Now I'm a Shabby Poll: Dig the ILM Elvis Costello Poll

What has red shoes, white knuckles and doesn't want to go to Chelsea? That's right...it's time for some ILM Elvis Costello Poll Action!!!

Submit your top 30 Elvis Costello songs, and your top 5 Elvis Costello albums. Everything from My Aim Is True to Wise Up Ghost is eligible.

Clowntime is Pollver on Friday, December 20th at midnight, New Jersey time. Please send your ballots via electronic mail to ilmcostellopoll at gmail dot com

Use this thread to advocate for any songs. But perhaps we can keep the embedded youtube links to a minimum. Instead, use that fancy period trick between the u and the b. This poll is going to live forever in the New Amsterdam of our musical hearts.

YEAH

Just remember...there's no money-back guarantee on future happiness.

You lack lust -- you're so lackluster

Don't wear your heart out on your sleeve when your remarks are off the cuff.

http://www.youtu.be.com/watch?v=L94GhgGRHrc

I love this song, I don't know how well known it is outside of the UK (where it was the theme tune to 'Scully')?

Scully is definitely my favourite EC acting performance over Spiceworld and the episodes of Fraiser and the Simpsons he appears in.

http://www.independent.co.uk/migration_catalog/article5267562.ece/ALTERNATES/w620/5084353.jpeg

Sure, why not! This could be a good one.

Hey, bassists (or anyone): I was trying to think of an antecedent for Bruce Thomas's style, but I can't quite put my finger on it. It's kind of fast and fusion-y and funky but punky but definitely miles beyond anything other punks were up to.

Hmm, I guess Stax/Motown + McCartney? That gets you mostly there. Plus, I imagine, plenty of speed (in every sense).

Looking forward to this one. My list is probably going to be just from My Aim Is True to Blood & Chocolate but it'll still be tough as that's one of my favourite run of albums ever.

Yes. His first 10 years were historic. You can put them up there with just about any songwriter.

The demo version of Green Shirt will be my #1. Now I have to narrow down the other 29.

http://youtu.be/30guCtrrbN0

awesome! i did a bunch of spotify playlists of favorite deep cuts from every decade of his career recently that really got me excited that this poll was coming up:

http://narrowcast.blogspot.com/2013/09/elvis-costello-deep-album-cuts-box-set.html

stoked to already see green shirt love in this thread

think my ballot will be pretty heavy on dark horses... "green shirt," "new amsterdam," "indoor fireworks," maybe "the other end of the telescope"...

probably won't go any more recent than his 1994 cover of "full force gale" but not a bad note to go out on if you gotta go. outdoes the original imo and if you can outdo van morrison you're doing something right.

jimmy fallon rerun with EC on right now

30 songs is good and roomy but it'll still be hard to make room for later stuff. for me, definitely "God Give Me Strength" will be on there. maybe "45," maybe "Bedlam," "It's Time," etc.

Clowntime is Pollver

Hahaha!

This is good timing - I've been revisiting Costello these past few days and kept forgetting to check when the poll was coming up.

http://www.youtu.be.com/watch?v=NzMInzfBFC8

This version of 'Blue Chair' is so much better than the one on Blood & Chocolate imo

Man, once this gets opened to demos, b-sides, singles, one-offs, rarities, et al., this becomes monumental. Those first 10 years alone contained, what, two or three albums of awesome leftovers, right?

I wonder why EC didn't produce more? HIs Pogues/Specials/Squeeze trilogy is pretty ace, and he produced "Free Nelson Mandela" later, too, right?

Xpost. Yes, his out takes beat normal people's best work. My #1 is from the Taking Liberties comp that I played on cassette at least 1,000 times in high school.

Man, once this gets opened to demos, b-sides, singles, one-offs, rarities, et al., this becomes monumental. Those first 10 years alone contained, what, two or three albums of awesome leftovers, right?

Indeed. Funnily enough, I've been listening to Ten Bloody Mary's and Ten How's Your Fathers and Out of Our Idiot* only this week. Not end-to-end gold, but both comps have classics - apart from the singles, I mean - that may well feature on my ballot.

They also reminded me that Costello can do great cover versions: "My Funny Valentine" and "Walking On Thin Ice" to name but two.

*heh, the sleeve art for this is the worst in the entire history of rock'n'roll, I reckon

ouch
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51MYt9xWGHL._SL500_AA300_.jpg http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61IZOujLUSL._AA300_.jpg

The demo version of Green Shirt will be my #1.

― Johnny Fever, Wednesday, December 4, 2013 11:47 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

maybe same here! if not it'll be my #2, with the demo Big Boys my #1

those ryko v's back in the early 90s were so good, I know there've been a series of further reissues with MORE tracks but I think the ryko ones got the cream

different versions won't be counted separately, will they? i'm just gonna vote for "Green Shirt" because i love both versions (although since i got the TYM reissue before Armed Forces i did know and love the demo version for a while before hearing the full band one so i understand the preference).

I doubt I'll go beyond (or even up to) Spike, but I also won't have any trouble coming up with 30 songs.

Me neither

Unranked ballot

1 Hoover Factory
2-21 Get Happy!!
22-30 Hoover Factory x 9

no this is going to be hard I have a shortlist of 80 or so

different versions won't be counted separately, will they?

Green Shirt is Green Shirt, but during the countdown I'll include advanced demo metrics.

another high vote for Green Shirt, not sure where yet. this guy was huge for me in high school, saw him 3 times I think? then I saw him again in 1998 (duo w/Steve) and he was great then too.

This poll's gonna be fun but to think about listening to his work now pains me. After a binge in high school and college he's a guy I've little time for these days.

exactly the same Alfred

well yeah, this thread says it all:

Elvis Costello: The Exact Moment When This Balding Fat Fucker Jumped The Shark

But after starting listening because of the poll, I'm enjoying him more than in ages

I expect that will be my experience as well, I am particularly looking forward to revisiting Get Happy and Taking Liberties

As poll runner, it is my duty to remind everyone not to forget his best album, Trust. Especially side 1.

Get Happy's the one I never let go, but I just went in to Punch The Clock remembering it as so-so but realised I want to vote for at least half of it.

"Pills And Soap"!

As poll runner, it is my duty to remind everyone not to forget his best album, Trust. Especially side 1.

― kornrulez6969

Agreed. Also: "New Lace Sleeves," which is a claustrophobic, frightening little song in a career full of'em.

This poll's gonna be fun but to think about listening to his work now pains me. After a binge in high school and college he's a guy I've little time for these days.

― the objections to Drake from non-REAL HIPHOP people (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, December 5, 2013 10:35 AM (11 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Ditto. Blood and Chocolate was huge for me in high school. But when Spike came out, I listened to it obsessively trying to pinpoint why nothing was connecting. I kept plugging along, more out of obligation than anything else, and I'm glad I did, for "Couldn't Call It Unexpected No. 4" and most of All This Useless Beauty. But after that, ugh...as a vocalist, what he gained in facility, he lost completely in depth and meaning.

xp

it's the very langer/winstanley pop stuff on that side of PtC that I'm really enjoying - Invisible Man, Mouth Almighty, King of Thieves.

I'm listening to "The Only Flame in Town," a bleh song (those horns!) enlivened by those imperial-phase Daryl Hall harmonies.

Trying out momofuku (2008). 3 tracks in, this is… good!

fuck now he's started doing a bit of his 'proper singing'.

no wait, it's more like the Long Honeymoon than all that Painted with Bacharach stuff. Crisis averted, still enjoying Momofuku. Going to stop liveblogging Momofuku.

1 Hoover Factory
2-21 Get Happy!!
22-30 Hoover Factory x 9

ha! not sure if it will be my #1 or not, but "hoover factory" is probably the ec song that has meant the most to me over the years. so mysterious (why is he singing about that?) and at the same time not at all mysterious (that is what he is singing about). a simple and gorgeous melody. a simple yet slightly weird and perfect arrangement. those deliciously off-kilter backing vox.

as a vocalist, what he gained in facility, he lost completely in depth and meaning.

i think a big part of it is that the gains in facility have never quite matched the gains in ambition. and, yeah, that's part of the reason why it's hard for me to imagine voting for anything past the first decade. the more he tries to "sing," the harder i find it to listen. but i'd love to discover a song or two that proves my hunch wrong.

deep cuts

as for that amazing initial run of albums on columbia, i'm not sure he has any songs that qualify as dark horses or deep cuts. he hardly had any hits (at least in the u.s., where he hit top 40 twice, top 20 once, barely, and top 10 never), and while he does have a handful of what you might call "canon" tracks, he's always been one of those guys who treated his songs as equals. he was going deep into albums and b-sides (and covers) in his setlists from the start, and he never wavered on that. he's put out enough b-side collections and expanded editions of his catalog that pretty much every song he's ever thought of has probably been released 11 or 12 times by now. if you know elvis, you know everything, or at least everything from that rather long initial run. i'm curious to see what surfaces to the top here.

As poll runner, it is my duty to remind everyone not to forget his best album, Trust. Especially side 1

yes. also great: side 2.

