Day 120: But the path disappeared...

Here's the single from Ersatz GB, which is a pretty damn good one.

Song: Laptop Dog
Album: Ersatz GB
Year: 2011

So this was the song they picked to showcase the latest album, which to me is an odd choice, its a bit held back as far as the rest of the album goes and never really gets going in the rat up a drainpipe way that the rest does. That said, it's a nice romp through some pretty good lyrics and a nice line in future-baiting from Mr Smith.

'All life was there, but the path disappears' is a great line, I honestly didn't get the reference for ages until I heard the 6Music interview where he explains its all about a bloke going mental as all his pictures, songs and his whole life is on a laptop. Obviously Mark finds it hilarious that anyone contains their life on a laptop, let alone goes looking for it in bins following its loss. I originally thought it was a bit more serious and po-faced after all that line is quite poetic, but nope, bought back down to earth by MES and his giggling at idiots, nice.

He's a bit late in stopping dead the laptop crowd, the coffee shops have been infested with them for years, but maybe he thought it was about time. I like the 'a big creature will stalk you' line, I have no idea what he means, but I always imagine the creature to be something mythical that knows all your secrets thanks to your stupidity in losing it. Similarly it could be the Laptop Dog of the title, but I feel like that's a reference to us all being doting on our little machines, the laptops have become masters and we're all gazing longingly at them. I know I spend far too much time staring at absolute crap, it must be nice not to have that compulsion.

I like the music on this one, its upbeat, if a little obtuse with Elena's keys plonking all over it in her out of tune way, but I feel that only adds to it. The little excerpt from the end harks back to rehearsal tapes, like a half-remembered segment he wanted to add in at the end, it doesn't even fade out, it's almost like a footnote, even in the way he enunciates the syllables of the word 'ig-nor-onts'. Seeing this one live showed me how unbelievably tight the rythmn section is in The Fall right now, I almost want to hear the next album now, while they are still firmly in the fold. Anyone heading to the London gig, I'll see you there.