ELSEWHERE: THE MAGAZINE FOR CURIOUS PEOPLE
Elsewhere is a concept and a place, and for many years Graham Reid has been going there for his wide angle travels, writing, music review columns and interviews with writers, musicians and artists.
Elsewhere is an ever-expanding on-line magazine for people curious about new music, different travel, interesting arts and much more. This site is dedicated to the diversity and possibilities of Elsewhere. It is an equal opportunity enjoyer. Subscribe here (it's free) for a weekly newsletter and be in to win CDs, DVDs, books and more. Welcome . . .
Music, videos, reviews and interviews posted on this site are provided to profile the artists. Please support them by buying their music (in many instances links are provided, some direct to the artists) and attending concerts.
Latest posts
Arthur Russell: Another Thought (1985)
Curiously, it has only been in recent years that the British music press "discovered" Arthur Russell. But maybe not so curious: Russell died of Aids-related illnesses in '92 and although he left behind literally many hundreds of reels of recordings (everything from disco through experimental pop to Russell singing with just his cello for accompaniment) his work was... more >>
Public Service Broadcasting: Inform-Educate-Entertain (Test-Card/Southbound)
When a perilous space walk barely rates
a mention on this week's nightly news, PBS's remarkable album reminds
us of when progress, science and discovery meant the world stood on a
thrilling threshold of promise.
But it doesn't do it through
finger-in-ear retro-folk nostalgia.
This canny British duo use relentlessly
exciting electro-beats, astutely chosen samples... more >> 
5
The Famous Elsewhere Questionnaire
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Rennie Sparks of the Handsome Family
As the Handsome Family the husband and wife duo of Rennie and Brett Sparks have made some of the most beguiling, curious, romantic, strange and delightful albums to come out of the corner we sometimes call Americana. They have written albums about science, Brett's bi-polar affliction and the wonder of Nature (the excellent Last Days of Wonder, see here) and their... more >>
Vampire Weekend: Modern Vampire of the City (XL)
Vampire Weekend are one of the cleverest American bands of the moment, and for many that won't be a compliment. They are smart and knowing, and that meant on their last album Contra they shaved of a bit of Afrobeat and Paul Simon's Graceland as they expanded their musical palette. This time out though they seem to have gne for somethng we might call "beauty" in... more >>
Debashish Bhattacharya and Friends: Beyond the Ragasphere (Riverboat/Southbound)
The great Indian slide guitarist Debashish Bhattacharya has appeared at Elsewhere before because he not only makes hypnotic music, but that he also connects with an interesting tradition which goes back many deacdes . . . and to Hawaii. Here -- in a disheartingly dull cover which gives no hint of its exotic contents -- he invites in some of his many international friends... more >>
Rod Stewart: Time (Warners)
At the end of his enjoyable, candid autobiography last year Stewart said he'd started serious songwriting again (after decades). Given he was once a successful and often inspired writer, that was good news. The reflection necessary for that book seem to have prompted the co-writes here where he declares love for his wife Penny (She Makes Me Happy, Beautiful... more >>
THE BARGAIN BUY: ZZ Top; The Very Best of ZZ Top; Rancho Texicano
In a few weeks -- perhaps far too soon for many -- the first 10 ZZ Top albums are being reissued in a box set.
That's a whole lotta Top -- perhaps far too much for many -- but, if we might be serious about them for a moment, the Top emerged with a distinctive and disciplined brand of Texas blues and over time it morphed slowly into radio-friendly pop with little... more >> 1
WAYNE MACAULEY INTERVIEWED (2013): You want fries with that book?
If you're a fan of MasterChef and have
glossy recipe books on your shelves, then Melbourne's Wayne Macauley
has a novel for you. If you despise the current overload of
television cooking shows and obsession with food he's got exactly the
same one.
Macauley's The Cook – which won the
inaugural 2012 Most Underrated Book Award in Australia – has been... more >> 1
Timothy Leary: You Can Be Anyone This Time Around (1970)
Older, if not wiser, "heads" will know exactly who Dr Timothy Leary was -- an advocate of the widespread use of LSD to change cultural consciousness and to open individuals to the vastness of the cosmos within and without. Tune in, turn on and drop out became a mantra in the late Sixties. His album You Can Be Anyone This Time Around was one of the first... more >>
Bernard Butler: Woman I Know (1998)
Was it Bob Dylan who said something to the effect, "amateurs borrow, professionals steal"? Not to encourage plagiarism, but Bernard Butler certainly took a leaf or two -- if not a whole chapter -- from the Book of Fleetwood Mac for this track which uses Albatross as it's starting point -- but then doesn't go too far with it. This was the opening track on... more >>