Punch the Clock annoyed me, although I obviously loved Shipbuilding and Every Day I Write the Book. Elvis trying to cram in too many words, and over busy arrangements. But Imperial Bedroom is kind of perfect

20+ years of people trying to tell me the new Elvis Costello and Woody Allen releases are good and they never, never, never fucking are.

ballot with nothing post-"King of America" under construction!

strongly disagree re woody allen, but regardless of the quality i admire both of them for continuing to work as hard as they do, well past the point where many of their peers have started taking frequent career naps.

xps

I like Imperial Bedroom, but have never really loved it - feel like the seeds of the later monstrous Costello are there - the ambition towards a kind of classical songwriting (+ production) brilliance - energy's down a bit, lacks a little bit of blood or bile for me.

Imperial Bedroom won't play into my ballot much, but Man Out of Time will be really high up there.

My first stab at a ballot included everything on Imperial Bedroom. Only thing I might cut is "Town Cryer."

"town cryer" may well be my only imperial bedroom vote.

gonna be some intersting results then! I personally rate IB very highly

It's my favorite of his, even though I hated it when I first heard it. And holy hell, Bruce Thomas: the insane runs at the end of "Shabby Doll," the double-stops on "Human Hands," everything he does on "Almost Blue"...

it's funny: given my decline narrative I should dislike IB, but I think it's pretty great....and yup, my first cut from that disc was "Town Cryer"!

You Little Fool has always been my favorite Imperial Bedroom song. That will be in my top ten.

i'm gonna vote the hell outta this poll

Elvis Costello introduced me to George Jones true story

Just heard "Peace, Love & Understanding" in a burger joint while grabbing lunch, so rare to hear EC in the wild

won't work to convince anyone about post-80s albums because there really aren't any that truly equal the early LPs, but there are lots of great individual songs peppered throughout the later years.

If you're gonna hear EC in the wild, it will either be that one or "Alison". Perhaps there's an off chance you'd hear "Pump It Up" too, but less likely.

have so much grading to do but will try to put together a ballot for this

I cited my top twenty back in August.

Like anyone cares.

what's the fast version of Town Cryer on? i heard it on an old NME tape i picked up at a charidee shop years ago and loved it. imagine my surprise when i heard the slow one on IB!

"Imagine my surprise.." is a phrase I always associate with the letters page in Viz, pisces

not a bad list, Alex!

?!?!?!

xxp

Trying to decide whether my ballot should be a snapshot of where I am with EC now, or use the opportunity to dig deep into post-Columbia work. That's produced a mixed bag of results in previous polls.

If you're gonna hear EC in the wild, it will either be that one or "Alison". Perhaps there's an off chance you'd hear "Pump It Up" too, but less likely.

― Johnny Fever, Thursday, December 5, 2013 3:17 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

well sure. but i like all the big hits so i never mind hearing them.

worked an event a few months ago and one of the other guys on the tech crew was playing a generic playlist of popular music on the PA off of his iPod, and then out of nowhere "Moods For Moderns" came on, had to commend him on sneaking in an EC album track

As poll runner, it is my duty to remind everyone not to forget his best album, Trust. Especially side 1.

― kornrulez6969

Agreed. Also: "New Lace Sleeves," which is a claustrophobic, frightening little song in a career full of'em.

― the objections to Drake from non-REAL HIPHOP people (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn)

Yeah this album is fantastic. As well as containing two of his most underrated singles with Clubland and From a Whisper to a Scream (How was this not a hit?) it has some truly fantastic album tracks. Along with New Lace Sleeves I have to find room for Pretty Words, White Knuckles and You'll Never Be a Man. His songwriting is just so effortless on that album and he was obviously on such a roll at this point.

The thing about Trust is it has some of the alltime worst EC songs, like Shot With His Own Gun and Fish and Chip Paper. But even with those stinkers, it's still a masterpiece thanks to stuff like Watch Your Step and everything else mentioned.

Trust is near or considered the top of his canon these days, which is reassuring considering it's a bunch of songs with no unity of time or place.

when i started getting into Elvis as a teenager, i got the first 4 albums in chronological order, but the Trust cover art looked cheesy and i hadn't heard anything about it being great, so i started jumping around the discography to later albums, and didn't hear Trust until much later, and have yet to really bond with it. i wonder if i'd gone to it straight from Get Happy i'd have a higher opinion of it, i dunno.

I've no idea which albums are seen to be his best these days apart from the first two. When I started getting into older music (around 15 years ago) I read around and it seemed like Imperial Bedroom was seen as his masterpiece, not sure if it seems that way anymore. It was the first album of his I bought and even though it's not one of my favourites anymore it was a good starting point.

Also just listening to Blood & Chocolate (another great album) the backing vocals at the 2 minute mark in Crimes of Paris might just be my favourite Elvis moment ever.

a bunch of songs with no unity of time or place.

but a total unity of sound and feel. i think each of his first seven or eight albums has a unique feel in the way they're arranged and produced, even when the songwriting stayed more or less consistent. every one of those albums has its own personality.

and i loved the trust cover shot. that one and the taking liberties gave me my lifelong impressions of who i think elvis is.

i assume if you asked 100 random elvis fans to name their favorite album, this year's model would be named more than any other. i also assume a lot of albums would be named.

or maybe armed forces.

Christgau awarded Trust the highest grade he'd ever assign to Elvis C after TYM, and the Big Orange SPIN Book ranked it in his top three, so by the time I found the "Nice Price!" Columbia tape in the cut bin rack in 1994 it was well on its way. It wasn't an immediate hit for me -- it lacked AF's keyboard colors and TYM's punch -- but because it was one of those tapes I always had in the car it gradually became a favorite.

the Trust cover art looked cheesy

ha maybe that's the hero of Less Than Zero (ahem!) put the poster on his wall.

*maybe that's WHY rather

i think there's not really many people at all who'd rate their #1 album as something outside the first 3. i'm actually kinda disappointed kornrulez is only doing top 5 album ballots, i feel like top 5s are so centered around the same 6 or 7 albums that'd you'd have to get top 10s to get a handle on the popularity of his catalog outside those records.

I'm tempted to place KOA in my top five because the highs are so goddamn high (but the lows...yeesh).

i think there's quite a few who'd rate imperial bedroom, actually. and i think some of them are here.

Imperial Bedroom has too much filler for me. Tears Before Bedtime, You Little Fool, Pidgin English and Kid About It are all kind of forgettable but And In Every Home has to be the worst offender as it's maybe the most overproduced song every recorded. Plenty of great moments too. Beyond Belief might be his best opener and The Loved Ones will be inside my top 10 no problem.

oh sure IB is absolutely in that 7 or so most revered albums i was referring to.

i'm thinking of doing something silly w/ my albums ballot like only post-70s albums or only underrated albums (became a fan of Goodbye Cruel World recently). xp

i agree that Imperial isn't all it's cracked up to be. although the hilariously overcooked "And In Every Home" is probably one of the highlights for me.

half those IB songs are written in pidgin English.

I'm just flicking through that album. I had forgotten how amazing Boy With a Problem is. The way he crams to so much into just over 2 minutes is quite something.

i'm actually kinda disappointed kornrulez is only doing top 5 album ballots, i feel like top 5s are so centered around the same 6 or 7 albums that'd you'd have to get top 10s to get a handle on the popularity of his catalog outside those records.

Valid point. From here on out, you can list your top 10 favorite EC albums for the poll. The one ballot I already got can go back and add some if they are so inclined.

The way he crams to so much into just over 2 minutes is quite something.

as a physical feat

nice, korn!

I aim to please and my aim is true.

Is there a moderator who can go edit the 5 albums to 10 up top?

No strong feelings about Elvis Costello's music, but he did provide maybe my favourite Larry Sanders moment ever:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoW2mQff2wE

Hahaha "I don't think so"

I like that bit in the other episode he's in where Hank is mocking him as he performs.

ooh maybe I'll make some time to do a ballot for this

/Trust/ is near or considered the top of his canon these days, which is reassuring considering it's a bunch of songs with no unity of time or place.

Dave Marsh made a similar point in the 1983 New RS Record Guide. He basically said, "Yeah, Trust is great, yadda yadda, but it's just a collection of amazing songs and it fails to address all these unanswered questions about who he is and where he's going."

I love it myself, but maybe just outside my top 5.

Imperial Bedroom has too much filler for me. Tears Before Bedtime, You Little Fool, Pidgin English and Kid About It are all kind of forgettable but And In Every Home has to be the worst offender as it's maybe the most overproduced song every recorded. Plenty of great moments too. Beyond Belief might be his best opener and The Loved Ones will be inside my top 10 no problem.

Ha, "Pidgin English" is a strong contender for #1 on my ballot (and more heart rending Bruce brilliance in the outro).

I'm gonna enjoy this poll, but one of the things it means is that I'm going to be trying once again to see if I can finally get into Imperial Bedroom. Feels like I go through this every five or so years.

King Of American isn't getting much hype here. That is another phenomenal record.

King of America, obviously.

KOA is really long and has more than a couple songs that actively annoy me, so i never rate it highly as an LP, but it has quite a few great tracks in contention for my ballot.

People say that, but I've never liked it.

KOA my fave Costello record. At this point, I fail to even hear its lows as lows anymore.

I remember Mighty Like a Rose not being as bad as people said it was, but it's been probably 10-12 years since I've listened to it. I should revisit.

