Elvis Costello: Classic or Dud

i'm paying very close attention but also making fun of you for your stupid opinions

― black covfefe in bed (voodoo chili), Wednesday, June 28, 2017 1:24 PM (one minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Who knew that the Costello hardcore could get so butthurt?

it's fine with me if you don't like costello, but if it's because he didn't change or adapt enough between records, it means you weren't paying attention

the world wonders what a Nick Lowe-produced Pet Shop Boys would've sounded like

xpost Who knows what I was thinking, but I'm pretty sure I was talking about EC's career as a whole (perhaps in the "jump the shark" thread?). I'm a fan, and I only ("only") like 11 or 12 EC albums, most of which were released between 1977 and 1987. Coincidence, but that's pretty much all the Prince I regularly listen to as well - about 10 albums between 1978 and 1988. In both cases, that's plenty! And they both have tons of outtakes from those years to fill in the gaps.

Pick a parcel of Costello

A. This Years Model, Armed Forces,

B. Almost Blue, Spike, King of America

C. Blood and Chocolate, Brutal Youth, When I was cruel

D. The Juliet Letters, North

E. Painted from Memory, And so blummin on, etc.

I dunno, I'll stick with "10 bloody marys and 10 hows yr fathers" ...

I can hurl two or three reasons why EC might suck, but lackig tonal and structural variety aren't among them.

he world wonders what a Nick Lowe-produced Pet Shop Boys would've sounded like

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlvcqJpJquA

(The story goes that he wrote "The Bay City Rollers We Love You" to get dropped by his label, but it became an accidental hit in Japan, so he wrote "Let's Go to the Disco" as a follow-up and it did the trick.)

xxxxxpost:

Well, you kinda have to pay a lot of attention to realise how minimal the differences are between the records, so...

Terry Modern! (Xpost)

(The story goes that he wrote "The Bay City Rollers We Love You" to get dropped by his label, but it became an accidental hit in Japan, so he wrote "Let's Go to the Disco" as a follow-up and it did the trick.)

xxp maybe YOU do

I can hurl two or three reasons why EC might suck, but lackig tonal and structural variety aren't among them.

I thought his book was really good, but mostly I left with a real respect for his musical knowledge, not just showoff muso stuff but a deep understanding of and curiosity about pop, soul, jazz, etc., how and what makes it work (and how to rip it off).

Unfortunately, that's what makes pretty much all of his music so backward-looking. Not that there's anything particularly wrong with that, but if your music is going to be so backward-looking, at least write songs that stand a chance of competing with what you're ripping off.

You mean like Shipbuilding or Beyond Belief or ... ?

that retro rockabilly raver "Green Shirt."

Clive Langer wrote the music for 'Shipbuilding' ... anyhow, I was familiar with that one long before I tried to get into Costello's work first time around and I still like it - one of the very few that I do. Wyatt's version being the ultimate, although I like Suede's version more than Costello's.

Wyatt's version being the ultimate, although I like Suede's version more than Costello's.

Yeah, Chet Baker notwithstanding..

(I Don't Want to Go to) Challops

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/la-en-mn-elvis-costello-20171207-htmlstory.html

In the movie “High Fidelity,” John Cusack’s record store owner loves to makes music lists. For “Top Five Angry Songs About Women,” he says, “You kind of have to start with Elvis Costello, but where?” Did you appreciate that line?

I don’t get that myself. I think it’s in the eye of the beholder. “Alison” … It’s “I know the world is killing you,” not “I am killing you.” I’m not being pedantic here. It says, “my aim is true.” I am responsible. It’s not like I want to kill you, but this love that we’re in isn’t going to work out.

There’s a lot of songs that are like that. People want to hear them as angry. I’ve even seen the “m-word” attached to my name lots of times. Misogynist.

I think the songs are more about being a young man trying to work out what those feelings are supposed to be about. I’m not always writing the idyllic love song because maybe somebody does that better than me. Some of it’s from real life. I’ve lived parts of those songs. But I don’t think they’re misogynistic. I wonder if the people who think that are the ones with the problem.

“Top Five Angry Songs About Women,”

"I don’t get that myself."

In which Elvis forgets all about Lipstick Vogue

is it misogynistic? i don't think so but it's such a great track

i don't think it's misogynistic, i don't think songs where a man is angry at a woman is necessarily misogynistic.

but it is extremely angry

true

EC was mad at everyone.

guys i finally cracked elvis costello!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "new amsterdam"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! great song

I had to look up the lyrics to “Black and White World” this morning and was musing about Costello’s hubris leading to Get Happy! I used to DJ in college for KTRU in Houston, and we had this DJ named Justin who I knew who was very geeky about alternative rock (from what I remember his favorite band was Television). At one point I listened to a brief interview he did with Costello backstage in Houston (which would have been before my time, because our policy when I was there was very crust punk no major label ever goes on our playlist, although we still had a library of older more mainstream stuff). Justin starts breathlessly gushing about The Bevis Frond to Costello, and Costello says something like “Oh, I haven’t heard of them, they must be new.” Justin replies, “No, its an English guy who’s about your age.” Costello’s reply: “He must not be very good then if I haven’t heard of him.” I get that the kid was annoying you, but really, Declan?

