Archives for December 2015

Certain Songs #408: Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “Beyond Belief”

December 31, 2015 by Jim Connelly

Album: Imperial Bedroom
Year: 1982

“Masterpiece?” adverted Columbia Records marketing department when Imperial Bedroom appeared, a provocation along the same lines as Epic Records declaring The Clash “The Only Band That Matters” way back in 1980.

My gut reaction then as now was “no.” Imperial Bedroom is the sound of Elvis Costello overthinking things, which — given how fucking smart he is — is kind of a surprise that it didn’t happen more often.

Certain Songs #407: Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “New Lace Sleeves”

December 30, 2015 by Jim Connelly

Album: Trust
Year: 1981

Some songs sneak up on you. They take days, weeks, months, years to reveal themselves to you. In the case of “New Lace Sleeves,” it took almost 35 years.

I literally didn’t realize how much I loved it until last week. In terms of songs from Trust, I always knew that I would post “Strict Time,” but I figured I’d go with “Clubland” or “From a Whisper to a Scream,” and while those last two are great songs, “New Lace Sleeves” is the one I realized I loved the most.

Certain Songs #406: Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “Strict Time”

December 29, 2015 by Jim Connelly

Album: Trust
Year: 1981

Coming in between the genre exercises of Get Happy!! and Almost Blue (not to mention the 20 song odds and sods Taking Liberties), even at the time Trust seemed to be a victim of Costello’s almost unprecedented prolificness.

It was all too much to digest. Of course, with the benefit of 35 years, it’s clear that Trust is one of his most consistently excellent albums, and and is weirdly underrated because its basically the only album of his early period not to have a musical framing device.

Certain Songs #405: Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “Riot Act”

December 28, 2015 by Jim Connelly

Album: Get Happy!! Year: 1980

Did I say that there weren’t any titanic songs on Get Happy!!? Well, I exaggerated to make a point. Because “Riot Act” has always been one of my all-time favorite Elvis Costello songs.

Even before I found out what it was all about 30+ years after the fact. Which was, of course, the infamous incident where his drunkenly private use of a forbidden word in order to piss people off backfired when they went to the press.

Certain Songs #404: Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “New Amsterdam”

December 27, 2015 by Jim Connelly

Album: Get Happy!! Year: 1980

So I have two kinds of favorite albums, one of which is easy for a project like this, and the other that isn’t. While “Certain Songs” is song-oriented (duh), I soon realized that it was also a way to highlight my favorite albums.

For example, by posting four songs from This Year’s Model, I was also implying just how much I love it (#17 on my list of favorite albums from the 1970s), but when it comes to Get Happy!! things aren’t so easy.

And here’s why.

Certain Songs #403: Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding”

December 25, 2015 by Jim Connelly

Album: Armed Forces
Year: 1979

Or as I like to call it: “Nick Lowe’s Retirement Fund,” thanks to its inclusion — sung by some jazz guy — on the zillion-selling soundtrack for The Bodyguard.

I’d say that The Bodyguard soundtrack helped with Dolly Parton’s retirement fund, but anybody who has their own theme park probably doesn’t need a retirement fund. I guess neither did Whitney Houston, come to think of it.

Certain Songs #402: Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “Party Girl”

December 22, 2015 by Jim Connelly

Album: Armed Forces
Year: 1979

By following up the hard-rocking This Years Model with the far more measured Armed Forces, Elvis Costello basically served notice that he was going to take his world-class band any damn place he pleased, and if you didn’t like it, tough.

Of course, no matter what, his songwriting chops and lyrical observations were going to be ace, so while I don’t love Armed Forces as much as the albums that preceded and followed it, that’s on me.

Certain Songs #401: Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “(I Don’t Want to Go to) Chelsea”

December 21, 2015 by Jim Connelly

Album: This Year’s Model (U.K.)
Year: 1978

I think I’ve already written how the import soundtrack to an obscure film called That Summer! was a key for me discovering a variety of great songs by punk rock new wave alternative whatever artists.

As it turns out, that soundtrack was where I first heard Elvis Costello & The Attractions twisted “(I Don’t Want to Go to) Chelsea,” which was left off of This Year’s Model here in the U.S. Of course, they added “Radio Radio,” so I guess it’s a draw.

Certain Songs #400: Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “Lipstick Vogue”

December 20, 2015 by Jim Connelly

Album: This Year’s Model
Year: 1978

It took me awhile to fall in love with “Lipstick Vogue.” At first, it was too hard and shiny for me to get a handle on.

Unlike things like “Pump It Up” or “You Belong to Me” (neither of which I’m not writing about but I very well could), there seemed to be no antecedent for “Lipstick Vogue.”

And that all comes down to the performance of Bruce Thomas, Pete Thomas and Steve Nieve, who were on fucking fire from the first drumbeat.

Certain Songs #399: Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “No Action”

December 19, 2015 by Jim Connelly

Album: This Year’s Model
Year: 1978

“I don’t wanna kiss you, I don’t wanna touch” sings a lonely Elvis Costello from the left speaker, but even before he finishes the line, the whole world has exploded.

Thus begins This Year’s Model, one of all-time greatest punk rock albums which is also a singer-songwriter albums, and one of the all-time greatest singer-songwriter albums which is also a punk rock album.