I had the exact same reaction, but yeah, can't recall a thing about it at the moment.

I hated MLAR on first listen, but it grew on me. The production leaves a bit to be desired, but "Couldn't Call It Unexpected No. 4" is all-time.

The latest song I absolutely have to make room on my ballot for is "You Tripped at Every Step" from Brutal Youth.

Listening to Kojack Variety right now. I heard his version of "Days" right before I went into my heavy Kinks phase in the mid-90s, so I have a lot of love for his cover when I probably shouldn't.

i've never really been able to hear much of a difference between Spike and MLAR, in terms of sound or quality, other than that one had a hit and the other didn't.

It's no big deal now, but Costello being a long hair beardo hippie in the MLAR period was shocking at the time.

he already had the long beard when he did "Veronica" on SNL, but he was clean-shaven on Spike's cover. i totally get why 'similar to the recent comeback album, but without a hit, and plus embarrassing new facial hair' would spell doom for an album's rep, i'm just saying from my purview it seems like a decent record.

also Mighty Like A Rose is obv a pretty terrible title. he has so many great evocative album titles that when one isn't it seems to cast a shadow over the whole thing.

If I manage to get a ballot together, "Party Girl" will be an easy #1. I'd also like to speak up for at least some of Spike, which seems to be kind of reviled but has some great songs -- "Deep Dark Truthful Mirror," "Baby Plays Around" and "Let Him Dangle" in particular.

"Party Girl" is pretty amazing. one of Bruce's finest performances.

Yeah the interplay between him and Nieve is like a pocket orchestra, so much packed in there. And it's a great lyric too.

Based on the activity of this thread, I'm going to be doing a lot of math. To whomever created that super snazzy spreadsheet with automatic point adding, thank you.

Indoor Fireworks my favorite off that album

King of America, oops

how do points work on a 30-song ballot? or do we even have to include points? does your spreadsheet do that automatically for us?

IMPOSSIBLE. I'll have to submit at least 3 ballots to capture favourite 90 songs and 15 albums.

album cap was expanded to 10, so you can do 30 albums! room for North!

I thought I was a massive Elvis Costello fan going into making this list, and now I feel like a This Year's Model fan who also likes those songs from Larry Sanders. Kinda ran out around 20.

Got my ballot more or less sorted, it's very heavily weighted towards the first four albums though - I've definitely cooled on some of the '80s ones I used to really like (particularly Imperial Bedroom and King of America) and I guess I regard him now as a top-tier new wave artist with occasional flashes of brilliance later on.

also Mighty Like A Rose is obv a pretty terrible title. he has so many great evocative album titles that when one isn't it seems to cast a shadow over the whole thing.

― deez the season (some dude), Friday, December 6, 2013 12:42 AM (8 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

It's from this:

http://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/scriptorium/sheetmusic/a/a70/a7054/a7054-2-72dpi.jpeg

i've never really been able to hear much of a difference between Spike and MLAR, in terms of sound or quality, other than that one had a hit and the other didn't.

I really like the T-Bone Burnett clarity of the former. The latter is one of the worst examples of Mitchell Froom muddle, which makes it even more amazing he returned to the Froom well for the even worse sounding "Brutal Youth." Interesting to compare the Burnett production of "Spike" to the Burnett production of "National Ransom." What a difference 20 years makes.

"Couldn't Call it Unexpected No. 4" likely in my top twenty.

MLAR uses the let's-use-six-bassists-on-one-track approachof Spike but the mix is gross and EC writes words to match those hysterical arrangements.

Yeah, otm. On MLAR it sounds like it was his first time in a 64-track studio, and he felt obligated to use all 64 tracks at all times on all songs.

"Spike" took a lot of its cues (and musicians) from Tom Waits, so I think I appreciated that approach. Ribot was a good guitar match.

Also, was "Veronica" is first ever US hit? Or anything close to it?

His first top twenty hit. "Everyday I Wrote The Book" grazed the top 40.

And to what extent does EC deserve any credit (blame?) for aiding McCartney's comeback?

and the last time I played it – years ago –  Goodbye Cruel World sounded better than Punch the Clock.

And to what extent does EC deserve any credit (blame?) for aiding McCartney's comeback?

The other way around. EC scored the bigger hit. Whatever success FITD got in the States had to do with Macca touring the hell out of it and general boomer nostalgia at its most disgusting in '89.

Linda Ronstadt recorded a version of "Alison" on her album Living In The USA, in 1978, which sold over 2 million copies. Released as the disc's fourth single, it hit #30 in the United States and #66 in the United Kingdom. Years later, Costello joked that he might have been publicly derisive of Ronstadt's version, "but I didn’t mind spending the money that she earned me".[5] Costello donated royalties from Ronstadt's version to the African National Congress after she played at Sun City in South Africa.

Timely^

Surprised to learn that Armed Forces was top 10 in the US -- specifically, #10. I guess he really was on his way to a certain level of US success until he scuttled it.

'veronica' chart stats aided greatly by appearance of modern rock radio. pre-'everday' he has hits the way springsteen had hits pre-'hungry heart', albums sold pretty well, armed forces went top ten, this year's model went top forty. not blondie or the cars territory but much better than what say television or even ramones did (ramones only had two albums chart at all, end of the century peaking at 44 and ramones mania peaking at 166). comparable to where talking heads were at the time and in 1979 you'd have to figure the ec model had the brighter chart/radio prospects going forward. then came the racist garbage about ray charles and james brown and combine that w/ the bridges he's burnt on tv and radio and it takes some serious contrition, mtv, and the next british invasion for him to regain momentum by which point he's started running out of songs.

bah xp

The People magazine piece from 1979 on the incident: http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20073464,00.html

Always wondered if Bramlett and Elvis ever crossed paths since.

before the Stephen Stills band incident he had the biggest cred of the punks with EL Lay types. Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks were fans (in Buck's girlfriend's memoir she recounts a Hollywood Bowl concert or some shit).

I remember an interview Costello did with on Bill Maher's HBO show a few years back. They were talking about celebrity gaffes, and I think Maher didn't know about the Ray Charles thing. He says to EC something along the lines of "You've been in the public eye for a long time, but have managed to avoid doing anything embarrassing." For a second, you can see a flash of pure terror in Costello's eyes. Pretty funny.

anyhow there was a period during adolescence when i was really really into elvis costello. got into him hilariously enough via bret easton ellis where a poster for trust is a standin for dr. eckleburg. recovering beatlemaniac edging into puberty w/ a confused mix of lust/fear/anger towards girls - dude was MADE for me. spike was the first new one to come out during this time and i overplayed it and definitely overrated it, by the time mighty like a rose came out i had pretty much moved on (that beard and the horrible all black buffalo bill outfit helped) but i was still enough of a fan to buy (and generally like, ie i have favorite songs from the juliet letters) every album thru all this useless beauty. now somewhat rarely listen to him (the only act i can think of that i was obsessed w/ as much or more that i listen to less now is public enemy), the misogyny is so much deeper and heartfelt than the casual laughed off misogyny of the stones and the nice guy syndrome at work is too apparent plus i listened to these albums so much they long ago stopped revealing anything new to me (cf the beatles). the one exception to this maybe weirdly being my aim is true which i never loved nearly as much as the next three that came after it and so when i do listen to it i'm always actually reminded that o yeah it's wall to wall great songs. still love these albums but they've become friends i long ago ran out of things to talk about w/.

tbh I have no idea what I might do if I was hammered in a motel bar with Stephen Stills' road band.

lol at kornrulez, i can remember circa ray charles' death elvis costello having this remembrance somewhere (probably rolling stone) where they were both at some party or function or backstage and knowing that this is someone he could never just go up to and shake his hand and introduce himself, which for a musical obsessive like ec you know was actual punishment.

Whatever success FITD got in the States had to do with Macca touring the hell out of it and general boomer nostalgia at its most disgusting in '89.

Ha yeah - I was only eight years old in 1989 but it does seem like a few big name '60s/'70s acts released their 'return to form' albums that year.

he also spent an insane amount of time talking trash about other, more successful artists - ronstadt obv, springsteen. as much as the racism of his charles and brown statements hurt him i think it fitting that pattern of this limey asshole punk shooting his mouth off about beloved american artists played a large role also in it hurting him w/ radio and press.

the amount of coverage the who reunion tour in 89 got would blow the minds of some of our younger ilxors

the tour for which Townshend played acoustic guitar in a soundproof chamber

x-post The Grateful Dead kicked it off with Touch of Grey a few years earlier. Then Moody Blues had a huge hit with Your Wildest Dreams. Then Jefferson Airplane got back together and it was 60s reform mania.

I saw that Who show. They sold out 6 nights in Giant Stadium. It was awful: garish horn section, backup singers, everything you don't want from The Who.

What I'd want from the Who is an evens chance they might play "Dogs"

swear this damn thing getting an astounding amount of play on mtv not only kept me from exploring the who for several more years but has still prevented me from watching the iron giant to this very day -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpiYXRt5MyM

doesn't sound nearly as awful now, like a peter gabriel track for a disney movie. so yknow still pretty awful.

um i don't think the dead kicked it off thank you very much

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txO3D_VFWuA

oops just remembered the no youtube embeds request - it's ok for non-elvis costello right?

