― Tim, Saturday, 26 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
― Robin Carmody, Saturday, 26 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
But yeah, I'd say he's mostly a classic.
― Tadeusz Suchodolski, Saturday, 26 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
― Dave M., Sunday, 27 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
If you want some pre-1985 examples, sure -- _Almost Blue_ and _Imperial Bedroom_. The former admittedly seems, from what I can tell, to be seen as a misfire or at least a lesser album among many fans, and certainly I think Billy Sherrill is a horrible producer, as I muttered in another thread elsewhere. I note, though, that even Sherrill said to Costello that he didn't quite understand why EC was wanting to do something over again that had already done, and frankly I sympathize with him. _Imperial Bedroom_, meanwhile, from what I can remember of it sounded partially like an attempt to create a late Beatles album over again, correct me if I'm wrong or that sounds utterly misapplied. As such it didn't impress me much.
*shrug* I read once that Woody Allen was the eternal film school undergrad, perhaps prolific but never or rarely truly inspired. I don't know enough about Allen's work to agree with that particular judgment, but I almost feel it could be applied to EC and rock and roll.
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 28 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
― the pinefox, Wednesday, 30 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
And Elvis Costello, for that matter. I know it sounds funny, but I certainly hope I am more talented than EC, though I'm not sure that you could really be persuaded of that based solely on Melody Maker articles I wrote years ago. The point is, it's not very hard to write songs like Elvis Costello, the reason so few people do is that so few people want to. Torture a pun; look out of your window and watch some sexy girls walk past, contemplate how you're never going to screw them, get bitter then quickly write a bit more; doff your cap to dead guys who wrote better songs than you. I estimate it'd take you 40 minutes, an hour if you stop for two bottles of whisky.
That thing I wrote about EC - which Allan Jones ordered I rewrite and still never quite forgave me for - attributed that quote to Dave Lee Roth. I used it to make a further point: most music journalists like Elvis Costello because most music journalists think like Elvis Costello. I'm not sure that's true anymore, by the way. Increasingly, they all want to be bloody Lee & Herring, which is worse. No, worse still. Adam & Joe.
PS I once met Joe Strummer - during the summer of 1995, which I think he spent perpetually on E, and not long after that review was published. I was amazed when he recognized my name and told me he'd read the EC thing: "I tell you," he said, "I've been waiting 20 fucking years for someone to say that about that cunt..." I was never a punk or anything, but I felt quite proud.
― Taylor Parkes, Wednesday, 30 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
I much prefer "Costello: he's so brilliant he's bad": the lookylikey idea is just clever-clever RoMo body-fascism (he said, crossly tugging his goatee and polishing his glasses), and will only fly if we get to apply it to everyone else as well.
― mark s, Wednesday, 30 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
― the pinefox, Thursday, 31 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
― Mike Hanley, Thursday, 31 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
― Stevo, Thursday, 31 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
― Taylor Parkes, Thursday, 31 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
― Robin Carmody, Thursday, 31 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
Please tell me that isn't the "After Dark" in Laygate, South Shields???
That's abt 1/2 mile from where I sit now, typing thiz cobblerz, instead ov working. Christ....
x0x0
― NooooRmAAAAn fAAAAy, Friday, 1 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
the virus circulates by dodgy mixtapes, calling on EVIL ITSELF:
DUF DUF DUF DUF 'witha cocaine,ectasy,marjuana,lsd - BRING THA NOIZE WHISTLE POSSE'
― geordie racer, Friday, 1 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
― claire schriefer, Monday, 13 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
― Vlad, the impaler, esq., Wednesday, 10 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Douglas, Wednesday, 6 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Tom (Groke), Wednesday, 26 March 2003 17:40 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Wednesday, 26 March 2003 18:13 (twenty-one years ago) link
― girl scout heroin (iamamonkey), Thursday, 27 March 2003 02:45 (twenty-one years ago) link
didnt elvis costello punch some full of it feminist and/or pop singer in the face one time?
he got in an argument with members of the stephen stills band which quickly escalated into a shouting match. apparently, he and bruce thomas were utterly shitfaced and wanted to say 'the worst thing they could possibly say', so ec said that ray charles was a 'blind, ignorant n*****' and proceeded to trash james brown and the whole of america in a similar manner. then bonnie bramlett decked him, and it erupted into a bar fight. ec is horribly contrite about it, says it was a huge mistake etc (see In The Fascist Bathroom, G Marcus)
― Dave M. (rotten03), Thursday, 27 March 2003 04:14 (twenty-one years ago) link
― the pinefox, Thursday, 27 March 2003 11:37 (twenty-one years ago) link
-- David (huntsma...), May 25th, 2001.
David wins!
― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Thursday, 27 March 2003 14:23 (twenty-one years ago) link
― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 3 July 2003 20:14 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Thursday, 3 July 2003 20:33 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Dadaismus (Dada), Friday, 4 July 2003 11:02 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Andrew Thames (Andrew Thames), Friday, 4 July 2003 11:54 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Jim Reckling (Jim Reckling), Thursday, 25 December 2003 04:00 (twenty years ago) link
http://launch.yahoo.com/read/album.asp?contentID=7205
― chuck, Friday, 4 June 2004 00:26 (twenty years ago) link
― Pack Yr Romantic Almanac (Autumn Almanac), Friday, 4 June 2004 00:46 (twenty years ago) link
I still adore This Years Model (and My Aim Is True for the most part) and various songs from later periods (mainly for the melody - I dig a good part of Brutal Youth actually)...
I guess he qualifies as a dud Classic, meaning somebody who you can't truly hate on but doesn't offer much joy. A classic Dud is someone you love to hate, a band that's recorded career is basically worthless but you wouldn't want to live in a world without them (Kiss is a big one for me).
― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Friday, 4 June 2004 01:05 (twenty years ago) link
― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Friday, 4 June 2004 01:10 (twenty years ago) link
wow there are no less than THREE c/d threads for elvis.
anyway, November 8th, San Francisco, Great American Music Hall: Elvis Costello and Clover perform "my aim is true". sold out though and just found out about it so phooey.
― akm, Monday, 8 October 2007 23:23 (sixteen years ago) link
EC: My new record is too expensive. Please don't buy it.
― Let A Man Come In And Do The Cop Porn (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Friday, 18 November 2011 18:39 (twelve years ago) link
ha! i wouldn't mind hearing the show...but who pays for these kinds of things? the 1%?
― tylerw, Friday, 18 November 2011 18:43 (twelve years ago) link
This implies somebody would *want* to wash EC's guitar. I'm content to let it rot away.
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, May 22, 2001
― lumber up, limbaugh down (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 18 November 2011 18:46 (twelve years ago) link
I find Costello to be mostly workmanlike and boring, although his has hit on a very small handful of classics in his career. I honestly can't stand his voice either. So aside from that very small handful of classics... Dud!
― Turrican, Friday, 18 November 2011 18:47 (twelve years ago) link
If on the other hand you should still want to hear and view the component parts of the above mentioned elaborate hoax, then those items will be available separately at a more affordable price in the New Year, assuming that you have not already obtained them by more unconventional means.
― Let A Man Come In And Do The Cop Porn (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Friday, 18 November 2011 18:48 (twelve years ago) link
^^ Costello revealing the "inspiration" behind the 'Trust' album, there.
― Turrican, Friday, 18 November 2011 18:50 (twelve years ago) link
in case you were wondering it's $268
― frogbs, Friday, 18 November 2011 19:32 (twelve years ago) link
...for one CD, one DVD, and a 10" vinyl EP. His 5-disc live box with Steve Nieve costs less than half that.
― Let A Man Come In And Do The Cop Porn (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Friday, 18 November 2011 19:38 (twelve years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxardpBReQc
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 18 November 2011 19:40 (twelve years ago) link
BTW, sort of like Prince, it's not really fair to count EC's prolific nature against him. He had a run of six or so classics in a row before he came anywhere close to dud. After that, sure, it's been hit or miss, but a couple in there have been classics, too.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 18 November 2011 19:44 (twelve years ago) link
well, Prince can sing though.
― lumber up, limbaugh down (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 18 November 2011 19:45 (twelve years ago) link
Man, that's a really scathing parody of Elvis that Nick Lowe's doing in that vid.
I mean, that is Nick, right?
― da croupier, Friday, 18 November 2011 19:46 (twelve years ago) link
xpost That's for sure! But EC's non-singing is no worse than one RZ's.
I mean, I love Prince, more than EC at his best, but even Prince's totally unimpeachable winning streak was almost exactly as long as EC's before things started going off the rails.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 18 November 2011 19:46 (twelve years ago) link
Is Nick Lowe the fuzzy red one or the puppet?
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 18 November 2011 19:47 (twelve years ago) link
The grey haired guy hamming it up behind Elvis glasses (but seriously, I didn't realize Elvis had decided to give up on dye.
All the viral Sesame Street viral vids baffle me, because like, they NEVER ACTUALLY COUNT in this clip! The ratio of parent-baiting in-jokery to educational content is pretty overwhelming. Stop shouting "red 2" and do some basic addition already!
― da croupier, Friday, 18 November 2011 19:50 (twelve years ago) link
you gotta cool out a bit croup
― frogbs, Friday, 18 November 2011 19:52 (twelve years ago) link