More than Goodbye Cruel World?
― Johnny Fever, Thursday, 26 December 2013 16:14 (ten years ago) link
I'd have to give that honor to Punch the Clock or Goodbye Cruel World.
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 26 December 2013 16:14 (ten years ago) link
http://i.imgur.com/zT6m396.jpg
7. Blood and Chocolate554 points19 votes2 #1
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 26 December 2013 16:20 (ten years ago) link
― Johnny Fever, Thursday, December 26, 2013 11:14 AM (6 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Marginally, but yeah. There's something about the digitalness of the reverb that screams "80s!" moreso than GCW, but tbf, I haven't heard GCW in years.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Thursday, 26 December 2013 16:22 (ten years ago) link
people are really into Punch The Clock, huh? i guess all four of the post-'80s albums i voted for are getting shut out, damn.
― some dude, Thursday, 26 December 2013 16:24 (ten years ago) link
Truthfully, the albums portion of this was not all that exciting. But the songs are the main event anyway. You don't have to be Nostradamus to figure out the top 6.
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 26 December 2013 16:25 (ten years ago) link
Top 6 albums, I mean. Nobody will be able to guess the top 6 songs.
yeah...still interested to see the order, though. wouldn't have predicted B&C over King. (xp)
― some dude, Thursday, 26 December 2013 16:26 (ten years ago) link
Me neither.
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 26 December 2013 16:28 (ten years ago) link
http://i.imgur.com/Gw8EmAv.jpg
6. My Aim Is True620 points20 votes
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 26 December 2013 16:29 (ten years ago) link
woahhhhhhh
― some dude, Thursday, 26 December 2013 16:29 (ten years ago) link
Notice it got no #1s.
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 26 December 2013 16:30 (ten years ago) link
there were times in the past when it would've been my #1 but it's never been lower than my #2. hugely important album to me.
― some dude, Thursday, 26 December 2013 16:32 (ten years ago) link
I think Clover hurts this record a bit. It really is Elvis Costello and the News.
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 26 December 2013 16:39 (ten years ago) link
yep
― sleeve, Thursday, 26 December 2013 16:42 (ten years ago) link
http://i.imgur.com/M4YJkvW.jpg
5. Imperial Bedroom620 points20 votes 2 #1
This got exact same votes as My Aim Is True but the #1s gave it the tiebreaker.
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 26 December 2013 16:43 (ten years ago) link
My #1.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Thursday, 26 December 2013 16:50 (ten years ago) link
This record hasn't aged as well for me, despite some of his best songs.
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 26 December 2013 16:50 (ten years ago) link
I listened to it for the first time in a few years for this poll (had gotten burnt out on it) and was happy/relieved at how well it had aged for me. Still not my #1 though.
― millions now living will never kick out the jams (WilliamC), Thursday, 26 December 2013 16:53 (ten years ago) link
http://i.imgur.com/yT1Jjez.jpg
4. Trust720 points22 votes5 #1
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 26 December 2013 16:54 (ten years ago) link
This has always been my favorite.
Mine too, I think.
― Johnny Fever, Thursday, 26 December 2013 16:58 (ten years ago) link
Even though Shot With His Own Gun could be his worst song, and Fish N Chip Paper isn't far behind.
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 26 December 2013 16:58 (ten years ago) link
http://i.imgur.com/Wbvm5dI.jpg
3. Get Happy!!867 points27 votes5 #1
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 26 December 2013 17:05 (ten years ago) link
my aim is true below trust...this is gonna be a weird poll
― Euler, Thursday, 26 December 2013 17:10 (ten years ago) link
http://i.imgur.com/97BfZUZ.jpg
2. Armed Forces997 points29 votes7 #1
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 26 December 2013 17:16 (ten years ago) link
http://i.imgur.com/KoU04Gc.jpg
1. This Year's Model1113 points31 votes12 #1
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 26 December 2013 17:24 (ten years ago) link
Not a real surprise there.