Might be a good poll: Worst Comeback Songs By Long-Gone Artists.

i'd long ago made my peace that a state fair tour of (some of) the monkees, gary puckett & the union gap, and the grass roots could somehow turn into one of the biggest tours of 1986 but it was still surprising to me a few years ago to see that the big comeback single that was all over mtv didn't even have fucking davy in it.

initially the single was credited to "Mickey Dolenz (of the Monkees)"

then a year later they get some money to put into the new stuff and the video, they've gotten a taste of the comeback and now they're ready for it, they expect it, and davy's even on the record now what could go wrong and then this flops -
http://youtu.be/mo7cBvd62Uw

and the template for pavement videos was created

Worst Comeback Songs By Long-Gone Artists.

Yes, except it'd be won overwhelmingly by "Free as a bird" even if that option was write-in only.

have you heard "That Was Then This is Now" recently??

tbf, Macca's previous record was Press To Play. Anything would seem like a return to form after that.

But it was huge news when he toured in 1989, since he hadn't played in the US since '76 (or anywhere else since '79).

Worst Comeback Songs By Long-Gone Artists.

Alfred, you of all people ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1H-Y7MAASkg

DON: Well, yeah.

the amount of coverage the who reunion tour in 89 got would blow the minds of some of our younger ilxors

― balls, Friday, December 6, 2013 10:47 AM (49 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

the tour for which Townshend played acoustic guitar in a soundproof chamber

― the objections to Drake from non-REAL HIPHOP people (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, December 6, 2013 10:47 AM (48 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

It did get a shit-ton of coverage, which I kinda dug. Townshend played electric for about half of every show. It didn't seem awful at the time, but no one -- no fans, no one in the Who -- thinks back fondly on that tour.

tbf, Macca's previous record was Press To Play. Anything would seem like a return to form after that.

fighting words

think poll should be limited to wtf boomer comeback hits from the mid to late 80s and limited to acts that actually went away ie not mccartney, clapton. if there's enough tracks (and i suspect there are) limit it further to 'that was then, this is now' blatant man the 60s were something but now it's the 80s nostalgia/gloating - 'we built this city' but not 'sara'. the aor equivalent of rolling stone's perception vs reality ad campaign.

For sheer weirdness, my favorite 60s comeback song will always be Jefferson Airplane's Planes.

Experimental Aircraft!!!!

http://www.youtu.be.com/watch?v=L0gnnVcOLNc

Hugh Padgham:

Q - You were a fan of The Beatles. So, when Paul McCartney asked you to produce one of his albums, how do you get past the fact that standing in front of you or sitting across from you is one of the most celebrated singer / songwriters the world has ever known?

A - Of course I was bowled over. I was in my late 20s, still relatively young, young to the game. I thought this was just amazing. When he or someone couriered to me a cassette to the studio when I was working with Phil Collins or whoever I was working with, I went home incredibly excited to listen to a cassette of those demos that he had done with Eric Stewart from 10cc and I can honestly tell you now that I was underwhelmed when I heard those songs. I thought, well, hang on, who am I to know, as a little 28 year old guy, that Paul McCartney has given me these songs that are not very impressive? It must be me not being able to sort of see these songs that are effectively them sitting around a campfire with a couple of acoustic guitars. If I'm completely honest then, the album we made called "Press To Play" wasn't a very good album. I kind of fell out with Eric Stewart during it. Paul McCartney became quite annoying as far as I'm concerned, if I'm being completely honest. After sort of a year of every day in the studio, he's not on the same pedestal as when you started. I really don't look back on the record that I made with him with much fondness at all to be quite honest. I don't think it was that great. I don't think he was in an era of writing good songs. I was amazed because Eric Stewart was a hero of mine from 10cc. I just thought it must be me. I can't see the wood for the trees, or whatever. But I look back at it now and realize I was completely right, really. But what are you going to do as a 28 year old when you've suddenly been asked to record an album with one of the greatest guys in Pop music ever? You're not gonna say no, are you?

haha that's great

in Buckley's Bowie bio Padgham says Paul said, "Hugh, how many hit songs have you written?"

But on the other hand, who has ever written a song about Paul McCartney?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFdGUfU2Zyg

Padgham's experience with Bowie was not, uh, the best either.

Our high school cafeteria had a jukebox, btw, and we used to load it up with the shittiest b-sides. This "Hugh" song probably got the most play there ever.

franklin bruno's armed forces is my favorite 33 1/3 book and one of my all-time favorite pieces of rock criticism. his deconstruction of "accidents will happen" is a tour de force. and he's particularly insightful about the ray charles/james brown/bonnie bramlett/stephen stills incident, which he explores from several angles and points of view.

bruno on bonnie bramlett: "Bramlett's direct involvement and continued identification with black musicians contrasts sharply with EC's own relation to American soul and R&B, which is inevitably mediated by an ocean and a raft of Merseybeat covers. This difference goes some way toward explaining the special character of her reaction ... This was not altruistic outrage, but a response to a personal attack."

and then he quotes her from several years later: "He was drunk, and he was out of line, but please allow both of us to have made a faux pas. I smacked his face, but it's over."

and then this elvis quote from 1982 on why he had not, for example, personally apologized to james brown: "What could I say? How could you explain such a thing? But there is nothing I'd like more."

The second half of the famous "Elvis Costello Repents" piece:

http://www.elviscostello.info/articles/r/rolling_stone.820902b.html

I'm not saying I wasn't responsible for my actions; that sounds like I'm trying to excuse myself. But I was not very responsible. There's a distinct difference. I was completely irresponsible, in fact. And far from carefree - careless with everything. With everything that I really care about. And I think that inasmuch as it was said that we fed ourselves to the lions, you could say that whatever the incident was, it was symptomatic of the condition I was in, and that I deserved what happened regardless of the intentions of the remarks.

I read the article years ago but concluded he came off about as well as he could. The QJ-MJ anecdote was amusing.

McCartney on Costello and other people with glasses:

http://youtu.be/D72l3xRen2M
http://youtu.be/RyEYq7e7dmc

lol @ Macca at 0:36 not able to answer if anyone has told him a song's crap.

co-sign on the Armed Forces 33 1/3 book being a great read. was really more illuminating and thought-provoking than i thought such a short book could be about an album/era that i'd already read and thought a lot about. are there any other really good books about Costello? i real the Tony Clayton-Lea bio years ago and it was pretty flimsy.

the Ray Charles incident inevitably came up recently while EC was promoting Wise Up Ghost with ?uestlove, interesting to hear him talk about it in that context with a few decades of hindsight

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mG-xVLjR0g

Argh! My semester needs to hurry up and end so I can finally read the Armed Forces book.

huge fan of the armed forces 33 1/3. already voted and the amount of post-columbia ec i have feels insanely generous as is, more tokens of fandom than actual judgment (ie i do not actually think any track on mlar or atub is better than 50% of this year's model), but curious about more recent albums - anything approaching essential? anything great? how is the roots album? i've seen this dude host for letterman more recently than i've listened to an album so anything from this century.

There's like 6 songs I utterly love on "National Ransom," but I'm such an Americana nut that it may have just pushed the right buttons for me.

I had When I Was Cruel on my top ten of its year, but haven't listened lately to see if it holds up or if I was just happy at the time to have the first actually Costello-ish Costello album in years.

at the risk of pushing my playlists too hard, these are my favorite non-singles from 2000-2009: http://open.spotify.com/user/1219464571/playlist/3fsXfhv2FUCI3FBpvC5LfR

nothing earth-shattering but i think he's eased into a good groove, choices in collaborators and producers have been solid, doesn't oversing as much, in general fewer embarrassing moments than his 90s output.

the album w/ The Roots is very good imo, that and The Delivery Man are my favorites of this century.

I'll second the endorsement of the Roots stuff, particularly the NYC show a couple months ago. I was impressed: that's what years of craft teaches you. It hasn't been enough to get me to National Ransom or North but now I'm a Spotify member so

I've a friend, an anonymous ILM lurker, who saw this poll and asked if I was participating. When I jokingly asked him if he'd break the silence and do so himself he said he knew little about EC except the first three albums. It confirmed my suspicion: if you're thirty and don't like EC you'll never like him.

seems like there's more artists you CAN say that of than you CAN'T say that of, tbh. what long-running artists are modern day 35-year-olds likely to suddenly fall head over heels for that they didn't bother with when they were younger?

One minor, possible amendment to that: I worked in a record shop when North was released and I remember quite a few senior-age people buying it, seemingly on account of his doing the rounds on the daytime talk shows to promote it. At least one woman told me "I'd never liked him before, but this is wonderful."

I'm speculating here. Bill Wyman's essay in the SPIN Alternative Guide, written after BY's release, claimed that he was "the least full-bodied, least influential, and perhaps most disrespected" of pantheon artists. A few years earlier Christgau said reviewing Spike that EC was "doomed never to convert the unconverted again." Now EC is more prolific is ever.

I mean, does the apocryphal David Lee Roth remark about EC true in the sense that his virtue are so obvious to a certain kind of rock critic that evangelism is useless? I sold half my collection of EC records a few years ago because I thought I didn't need to own it anymore.

what long-running artists are modern day 35-year-olds likely to suddenly fall head over heels for that they didn't bother with when they were younger?

