Elvis Costello Fan Forum

Everyone's contribution to this thread is welcome but I value yours most of all, LJ. What was Bambooneedle's thrice-married avatar? He changes them every day! Only the sensibility of Elvis Costello could have composed 'Love Field,' and I mean that as the highest compliment. The beauty of the outdoor...

The lyrics operate by negation, she really is the only flame and he carries a torch for her though they are separated by distance. The love and fire imagery obtains delicately throughout the song, with hearts and cinders, tender/tinder, embers and infernos. The live version is starkly beautiful and ...

From the Punch the Clock bonus disk, I love the simple and unassuming arrangement of this demo, simply Elvis at the keyboard. Apparently the song is autobiographical. The loving newlyweds are so caught up in each other they don't notice that they're being swindled into substandard housing for a king...

It is a Godsend, LJ. Often the demos on the Punch the Clock bonus disk are superior to the released versions. The result is an alternate album where the songs are allowed to shine through without elaborate arrangement. It is my favorite of the latest reissues for that reason, though all are well wor...

Quick anecdote about Nick Lowe. He was asked by a reporter why he called his album 'Bowi' and replied "Well, he called his 'Low,' didn't he." This is my favorite song on Out of Our Idiot , and the imagery is opaque enough for me to assign my own personal meaning to the lines. I've always i...

The quest to become a man, sexually speaking, although it is ironically designated in the language of children as a big boy. A drive in movie date with all his uncertainties and performance anxiety is described. (Inspired at the time I used the word "fixture" in one of my own songs, prompt...

Charlie Brown wasn't such a good man to change those beautiful lyrics. 'Deep Dead Blue' from the live album of the same name, co-written with Bill Frisell, evokes the depths of night and the depths of sorrow. The singer invites both, shunning the day and the kaleidoscope of happy colors, until a dee...

The studio version of this exists on the Austin Powers soundtrack but the version I have is live with Steve Nieve, a rare and wonderful two-CD recording called On the Road Again . It's a pop song about romantic hurt, the sentiments ranging from cynical (you get pneumonia from kissing) to genuinely w...

Wherever Mr. Misery goes, fun follows. :D 'Green Shirt' comments on the reductionism of television news and the sexualized way it's presented. It's a vision of a society gone haywire, with surveillance of the citizens and mysterious investigations, all written with Mr. Costello's characteristic wit ...

I'm not certain what this song is about, it is by turns very elaborate and suggestive and very simple. There is brilliant language ("From your own backyard to the land of exotica, from the truth society to neurotic erotica") followed by those straightforward commandments of love: "I b...

It makes you a very rare poet in this day and age, LJ. :wink: When I was 17 (I feel like Sinatra starting that way) this song escaped my attention. A reviewer at the time mentioned that EC takes delight in singing such "corny" lines as "They changed your name from Brown to Jones and m...

I so agree with you about 'My Funny Valentine,' LJ. He does such exquisite versions of classic songs, the most recent example is 'Smile.' 'The Flirting Kind' was left off of Punch the Clock in favor of 'Love Went Mad,' but was included in the reissues and Out of Our Idiot . It's a delicate little so...

First heard "Motel Matches" on the "Taking Liberties" LP (vinyl, mind you) For the record, as it were, it was on 'Get Happy!!' 'Little Atoms' is another song about loss of childhood innocence and carnal desires. I love the line "false and lovely modesty" and the juxtap...

Every day goes by with a hitch The Red Sox should learn how to pitch But Selfmademug is impossible to break Though I don't know how much more of this poem she can take. Sorry I'm a bit late with this, you get up early, Mug! So sorry to hear about your injury. A speedy recovery to you, dear friend. L...

I was fortunate enough to see this performed in concert, LJ! It's hard to encapsulate this complex, fascinating song. The main theme seems to be that we can't see the dark recesses and secrets behind what looks like an ordinary life: "You're a guest, you're a tourist at best." Rich imagery...

They should have let a sleeping dog lie. Children can be exasperating and cause anyone to lash/leash out at them. But you overreacted, and it was wounding and wrong for you to curse at them.

Hello and welcome, Al Bum. In 'Just About Glad' I thought "There I was just standing there like a toe just aching to stub" was "There I was just standing there like a tortured pagan stud." In 'Baby's Got A Brand New Hairdo' the line is "The pretty girls of Bleak Street sit t...

I heard that you said I am ugly, King_of_Spain. Good luck trying to attend my next concert!

A note: EC always claimed that 'The Greatest Thing' was a defense of marriage, but after rereading the lyrics your interpretation makes sense too, LJ. He is not always candid about those things. 'For Other Eyes.' Moody and magnificent strings guide this tale of infidelity and its effects. Trust is l...

It's well worth buying the CD September Songs (unless you are fortunate enough to be given it) just for this Kurt Weill-composed song performed passionately by EC backed by the Brodsky Quartet. The theme is the human condition, how we are lost amongst the stars without certainty but hope for God's p...

One of my favorites from When I Was Cruel about the excuses we use to get what we want. Normally I'm not a fan of cynicism but this is honest and bracing, and delivered in vintage style. He mocks pseudo-deprivation ("You never had a pony") and is scathingly sarcastic ("You deserve it ...

Spooky Girlfriend, it's good to hear that those doubts were removed and that you have a happy marriage. Songs can be so significant in our lives. 'Two Little Hitlers' may be his most audacious title, and a clue to why he originally titled the album Emotional Fascism . Likening a relationship to a po...

LJ, we've been together on a few threads before, I don't know if you remember me. You are intelligent and charming and beautiful. Welcome back!

Another gorgeous cover version, beautifully sung torch-song style by Elvis with a mournful sounding organ leading the musical backdrop. The words are simple, the singer has been cheated on and has decided to end a relationship because of it. That certainly seems a good reason to do so. The Very Thou...

This was the song I most disliked on Painted From Memory , but since hearing it in concert I've come to value the song and abhor the arrangement on the record. The instrumental solo and background singers are particularly grating. The song itself is concerned with the effects of loveless sex, and mo...