― Johnny Fever, Thursday, 26 December 2013 17:27 (ten years ago) link
I listened to Trust a bit when putting together my ballot and it remains the I-should-love-it-but-I-just-don't album for me. Didn't represent it at all on my albums list OR my songs list.
― some dude, Thursday, 26 December 2013 17:29 (ten years ago) link
I knew TYM would get plenty of luv from everyone else, so it doesn't show up on my albums ballot until #5.
― millions now living will never kick out the jams (WilliamC), Thursday, 26 December 2013 17:33 (ten years ago) link
I left TYM off my ballot completely out of protest, because my favorite song from that era is a b-side.
Albums were predictable and somewhat dull. Songs are much better. I'd like to start them when there are more people around. Any suggestions? I think the majority of voters were from the UK and I'm here in New Jersey so time difference may be an issue.
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 26 December 2013 17:44 (ten years ago) link
if you started now both the US and UK people would be awake and about for at least the next few hours, right?
― some dude, Thursday, 26 December 2013 17:47 (ten years ago) link
Our computer system here at work is down right now, so ENTERTAIN ME!
― Johnny Fever, Thursday, 26 December 2013 17:47 (ten years ago) link
Alright then...let's get this party started.
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 26 December 2013 18:01 (ten years ago) link
SONGS SONGS SONGS SONGS SONGS SONGS SONGS
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 26 December 2013 18:02 (ten years ago) link
http://i.imgur.com/lR2uiFP.jpg
60. Veronica108 points7 votes
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 26 December 2013 18:03 (ten years ago) link
haha perfect
― sleeve, Thursday, 26 December 2013 18:06 (ten years ago) link
thought this one would make my ballot, as I liked it a lot back in '89, but found it kinda irritating and its production cluttered & oppressive. wound up w/ no post-CBS songs, as it turned out
― col, Thursday, 26 December 2013 18:11 (ten years ago) link
Spotify playlist! http://open.spotify.com/user/mondosalvo/playlist/1r8PKCoRrPXwEOnOydERVX
― Johnny Fever, Thursday, 26 December 2013 18:11 (ten years ago) link
http://i.imgur.com/Hizesz7.jpg
59. Uncomplicated110 points9 votes
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 26 December 2013 18:15 (ten years ago) link
i'm surprised but happy to see TYM, which was my #2, top the poll. surprised because no one seemed to be pushing it, or its songs, on the voting poll. but i think that's the album where elvis turned into elvis, and it's got my favorite opening track in his catalog, and it sounds like a great band discovering itself. MAIT strikes me as the work of a very good songwriter searching for a way forward and only half finding it.
― fact checking cuz, Thursday, 26 December 2013 18:17 (ten years ago) link
great thread title, korn.
― fact checking cuz, Thursday, 26 December 2013 18:18 (ten years ago) link
"Uncomplicated" just narrowly escaped being cut from my ballot before I sent it off, so I'm glad leaving it on there helped it make the top 60. great live song, love hearing The Attractions pound away like that when they usually have so much rhythmic sophistication.
― some dude, Thursday, 26 December 2013 18:24 (ten years ago) link
x-post
Thanks, cuz. I put quite a bit of thought into it and wasthisclose to going with Poor Napolleon, but then I put on King Of America again...
I'm just glad I figured out how to do the pictures right.
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 26 December 2013 18:25 (ten years ago) link
http://i.imgur.com/8rchdSE.jpg
58. Crimes of Paris112 points7 votes
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 26 December 2013 18:27 (ten years ago) link
I agree about the production clutter on "Veronica," but two things kept it on my ballot -- the chorus has a heck of a hook, and the lyric is possibly his most empathetic one ever. It takes movie-of-the-week material and makes it something loving but unsentimental.
― something of an astrological coup (tipsy mothra), Thursday, 26 December 2013 18:29 (ten years ago) link
B&C was the first EC record I heard when it was released (so I probably overrate it), and though I was familiar with a few earlier records, "Uncomplicated" simultaneously grabbed me and sent me scurrying back to those records.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Thursday, 26 December 2013 18:30 (ten years ago) link
Yes, me too. I remember WNEW in New York having a Top Ten at Ten every night where they'd play their most requested songs, and Tokyo Storm Warning was on it for a good month.