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cGTCZQfXKWA/TeUADA2woFI/AAAAAAAAEhw/krv7lGoR7qw/s1600/CountryBearsHenley.jpg

did delivery man have 'half man half monkey' on it? cuz i remember really hating that when the aaa station down here played it a ridiculous amount. love king of america but there is so so so much about it that seems like harbingers of twenty five years of wrong. i got the eisenhower blues.

i think the only person i ever tried to 'convert' w/ ec was casino, and that was more befuddlement that a guy who loved the beatles, joe jackson, and billy joel hated elvis costello.

it's "Monkey To Man" but yes, that's the one, ugh. "45" aside, i don't think any of the last bunch of albums have been done any favors by their singles choices. "Walk Us Uptown" is by far my least favorite track on the new one, "Tear Off Your Own Head" was terrible, for some reason the single off one a few years ago was a dull re-recording of "Complicated Shadows." xp

and man "Complicated Shadows" was a good one -- I loved his guitar line. All This Useless Beauty was the last new one I really cared about and bought at the time of release.

same here (and i really liked it, so i'm not really sure why the apathy afterwards). lol i know that dissing anything in a poll thread is a guaranteed way to boost its prospects but have grown really tired of 'complicated shadows', it's gotten slightly overrated somehow (i guess cuz of the sopranos?). the atub track i listened to again for the first time since the clinton administration and was kinda amused when i thought about how much i LOVED it at the time is 'it's time'. belongs on a comp of old farts messing w/ 90s beats w/ 'streets of philadelphia' and many john mellencamp songs. tempted to do a poll of post-blood and chocolate ec albums but feel like it might be spoilerish (though would it really?); from what i listened to the other day it's brutal youth for me though i think the peaks on spike are higher.

I remember a passionate, unhinged version of "It's Time" from '96 or early '97 on -- Letterman? Letterman loved him and booked him often.

i'm not dissing "Complicated Shadows," it's a fine song. but when you hear a defanged acoustic version in the middle of a bunch of new songs on Secret, Profane and Sugarcane, you wonder wtf the point of that is.

the production's definitely dated but i kind of adore "It's Time." ATUB/Painted From Memory were the new records coming out when i started listening to Costello and i've always had a soft spot for them.

i certainly didn't know any other teenagers in the late '90s who had much interest in him, even among the dudes that were all about Television or The Clash or other contemporaneous punk/new wave stuff. maybe the constant stream of EC reissue campaigns has helped him stay visible relative to audience interest, maybe that stuff getting media attention every couple years made it impossible for kids to 'discover' the stuff and make it their own, i dunno.

one of my favorite generationally tonedeaf musical hat tips in a teen movie was in John Tucker Must Die, when two attractive circa 2006 high schoolers bond over a mutual love of Elvis Costello.

lol i think i confused 'monkey man' w/ 'part man part monkey' a springsteen outtake from fucking human touch. reminds me of when i was a kid and listening to ec in my room and my dad stuck his head in the room out of nowhere and sneered 'randy newman and the e street band'.

seems like there's more artists you CAN say that of than you CAN'T say that of, tbh. what long-running artists are modern day 35-year-olds likely to suddenly fall head over heels for that they didn't bother with when they were younger?

― deez the season (some dude), Friday, December 6, 2013

HI DERE

http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2012/09/17/aimee-mann-8-24-12-3_custom-2088789948f901d725ec5979381e4c9afbc46d61-s40-c85.jpg

lol that john tucker thing reminds me of when in glamorama this superhip club is mentioned and we know it's superhip cuz they're playing 'the new elvis costello album'. in 1998. w/ anyone else i'd wonder if there's a joke there or what but this was bret easton ellis, sincerity of elvis costello love could not be doubted.

Why I'm weird (well, one reason): I got into Costello via Aimee Mann (with a co-assist from my local "alternative" station frequent spins of "13 Steps Lead Down").

*station's

I rest my case.

Seriously I swear there's an Aimee Mann switch that flips on yr 35th bday.

Scott: Alright, well then maybe you're not her type. She's into stuff like old school Elvis Costello, she listens to obscure podcasts, she reads Dave Eggers. You know, she's deep, man.

Yeah, but this is when I was like 17. Remember, "why I'm weird."

the most I listened to Aimee Mann was when I was a teenage EC fan (specifically the album with the Costello co-write!) so I dunno what to tell you, clearly i'm not the test case here.

tbf the costello co-write is fantastic, as is that record (tho it's technically til tuesday)

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

Also, re: that picture above, I was mildly annoyed last year when The Singles Jukebox made an Aimee Mann = prototypical NPR music joke when we covered her, mostly on the grounds that when i finally unsubscribed from the All Songs Considered podcast it was cause all they seemed to play were various Justin Vernon side projects, but, well, there it is.

well yeah I discovered Mann through EC.

! thought it would be thru rush!

Discovering Mann through EC makes way more sense, or at least seems way more likely, than the way I did it.

she was a name on "Time Stands Still"

No mention yet in this thread of "Girls Talk," which is one of my favorite EC tunes even though I like the covers better than his version. (Most recent cover is on the new Susanna Hoffs/Matthew Sweet volume.) "You may not be an old-fashioned girl, but you're gonna get dated" might be my favorite EC zinger.

actually i was referring to this Mann/Costello collab that afaik has only appeared on one of her albums:

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

although apparently EC has a demo version of it on the All This Useless Beauty reissue

oh. ha. well the other one's still great!

my first ec was spike -- i was a teenager who'd heard the name but didn't know anything about him and rolling stone was all like 'best ec record since ____!' (which is weird, as it came after king of america/blood & chocolate). i liked it well enough, but yeah i don't think his let's-have-15-musicians-on-everything period is ideal. also it didn't rock.

got king of america next, which also didn't rock but i loved much of the second half. not really into the album version, but there's a killer live promo recording of don't let me be misunderstood floating around.

then i got the girls girls girls comp and played the hell out of it. then for xmas i got the ryko 2 1/2 years box that had the first three records + live at el mocambo and played the hell out of that. i did pick up mighty like a rose when it came out and might still rep for one or two songs, but it seemed so overcooked compared to the earlier stuff and by then i was getting into other things. it's unfortunate that my votes will probably all come from the first 40% of his career, but goddamn it's a lot to keep up with

got king of america next, which also didn't rock but i loved much of the second half.

― mookieproof, Friday, December 6, 2013

i expect "brilliant mistake" to place pretty high on at least one ballot

I'm usually the last person to complain about "slick 80s production" but when I put on Spike this morning I felt like I'd need to peel through various layers in order to get to the actual songs. It's not even that it's slick, just...busy, I guess.

there are artists with more rewarding (if less prolific) 2nd and 3rd decades that got shafted bad in their ilm tracks polls so it wouldn't totally break my heart if nothing after 1986 made it into the top 50 or whatever.

i'm prone toward preferring live albums anyway but god i love that live at el mocambo, there's at least one my aim is true track on my ballot cuz of the version on there

I don't expect the poll to be very heavy on the post-KOA material, but I'm a big fan of several Brutal Youth and especially All This Useless Beauty tracks, as well as the obvious one from Spike.

is there much consensus on later stuff, though? can i make anybody agree with me that "Rocking Horse Road" is the best Brutal Youth track or form a Painted From Memory voting bloc with me?

i'm prone toward preferring live albums anyway but god i love that live at el mocambo, there's at least one my aim is true track on my ballot cuz of the version on there

That's a great one, but if you can find it, check out his/their 1977 Chicago show; even more intense and agitated than El Mocambo.

i expect "brilliant mistake" to place pretty high on at least one ballot

i probably won't vote but it wd be really fucken high on mine

You know what's an earworm? "Tiny Steps."

Yes. You know another? Big Tears. I am trying to remain calm while discussing my undying love for that song, but it fear not many have heard it or recognize its genius.

wd just like to remind the panel that this exists

http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Wendy_James:_Now_Ain%27t_The_Time_For_Your_Tears

and it's mostly fucken A

god i love that live at el mocambo,

Live at the El Mocambo is like the first two albums on speed, literally.

xpost

Yes! "Basement Kiss" is incredible; he put his own live version on (I think) one of the ATUB-era singles (not sure if it made it onto any of the Rhino reissue bonus discs), and it is so going on my ballot. Thanks for the reminder!

"Basement Kiss" is such a wonderful song and tragically doesn't appear to be on Youtube

Shit I had totally forgotten about that Wendy James album… never heard it, even tho' it seemed like a good idea to me at the time. Must find it, hear it now.

Big Tears almost certainly on ballot I think.

