regular commentators such as Whippet, Longman, Bertrand, Dusty, Adrian Mole, Suedehead, Swineshead and the eviscerating wit that is Good God Man, all of who’s splendidly abusive posts make me feel less guilty every time I write something a bit naughty about our bête noir du jour.
Most of all, thanks to the Wookie, without his drive I’d still be talking about maybe sorta kinda possibly doing something, if I could be arsed.
So we’ll keep writing this crap so long as you keep reading it. The plan is as it has always been – we write about what interests us, what excites us, what abhors us. We still tend to go out on gig manoeuvres, so we’ll still be bringing you the quickest and best reviews. And yes, geography limits us, but the fact is if the band sucked in our town, they probably sucked in yours too.
And remember, every time someone buys an Amy MacDonald record, a kitten dies. Just remember that.
ELM
Filed under: General Stuff Tagged: | concerts, Glasgow, Live, music, reviews
Oh, that brings a tear to my eye. No wait, I’m a girl, not a puff.
Was that a bit too Chris Moyles?
Happy birthday ELM, having you as a place to vent has saved my thousands in therapy.
Its been a pleasure. Though you are scary sometimes.
many happy returns……like the site….it vents its spleen and gives c***s a kicking. As it should.
Thanks Bert!
Happy birthday WEW and ELM! How approrpiate that it comes in the week that Spandau Ballet and Simply Red both announce new tours!
Giving us regular malcontents a mention reminds me of a comrade still MIA out in the blogging badlands – RockR! A moment’s silence, if you will, in honour of the greatest of us all!
Thanks LO!
Yes, RockR was a very special boy. There was also Extremely heavy Bastard, the one who was upset because his wife had cried after something I wrote about Mick Hucknall. I know that I should have felt bad about that, but TBH it made me so happy i still masturbate to the thought to this day.
I would dearly love to pin an Iron Cross with Oak Leaves on each and every one of you.
You are a stellar and much loved part of the group my friend!