Due to the generosity and kindness of a good friend, the latest Elbow release, "Cast of Shadows" has finally made it to my ears.

As mentioned before, this release is still a good two months away from a US domestic date (Jan 13th to be exact). As to why V2 would delay its US release by more than 6 months latter the Euro/Asia date has me concerned...

Understandably, Elbow is not the biggest name in US music, but it may be one of the biggest names on the imports scene. Domestically, they have played a handful of gigs in 2003 outside of opening for the likes of the Grandaddy this past October. Eight openers (did we forget to visit Boston????) will not suffice in getting the word out on the US music market, sorry to say, but will keep those Elbow fans on the West Coast and NYC fairly entrenched as we wait for a presumed market blast from V2 come January.

As for me, well, I simply could not wait that long. A "BRTY" (borrow, rip, thank you) into iTunes and I'm covered until i can buy this album at fair market value. Let my friends in the industry scream in disgust, but maybe its a good thing I did get a rip. How else would I be able to spread my love for this disc?

Dont worry, I ripped it in AAC, not MP3, and I do promise to buy it come Jan.

Coming soon: some actual insight into "Cast of Shadows"

[For the record: the last disc to break my bank was in Daft Punk's "Homewerk" in early 1997. I simply could not wait the extra 3 months for its domestic release. Its the only import in recent years to force a purchase well ahead of the US drop date. Was it worth it? Come on...]