Crimes Of Paris has always been my favorite from this record. Such a great chorus.
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 26 December 2013 18:34 (ten years ago) link
"Crimes of Paris" made my ballot for some personal nostalgic reasons but mainly for the sheer strength of Costello's singing in it: "heee's irresSISTable TOO".."paper-weight EIFFEL TOWER!"
― col, Thursday, 26 December 2013 18:35 (ten years ago) link
I wouldn't be shocked if nothing later than "Veronica" made it into the top 60. i voted for six post-'80s songs and that's probably the most anybody voted for.
― some dude, Thursday, 26 December 2013 18:36 (ten years ago) link
Cool, thanks for posting those!
xp
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Monday, 30 December 2013 18:44 (ten years ago) link
It's kind of remarkable how many of his albums have at some time been my favorite Elvis Costello album, or how many of them could easily be my favorite again.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 3 January 2014 16:15 (ten years ago) link
i heard the first 3 before anything else, so that's never been the case for me, but the #4 spot has changed over many times.
― some dude, Friday, 3 January 2014 18:41 (ten years ago) link
there may have been times armed forces or trust had it but it's basically always rotated between this year's model-get happy!!-imperial bedroom for me
― balls, Friday, 3 January 2014 19:29 (ten years ago) link
i still think most people itt are kinda fronting on the first album's greatness. do you want new wave or do you want My Aim Is True?
― some dude, Friday, 3 January 2014 19:32 (ten years ago) link
For the record, the first album has never been my fave. But TYM, Armed Forces, Trust, Imperial Bedroom, Get Happy and Blood & Chocolate all sure have.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 3 January 2014 20:04 (ten years ago) link
I voted a fair few from MAIT but solely based on having just discovered 1977 boots just prior to voting. tunes are overall fantastic, clover kinda bland
― making plans for nyquil (outdoor_miner), Saturday, 4 January 2014 02:09 (ten years ago) link
Genuinely peeved at myself for not balloting or following along or anything BUT --- very stoked to see that Party Girl got all the way to #4...and a lot of what would have made my 10 ended up in the top 10 :D :D
i am having my own little EC karaoke - headphones & a closed door means that I can pretend noone can hear me singing lol
― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 4 January 2014 07:05 (ten years ago) link
The anecdote, in Franklin Bruno's awesome Armed Forces book, about the debt that "Accidents Will Happen" owes to "Dancing Queen" has made sure that I'll never hear one without thinking of the other ever again.
― Inside Lewellyn Sinclair (cryptosicko), Monday, 6 January 2014 06:35 (ten years ago) link
Was it not "Oliver's Army" ?
― Mark G, Monday, 6 January 2014 07:10 (ten years ago) link
yeah it was "Oliver." also a lyrical nod to "Dancing Queen" much later on in "When I Was Cruel No. 2."
― some dude, Monday, 6 January 2014 12:50 (ten years ago) link
D'oh! "Oliver's Army," not "Accidents Will Happen." Thanks, guys.
― Inside Lewellyn Sinclair (cryptosicko), Monday, 6 January 2014 17:15 (ten years ago) link
"accidents will happen," on the other hand, according to bruno, owes a debt to elvis presley, the supremes, bacharach/david, randy newman and phil spector.
― fact checking cuz, Monday, 6 January 2014 21:23 (ten years ago) link
you drink yourself insensitive andhate some dude in the morning
this was a good poll imo
― mookieproof, Wednesday, 27 May 2015 01:08 (nine years ago) link
nothing for 'comedians'!! man
― ♛ LIL UNIT ♛ (thomp), Wednesday, 27 May 2015 02:27 (nine years ago) link
balls, you like The Juliet Letters as much as I do, right?