& this from balls upthread:

the misogyny is so much deeper and heartfelt than the casual laughed off misogyny of the stones and the nice guy syndrome at work is too apparent

feels like the nub of the real problem for me, why I don't generally like going back to even prime-period costello - belongs to a period of my life where I identified too closely with the nice-guy ragey bitter bile. I've been having a blast listening around for the poll, but even now there's a sour taste, and a memory of myself that I don't like buried in a lot of these songs for me. (but i mean even this is an interesting (to me) but uncomfortable consequence of the poll, asking what I heard or found in these songs (but then i'm turning 40 on in a few days, so maybe it's just a reflective time for me)).

i find the identification and pain he evokes in me pretty cathartic but i cdn't live that way, true. listening to "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" this morning i realised how hateful and threatening his version is, way scarier than say "Under My Thumb"

rancid even

i loved the verbosity and emotion of his lyrics as a teenager, and identified with him in the David Lee Roth sense of "hey, guys with glasses can rock out!" but i didn't latch onto that element enough that it has a sour taste for me now. i mean, being an asshole with questionable attitudes towards women isn't exactly a rare flaw for brilliant rock musicians, although i agree w/ balls about why it can be a bit more distasteful with EC than with Mick Jagger or whoever.

I dunno, I guess I hear -- or choose to hear -- his bile the same way I hear Dylan's (or Eminem's, for that matter), as a performance of internal monologue. With EC, to me it's the voice in the head of the drunk guy in the corner at the party. Which doesn't make me want to hang out with him, but it doesn't seem awful to me either. And on something like "I Want You," the vocal is so good and compelling that I respond to it as good theater, not as problematic psychobiography

Anyway, mostly wanted to put in a plug for "Our Little Angel" (speaking of acid portraits of the dispossessed), which is probably my favorite KOA song.

yeah i hear it that way a lot of the time, too. xp

Yes. You know another? Big Tears. I am trying to remain calm while discussing my undying love for that song, but it fear not many have heard it or recognize its genius.
--kornrulez6969

^^ got yer back on this

Me too. And supposedly, Strummer gave Jones shit for playing on this.

i'm prone toward preferring live albums anyway but god i love that live at el mocambo, there's at least one my aim is true track on my ballot cuz of the version on there

That's a great one, but if you can find it, check out his/their 1977 Chicago show; even more intense and agitated than El Mocambo.

― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Saturday, December 7, 2013

all of the live boots from this tour are staggeringly great, some of the best live performances I have ever heard documented. band is on fire, and adding the keyboards to the My Aim Is True tracks really fills them out... check out "Waiting For The End Of The World" on any of those shows, just flat out killer takes night after night. The Chicago one might be even better than the El Mocambo gig.

Sent my poll in...I found it pretty easy to get the twenty but almost impossible to order within it. Too many absolute classics dotted around. In the end Trust was by far the most represented of his albums with six songs coming from it.

is the '84 guitar/piano tour as good as its rep?

6 ballots so far. Keep 'email coming. Many obscurities will be making their presence felt.

VO
TE
D

Kathryn Jean Lopez ‏@kathrynlopez 3h

Vince Gill and Elvis Costello would be a good concert #healingintheheartland #belated

Jeez, is "the heartland" taking the Ohio State loss that seriously?

What do you think will win?

does diana krall call him elvis or declan or the little hands of concrete etc?

napoleon dynamite

She craves his emotional toothpaste.

Me. McManus

8 ballots received so far. Some big surprises. There is one song I figured to be a lock for the top 10 that has zero votes.

yeah this feels like it should have pretty unpredictable results -- so many popular songs clustered in the same era, different ones falling in and out of favor with different listeners over the decades, just so many variables.

curious where "Veronica" would place. Do you guys like it?

i have nothing against it (my brother has a cat named Veronica and when he first got her he made an amusing YouTube video set to the song that i now associate with it) but i wouldn't really dream of putting it in a top 30.

I assume its video, it being the most straightforward song on an abstruse album, and promotion of the Macca collaboration helped.

I like Veronica, it's fluffy and goofy and inconsequential to my ears but I find it charming. It miiight make my top 30.

There is one song I figured to be a lock for the top 10 that has zero votes.

"Beyond Belief?" When I get around to it I'll vote for it.

xps

yes - sprightly, sharp, melodic post-peak costello, but that's not really enough for me.

Re Veronica, I liked it at the time (I have been in that hospital ward), but in interviews he seemed a little too pleased with himself that he hadn't done a nice tender "tanita tikaram" style song about it..

i doubt it's that "Beyond Belief." if we're gonna guess, i'll say "Pump It Up."

good guess there! def not voting for that

would like to campaign on behalf of "Imagination (Is A Powerful Deceiver)," my favorite bonus track from the 1993 and 2001 reissues of My Aim Is True that is annoyingly not on the most recent 2007 reissue that is now on iTunes/Spotify/Amazon MP3/etc.

Eight ballots in with 10 days of voting left isn't bad at all. I'll probably do mine this week because next week is going to be full of work stress.

I wish there was a way to rub this thread on the eyeballs of people who don't use SNA or always wind up saying "gee I woulda voted but I never saw the thread" for whatever other reasons.

my ballot will be last minute as usual

My thought process when choosing which songs to vote for and coming across "Pump It Up": I'm pretty sure we've all heard this enough times, haven't we? Be gone!

I will vote in this, but my EC knowledge is patchy to say the least. The only record of his that I've ever owned is the 'Ten Bloody Marys and Ten How's Your Fathers' compilation of non-album tracks from about 1980 (which I bought second hand at the end of the 80s). I don't know where ths is now, probably buried in the loft somewhere, and I have no means of playing vinyl anyway. As far as I can see, it's not available to download anywhere (legitimately), which is annoying because there were some great tracks on it that don't seem to be available elsewhere. There's a version of 'Black and white world' which sounds very different to the 'real' version (which I don't like).

(That's not the only album I know, just the only one which is mine - my dad had King of America, Spike and a few others, but obviously this still leaves huge holes)

it is a great compilation - annoyingly most (all?) the tracks from it are spread out over various reissues - I think that B&W World is on the expanded Get Happy!!

Girls x 3 is on sale for peanuts on Amazon. It looks like a solid grabbag.

Girls Girls Girls was my entire Elvis Costello collection for a long time.

yeah it is a+ imo

(xp x 3) Ah, interesting - would it be the one listed as 'demo version' (track 20) here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get_Happy!!_%28Elvis_Costello_album%29#Bonus_Disc_.282002_Rhino.29

"Pump it up" has not got zero points.

aight?

I'm not going to say which song has gotten zero votes so no need to guess.

Well...my guess is Radio Radio. I didn't vote for it!

We can do this by the process of elimination I suppose. It won't be Radio, Radio though because I voted for that.

I won't vote for "Radio, Radio."

i'm pretty borderline on that one. i love it to death, but it's not in the mortal lock i-must-vote-for-this category that may eventually comprise my entire ballot.

It was in the bottom third of mine.

just looked at the ballots so far and nothing from the first three albums has gotten a vote yet which was a little surprising to me

I'm not going to say what the song is. But I will tell the first person who votes for it, and they can do what they want.

I may vote Radio, will not vote Pump.

love all these songs you poseurs are tired of btw though i will admit i don't go out of my way to hear them. happy anytime 'pump it up' pops up on classic alternative radio, it's got that same seventies roller rink shine that 'don't bring me down' does. 'radio radio' i grew up w/ as the last song on this year's model and might've grown tired of by now but the version of this year's model w/ 'night rally' came out over here finally and 'radio radio' works so well as an epilogue bonus cut there, better than 'watching the detectives' on my aim is true, maybe better than 'what's so funny' on armed forces (maybe). 'veronica's funny for ec going 'yeah i'm working w/ paul mccartney! let's rewrite penny lane!' and it's a nice little piece, funny that his highest charter is such a sympathetic song (w/o being sappy). pretty fucking tired of 'alison' though.

I could start with the expanded Get Happy!! track listing, replace about five or six songs and have a ballot worth sending in.

I was never ambivalent about Ronstadt's "Alison," which I love for its rue and sexual ambivalence.

pretty fucking tired of 'alison' though.

― balls, Tuesday, December 10, 2013 2:01 PM (6 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this

Absolutely this

late 80s wgn commercial for andy griffith reruns featuring 'watching the detectives' not available on youtube :(

I could start with the expanded Get Happy!! track listing, replace about five or six songs and have a ballot worth sending in.

^^ I love those kinda wobbly b-sides, Dr Luther's Assistant, Ghost Train & Hoover Factory.

the version of "alison" on the hollywood high 7-inch made me fall in love with the song, and i still love it, original version included. he was such a good singer before he became such a not good singer.

nbs -

(xp x 3) Ah, interesting - would it be the one listed as 'demo version' (track 20) here:

Yes - that's it - lust listened to get happy!! demo version to check and it's as I remember the 10 Bloody Marys one - couple of guitars, squelchy keyboard adding ornament.

Found it on Taking Liberties, which appears to be Ten Bloody Marys..., more or less, but with the tracks in the wrong order.

Taking Liberties was the US version, iirc there is 1 different track

Allow me to briefly stan for "So Young," which I was reacquainted with while listening to Out of Our Idiot. I used to put that track on mixtapes all the time, and never knew it was a Jo-Jo Zep & The Falcons cover (it sounds like an Elvis original all the way).

Yes. A Get Happy bonus track. Love it.

yeah "So Young" has always been a favorite, only cover i'd really think about voting for

Voted!

Had a great time over the last week listening through all his key albums. I've especially been falling in love Trust all over again.

Had a great time over the last week listening through all his key albums.

you better watch your step!

don't get smart or sarcastic!

