Plenty of songs have addressed loneliness in the internet age. Eric Hirshberg’s contribution begins by naming the place where distracted attention seems to go. “The Grand Elsewhere” is an evocative phrase for a condition that has become difficult to notice precisely because it is so common.
The title also contains a useful ambiguity. “Grand” suggests scale, novelty, and excitement, all qualities that make the online world compelling. “Elsewhere” reveals the tradeoff: wherever attention lands, it is no longer fully here.
Hirshberg writes from within that tension. The song recognizes the extraordinary access provided by a phone while questioning the reflex to accept every invitation it offers. A passing notification can suddenly outweigh the human being sitting a few feet away.
Rather than forcing the idea through dense production, the track begins with reflective space. Its chorus opens the sound outward, turning an individual realization into a shared request to re-enter the present.
The release continues an unusually coherent sequence from Hirshberg. His collaboration with Aloe Blacc, “For Real,” argued for authentic conversation across division. “We’re All In This Alone” focused on algorithms and isolation, while the title track of More Is Not The Answer emerged from the clarifying experience of the Los Angeles wildfires.
Hirshberg’s former career provides an interesting undertone without overwhelming the music. He led Activision during the era of Call of Duty, Guitar Hero, Skylanders, and Destiny, after previously running Deutsch LA. His songwriting now examines many of the pressures and incentives that shaped the media landscape in which he once worked.
“The Grand Elsewhere” can be heard now on all major streaming platforms, with an official video available on Hirshberg’s YouTube channel It appears on More Is Not The Answer, scheduled for release September 21.