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 1 November 2015 01:33 (eight years ago) link
After listening to KOA a lot recently, I've realized I love its great songs b/c I love Mitchell Froom's keyboard lines and production early Crowded House.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 1 November 2015 01:36 (eight years ago) link
outside of a few cuts i haven't listened to it in forever. i may have had "jacksons, monk, and rowe" on my ballot, it was definitely on the shortlist in any case. in my head i'm still fond of it though, i would guess that other than all this useless beauty and probably brutal youth i like it more or at least would be more likely to listen to it than anything else post-columbia. actually strike that, i still haven't heard the album he did w/ bacharach (i'm not sure i've heard the entirety of any of his post warners albums, i think i've heard all of when i was cruel but i'm not sure), i am curious about that one. very very fond of koa, there are a handful of cuts that are kinda pointless exercises but in the expanse of the album i don't mind them.
― balls, Sunday, 1 November 2015 02:11 (eight years ago) link
Reading the Costello memoir reignited my interest in TJL. It's in my closet, and I can still hum "Jackson, Monk, and Rowe" and "I Almost Had a Weakness" and "The Birds Will Still Be Singing," so that's something (EC sez TJC sold about 300,000 worldwide and thus made a small profit off it). Still haven't heard the Bacharach album.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 1 November 2015 02:16 (eight years ago) link
Just bought a $5 used copy of King of America today!
― Fetty Wap Is Strong In Here (cryptosicko), Sunday, 1 November 2015 03:09 (eight years ago) link
"I Almost Had a Weakness"
that and the imperial bedroomish "taking my life in your hands" were the two keepers for me.
― fact checking cuz, Sunday, 1 November 2015 18:34 (eight years ago) link
Dipped into the memoir recently. Seems much better written than a lot of his recent song catalog, although he is too prolific for me to keep track of everything so who knows.
― Memes of the Pwn Age (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 1 November 2015 19:19 (eight years ago) link
Juliet Letters was a huge album for me when it came out, I played the hell out of it. Haven't listened to it all the way through in years.
― akm, Monday, 2 November 2015 04:06 (eight years ago) link
Here are ones I'd torch.
― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 6 November 2021 15:28 (two years ago) link
I like at least four of them
― Nasty, Brutish & Short, Saturday, 6 November 2021 23:46 (two years ago) link
haha "Pidgin English" was #1 on my ballot. I thought it was odd that it didn't make the cut, but apparently some really dislike it...?
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Sunday, 7 November 2021 17:40 (two years ago) link
"two little hitlers" is a good tune but a terrible lyric, yeah
― ufo, Sunday, 7 November 2021 20:08 (two years ago) link
I always assumed it was an indulgent reference/sequel to Nick Lowe's "Little Hitler."
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 7 November 2021 20:16 (two years ago) link
"Two Little Hitlers" is a bizarre ditty but the lyric actually works because that part is so damn catchy. It may also be his vocal too which is just right for it - a prettier or "nicer" voice couldn't pull it off. I guess that might apply to a lot of those vitriolic songs on the first three albums.
― birdistheword, Sunday, 7 November 2021 23:40 (two years ago) link
*actually works for me
― birdistheword, Sunday, 7 November 2021 23:41 (two years ago) link
I find "Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood" very atmospheric - the pensive marimbas, and startling metallic raking sound in the chorus. I also love the hazy VGPS-era Kinks shuffle feel, and chromatic descending chord hook in "Dr. Luther’s Assistant".
― Halfway there but for you, Monday, 8 November 2021 00:40 (two years ago) link
I hate his shouty voice.
Hitler analogies to limn relationships, whether EC or Woody Allen's, were gross even in the Carter era.
― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 8 November 2021 00:43 (two years ago) link
Would you have objected to the original title of Armed Forces: Emotional Fascism?
― Halfway there but for you, Monday, 8 November 2021 00:48 (two years ago) link
It's the jaundiced perspective of an unreliable narrator. Saying it's gross feels like it's missing the point, especially when you broaden the argument to include Woody Allen - his work never felt like it was anything but his own real life voice, often to a fault.
― birdistheword, Monday, 8 November 2021 06:18 (two years ago) link