Just ploughing through wikipedia to pluck my track picks and came across this gem:

According to Costello's own website, a second version of the album (with an identical track listing) was recorded over a 2-day period in July 1977. This second version was recorded by Elvis Costello and his new permanent backing band, The Attractions, with the intention of replacing the original tracks contained in My Aim Is True once the initial pressings had sold out. This never came to pass, however, and all released versions of the album continue to use the original recordings with members of Clover as the backing band. As well, although several reissues of My Aim Is True have featured various demos and 1977-era recordings as bonus tracks, the July 1977 album re-recordings have never been issued in any format.

Which, wait, WHAT!? How has this never even been bootlegged? Please 40th Anniversary or something JESUS

korn, are you counting demo/alternate versions as separate tracks?

yeah that's pretty incredible if true. MAIT is perfect just as it is but that would be like the holy grail for EC fans. i don't know why he'd hold onto it for this long if he does have it.

Yeah, I never connected with MAIT like a lot of people did, and a lot of that was the production/backing tracks. The songs are probably better than on TYM, but I never get tired of the latter, largely cuz I get lost in Bruce Thomas's basslines and Nieve's 88 fingers. Was tempted to vote for Lipstick Vogue just for the bassline.

i'm not even an alison stan but shit might as well be pretty tired of "sweet child" come the g'n'r poll

i'm putting it 5 places higher on my ballot now you ungrateful misanthropes

Balls, when you say "Nothing from the first three albums do far" you must be excluding tracks from singles, right?

I did manage to get the 2lp promo version of "Get Happy" recently: 45rpm!

xps

that's why all those early live versions of MIAT songs are so killer, the Attractions are so far beyond the Clover dudes

Yeah, the Clover guys are still feeling their way through the songs; all the live Attractions versions trample the studio Clover versions.

Didn't clover do the record in like a day?

Costello called in sick to his day job (as a data-entry clerk) to rehearse and record the album with Clover, which was cut in a series of six four-hour sessions for about £1,000.

Didn't know this had happened, though:

On 8 November 2007, Costello reunited with the members of Clover from the original recording sessions to perform the songs from My Aim Is True. This marked the first ever (and to date only) live public performances of these songs by the original ensemble that recorded them. The event took place at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, and was a benefit for the Richard de Lone Special Housing Fund, which assists those with Prader-Willi Syndrome.

Costello joined Huey Lewis for a version of "Stuck With You."

ha didn't know he did that show w/ the news. would absolutely kill to hear mait w/ the attractions (seriously how the fuck has that not made it out by now? wtf?) but actually fond of that mid-70s sound on mait now, seems a more accurate picture of where he's coming from than a both guns blazing debut would've given.

I wonder, though, if the Attractions MIAT was released in 1977, would This Years Model have paled in comparison? Would it just seem like a retread of the debut?

nah this years model still would've had a huge impact, it's just such pure focused spleen. possible the sound of it is adjusted though since he very deliberately adjusted the sound from this years model and armed forces ('tiny steps' apparently him trolling a crew there to film them and their 'new sound' by making a generic this years model song). odd how my aim is true-this years model and king of america-blood and chocolate work as bookends.

ok wow i knew the dlr line and that critics loved him but i didn't know until now that only two albums from mait thru blood and chocolate finished outside the top ten in pazz and jop and one of those two (punch the clock) finished at #11.

so Almost Blue hit the top ten in P&J? can't imagine it was Goodbye Cruel World...

korn, are you counting demo/alternate versions as separate tracks?

No. As I said upthread, a song is a song. There haven't been many instances where this has happened so far. But if, say, a ton of votes are for Green Shirt acoustic, I'll note it during the rollout, provided that Green Shirt makes the cut.

It's only really Shipbuilding where i get into a version tangle. Wyatt top 5, Costello maybe not in the 30.

durp forgot almost blue, so three outside the top ten

There are a few where one song becomes another:

"Clean Money" -> "Love for tender"

Tracie's "I love you when you sleep" became "Joe Porterhouse" (which made track 31 on my list, btw)

10 ballots in thus far. You would never in 1,000,000 years guess the top 5 songs. I'm not going to tell you so don't try. But get those ballots in.

The mystery song that I figured to be a lock for top 10 has yet to receive a vote.

Why don't you tell us 'bout the mystery song

It's "I Want You", isn't it?

"The Only Flame in Town" iirc

Have been a Costello fan since Spike era (started w/Blood and Chocolate, though, and that's my #1 album) and went on a HUGE EC binge just after All This Useless Beauty, so much that I tired of him utterly and haven't listened to him at all for most of a decade. My Top 30 excluded anything I don't know all the words to, and I nearly, nearly excluded "Alison" because, well, do I need to hear it ever ever again? Turns out yes, I do. Thanks for doing this poll; I've been having a ton of fun revisiting the catalogue, relistening to my top 50 or so tracks and whittling it down, messing with the order ("Hey, do I like 'The Other End of the Telescope' less or more than 'The Impostor'?"), generally just digging it all again.

Why don't you tell us 'bout the mystery song

I can't do it anymore and I'm not satisfied.

Voted!

My long national nightmare is over. Someone has finally voted for the Mystery Song! It is their decision whether or not to reveal it to the thread.

I will for $.

I just don't understand why you thought "Hurry Down Doomsday" was a lock.

Guys, you don't want Shot With His Own Gun to win this, right? Let's vote!

Anyone familiar with the super limited live collection he released in '97 or thereabouts of the tour he did with just himself and Steve Nieve? One of the very few live albums that I actually care about (though it was packaged as 5 separate EPs for some reason). I won't muddy the poll by voting for specific live versions of certain songs, but I really do prefer these versions of, say, "Just About Glad" and even "Temptation."

was gonna say, wasn't it almost impossible to get? A bit like the live "Don't let me be misunderstood" promo 12" that Record Collector mag raved about, price went daft, so..

Probably OK price now, but hey.

a record store in Baltimore had that a copy of box set on the shelf for like 10 years and i always procrastinated on picking it up until it was finally gone. the "VH1 Storytellers" episode and some of the talk show performances he did with Nieve for All This Useless Beauty were the first time I saw Elvis on TV after I started getting interested in his music so i have a lot of fondness for that stuff.

I saw that tour and it made me care about him all over again, stunning

god help me I'm gonna give The Juliet Letters another chance for the sake of this poll. I listened to it a great deal in early '93, after which I buried it in the closet.

It's the best whatever it is of its kind that it can be.

Where to people stand on "Painted From Memory?" The epitome of Elvis as formalist?

Painted From Memory is my favorite post-'80s album some really strong songs on there, although I may only vote for "God Give Me Strength." maybe "Toledo" too?

"Jacksons, Monk And Rowe" from The Juliet Letters is really good, didn't expect to hear a hook that big on there.

OK, got a short list of maybe 40 or so. I'm debating bothering relistening to anything post "When I Was Cruel." I know there's some good stuff, but there's a lot to sift through.

when the juliet letters came out i was in love with "taking my life in your hands" and "i almost had a weakness." the latter more for the strings than for elvis, though. it was a fun album, and a cool live show. better than anything else elvis was doing in that era in a lot of ways. but not something i've ever needed to go back to.

Listening now: thumbs up for "Jacksons, Monk..." and "I Almost Had a Weakness."

recall liking 'who do you think you are' as well but he was clearly out of his depth and kinda exposed as someone who doesn't really have that many unborrowed ideas musically. bjork's done stuff w/ the brodsky quartet that was both more interesting and more fun that what ec pulled off.

Friendly reminder to vote.

I'll work on my ballot and send it tonight.

Great. I'm in the middle of a fairly large snowstorm and was kind of hoping to pass the time with more ballots.

Ballot sent.

Keep 'em coming. 15 ballots so far.

this is kind of wonderful
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1WeDC7-Jzo

yeah i've been kinda regretting not putting that on my ballot ever since i sent it in

going in my ballot; the live versions smoke too

Yeah I like Motel Matches a lot but it was one the last 5 or so songs I had to cut from my list. I always feel like I don't rate Get Happy as much as a few of his other albums but ended up having 3 songs from it in my top 10, including my number 1.

It's an album I never listen to, but I rated two songs from it very highly.

Get Happy! was the album I had to cut from my top 5. Motel Matches and a couple other GH! songs were on my ballot. Wishing I'd cut New Lace Sleeves from my ballot & replaced it with You'll Never Be a Man. Also wondering how I allowed Pony St. to miss the cut as I potter throughout my day singing the "If you're going out tonight" section.

Aren't we doing up to ten albums now?

yes!

Yes, we moved it up to ten albums, but most people are only submitting five. If you want to add more, feel free. Just make sure they're clearly numbered.

oh thanks, I missed that

I did too, but I think I'm going to stick with 5 albums anyway.

Bump it up. There's been No Action on this thread for too long. Get those ballots in, slowpokes.

Suggested results thread title: "Your ballot was a brilliant mistake"

"Everything got less than zero"

I will submit my ballot soon I promise

haha mark g has the winner for results title imo

Ten albums huzzah! Appendix to ballot on the way.

I am a poll traditionalist and there's no poll pun, it's ain't happening.

tomorrow!

sent!