(Speaking of KTRU, I once had the privilege of having the entire membership of Spoon apologize to me for putting on what they thought was a bad show, I guess because they thought I was the station manager. No, they put on a great set that opened with a cover of “I Can’t Stand It” by the Velvets, which six people saw in a muddy field in Houston in 1997 because our station manager, who shall remain nameless, didn’t promote the gig at all. It was an all-day festival we were putting on, and he also forgot to get lights for the stage. There was a big to do about procuring them the day of because the headliners of the show would be playing at night, which would be why he wasn’t there to be wrongly apologized to instead.)

Black & White World is my favorite tune on the whole album. Always thought it was some "real life is never as good as the fantasy" trip.

I recently watched the Live Stiffs tour documentary and he's very nearly absent from it. He's there, and he performs, but he's clearly out of place.

New wife and child? Unease (at that point) with road debauchery? Maybe the filmmakers wanted him to look like the mysterious proto-grownup. Someone makes a joke about Joe Loss and gets quickly shut down.

Is that where Ian Dury and Costello are competing to be the stars of the tour and Larry Wallis et al are competing to see who can get most pissed?

Man, the songs, arrangements and performances of those first six or 7 albums - in five years! - are just so creative and incredible.

That is a fair assessment. My basic path is as follows:

My Aim Is True - classic
This Year's Model - very good
Armed Forces - great but uneven
Get Happy - great but uneven
Trust - great but uneven
Almost Blue - classic
Imperial Bedroom - classic but overreaches in a few places
Punch the Clock - classic

(We don't discuss Goodbye Cruel World)

King of America - classic
Blood & Chocolate - very good
Spike - great but uneven

(Then I snooze for a while)

All This Useless Beauty - classic
Kojak Variety - very good

(Then I just can't anymore. River of Dud. North is the dullest record I ever bought on purpose.)

Hmm, I'd say:

My Aim is True: Classic but uneven
This Year's Model: Classic
Armed Forces: Mostly classic
Trust: Mostly classic
Get Happy: Not uneven but just short of classic
Almost Blue: outlier
Imperial Bedroom: Uneven but classic
Trust: Classic but uneven
Punch the Clock: Pretty consistent but not classic
King of America: Classic but uneven
Blood and Chocolate: Mostly classic
Spike: solid/uneven
various b-sides collections: by definition uneven, but pretty great
most everything else: mostly uneven but sometimes pretty good
North and beyond: good if you only listen to music promoted by NPR

Im verrry close to josh on the shape of the curve, but my drop off starts after punch the clock- i always wonder if i just ran out of fucks to give, so...good enuf. I mean i’ve had several others since ptc but so uneven for me and just not special as collections or works.

Id bump up imperial bedroom, to me it is a stone cold classick

KOA has garbage: Eisenhower Blues, The Poisoned Rose, Glitter Gulch, Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood.

The way I think of it is, those first albums are sooooo good, the playing and arrangements and most of the songs and all, that ... what more do I want? Just an incredible run with the Attractions. I can't imagine anyone staying that good for much longer.

I don't like Glitter Gulch (It's EC's Lily Rosemary & the Jack of Hearts, which I also don't like), but I like Poisoned Rose and Don't Let Me...

I generally agree about the drop-off in quality and consistency but I love ATUB.

Side 1 of Trust remains his high point for me.

Side 2 of This Year's Model, man

"Black and White World" from Get Happy

Even when the songs aren't at their absolute best the performances are never less than a total joy. I could listen to the Attractions tune.

I had a weird experience with Elvis because I listened to Spike and the Brodsky Quartet records first - I used to love "Let Him Dangle", of all songs - before I moved to the earlier, better stuff.

I like every record up to and including "Useless Beauty", with the exception of Kojak Variety, which, in retrospect, is the real preview of Elvis's terrible 2000s - not the Brodsky record, which I don't mind at all. Kojak has all the bad qualities - weird song choice, charmlessness, oversinging and boring guitar playing - of his late 90s/2000s work. And then "When I was Cruel" is the first back-to-basics Elvis record that's a complete failure. (It's so hard to listen to! And boring!)

Imperial Bedroom remains the classic for me - the only one I still want to listen to beginning to end without cherry-picking. And King of America sounds really drab to me these days.

Of the late stuff I seem to remember thinking Momofuku was the least terrible.

And, I would say, his autobigoraphy is fun and he seems like a mensch these days.

When I Was Cruel is really good

I had a weird experience with Elvis because I listened to Spike and the Brodsky Quartet records first - I used to love "Let Him Dangle", of all songs - before I moved to the earlier, better stuff.

Yep. And I loved MLAR in '91.

Some of my favourite Elvis songs on those records - God's Comic, Couldn't Call it Unexpected, Taking My Life in Your Hands...

Brodsky is great singing record - it's the last one before the raspy vibrato nonsense take over

He makes too many long records the last 30 years. When I Was Cruel would have been great with about 20 minutes cut off. Momofuku was a lean 12 songs and excellent. Having said that, all of Brutal Youth justifies the length, but it's (most likely) a one-off of his 50+ minute albums.