Was hoping to use this poll as an excuse to see if I can't finally get into some of the "classic" Costello records that I've thus far resisted--Imperial Bedroom, Punch the Clock, hell, even Trust has never really grabbed me like I've always felt it should--but it came along during an annoyingly hectic time in my life. Have mostly been listening to the albums that I already know I love (there are about 8 of them, and a couple of those are not among the usual suspects) so I can order the tracks. Even this seems to be taking me right up to the deadline.

You have to give Trust a chance. Side 1 is the best thing he ever did.

Balloted. Confirmed for myself that for me he's a singles guy with some great deep cuts, as opposed to an album guy with great singles.

Yeah, your ballot reflects that.

sent! Usually I'm good about post-peak highlights but, wow, I chose little that was essential after '86.

Well, you could argue that's because there's so much in this case that's absolutely essential from before '86.

Bump It Up

Please vote

i thought we had the weekend for this. why is the deadline before the weekend?!

I don't know korn's plans, but I like to end polls on Friday so I get the weekend to make images.

hmmm. really think these things should be arranged for my convenience

korn is eager, that's all

he can give you anything but time

Don't get smart or sarcastic.

It said midnight Friday, New Jersey time. Strict time, as a matter of fact. Do you turkeys want to extend it a couple more days? Either way, I've got a feeling I'm going to get a lot of grief.

tomorrow i've finally got a lot of time to just listen to EC all day as i've been wanting to for weeks, so i'm looking forward to getting my ballot together then.

my philosophy w/ running these polls has always been "push back the voting deadline freely if turnout has been weak, stick to it if you've already got a lot of ballots."

Turnout has not been robust for an artist of EC's stature. Let's push it back through the weekend. I'll roll it out starting after Christmas

heh i was actually saying that you've gotten good turnout, if you're over 15 or whatever by now! but then i got pretty weak turnout for the neptunes and jay-z polls this year.

sent!

i think Sonic Youth got the most voters this year, with my New Order poll getting the second most at 44 voters.

Madonna was HUGE, iirc.

tbh i've only voted in a handful of these polls simply because i don't feel like i suitably comprehend the body of work in question. and elvis' is larger than most, so to speak.

Madonna poll had 57.

i thought that was last year, but you are right.

xxpost

i stand corrected Sonic YOuth got 43, so New Order did have more voters.

also Velvet Underground had to get a bunch of votes as well? i never did see that number.

Thank you for extending. We're in the middle of a move, so no time to listen to stuff.

Yes, thanks for the extension!

yes, much appreciated. you're a fine figure of a man, and handsome too.

Aww…you wouldn't even like me if you never stopped to think.

Was hoping the voting would be comparable to the Clash poll.

Am happy to report that a certain largely-reviled Costello album that was nevertheless instrumental in my becoming a fan still sounds great to me after listening this morning. More on it during the rollout, I hope.

We've got 24 ballots in. Please vote. It's not a matter of life or death but what is, what is?

what's the points system for a 30-song ballot, or does that not matter to voters here?

Dont have my spreadsheet handy but VU got somewhere between 30 and 40 ballots iirc fwiw

I believe it's 40 points for 1st, 36 for 2nd, and I don't remember the rest.

Tonight in Costello (re-)listening: When I Was Cruel is a solid collection that lacks any real individual highlights. Still, might end up squeezing either the title track, "45" or "Daddy Can I Turn This?" onto my ballot just to have it represented.

Sent!

Got it. Very nice poll pun, by the way.

"We give it a big kiss, we give it a poll"

ha, thanks.

It's in. Very interesting revisiting the shark-jumping thread and to see the big Trust vs. Imperial Bedroom fight. Also the few for whom Punch the Clock is the top album! I am much more in the Imperial Bedroom camp.

This will be an interesting poll. It would be great if we could get some crazy data visualizer to crunch all the numbers this way and that -- for those who like Punch the Clock, which of the four first records is the most popular, etc.

you know, I could actually partcipate in this one if there were 9 days in this week.

It's extended through the weekend so you have time.

voted

Interesting developments today. We've got a great race going on, kids. Make your voice heard and vote.

Sent!

I'm going to vote again! Totally different ballot!

I know, I totally rushed it, and am remorseful about some of my selections..

I've never been completely satisfied with any ballot of submitted for these polls (the Madonna one might be the only exception), so rather than sweat over them, I tend to make these lists very quickly after a (usually) much longer period of listening and revisiting the parts of the catalogue that I care about. I guess I care much more about what I want to include than I do about what the order is going to be, if that makes sense.

ballot *I've submitted, that should read.

xp -- ditto. My disco ballot has a couple of "what was I thinking?" placements in it.

Shouldn't have led off with his version of "Leave My Kitten Alone"?

done and done

too late for lobbying but damn i forgot the outro on accidents will happen. i know iii know it just jumped a couple notches on my ballot. which is forthcoming any minute now.

ballot sent. top 15 or so tracks easy for me. next 15 tracks is me basically throwing darts at an elvis-like spinning wheel with another 40 or so titles on it.

coming up with 10 albums, on the other hand, involved some stretching. there are six elvis albums, one of them a compilation, that are important to me, i now know. after that it was a handful of albums that i like enough, including one bootleg.

Last day of voting. We have a pretty strong turnout now.

https://plus.google.com/photos/yourphotos?banner=pwa&pid=5960260863590946114&oid=102164902147359838082

today has been my long-delayed day to listen to nothing but Elvis. i could've voted earlier, but if i did, i wouldn't have an excuse to listen to Elvis all day.

have always vaguely respected him for making Almost Blue, but i've listened to George's "A Good Year For The Roses" so many times this year that when Elvis's version just came on, man that is a tepid cover.

http://ilmcostellopoll.tumblr.com/post/70798019386

Oh for crying out loud. Where is the best place to store images to do the rollout? I'm trying to test some snazzy pics and they're clearly not working.

photobucket.com

Not sure, but I think you were posting the address of a page, not an image.

The actual image itself is http://31.media.tumblr.com/ec704a76ddfae0d53257a82112693c18/tumblr_my7wr6TpZD1tn7v6do1_500.jpg

like so
http://31.media.tumblr.com/ec704a76ddfae0d53257a82112693c18/tumblr_my7wr6TpZD1tn7v6do1_500.jpg

man that is a tepid cover

ahh, my chance to do some last-minute lobbying for "getting mighty crowded," which i think is one of the few instances of elvis making a cover sound effortless. not that his version has anything on betty everett's, but it works for me as an elvis costello song in a way that so few of his covers do.

WilliamC, how do I get that URL? Is there a better place to store images than tumblr?

As NV said above, Photobucket is a good one. That's what I've used forever. There's flickr, imgur, tinypic, several others.

When you post an image to Tumblr (folks correct me if I'm misstating this), you're creating a post, which is a page, with an image on it. You want to get the address of the image, not the page. Right-click on the image (or however you get to contextual menus with your setup) and select "Copy Image URL." That's what you want to paste here and slap an image tag on.

what i did korn, it just use images under the gmail account i created for the poll. then you share the image to public and then just copy the image URL. it's really easy.

i've had 'men called uncle' in my head for several days, apparently as its revenge for my not voting for it

still in need of an edit button

I've been doing all my ilx poll images on imgur for 2 or 3 years now.

I'd advise against tinypic because they purge their system after a certain length of time and reassign urls. In five years, your image for song #22 might turn into someone's prom photo.

voted!

In five years, your image for song #22 might turn into someone's prom photo.

That would actually be pretty cool.

Anybody else planning on voting? I'll cut it off tomorrow morning and do the correlating. Cool results. Here is one thing that is true, based on the data. People who really like Party Girl also really like Riot Act.

Not everyone, but there is a correlation. I believe this is breaking news in Costellian song metrics.

really looking forward to seeing the results from this one, seen him live once and loved it but i know the very basic back catalogue stuff, so should be an education!

I declare this poll to be closed.

Crunch!

Here is one thing that is true, based on the data. People who really like Party Girl also really like Riot Act.

― kornrulez6969, Sunday, December 22, 2013 11:40 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i only voted for one, but i like both, so can't argue with this.

did any female posters vote?

People who really like Party Girl also really like Riot Act.

otm

Ranked one of those pretty high, don't really care for the other one.

did any female posters vote?

No

most of EC's good albums have killer closing tracks, but i only could find the room to vote for 3 or 4 really major favorite3s

There were 40+ ballots. I'll make it a Top 60. You'd be surprised what isn't going to make it.

I was gonna vote but it turns out that I suck and am lame srry

Should have voted Riot Act! I like the production of Party Girl a lot, particularly those little runs of Bruce's in the middle there, but it probably wouldn't crack my top 100.

couldn't muster the enthusiasm for a ballot but this thread has prompted me to revisit some of the better stuff and my main conclusion is that I would have next to zero interest in his catalog if it weren't for Bruce Thomas. such an anchor for so many songs.

Elvis' sneering drunken cynicism does have its charms, but the best melodic ideas and surprises and general rhythmic forcefulness all seem to be in Bruce's basslines.

The Attractions are just one of my favorite bands of all time, each of the 4 of them is just such an important piece of an incredible whole.

going over my ballot, picking songs was much about "Steve did something amazing on this song" or Pete or Bruce etc. as what Elvis wrote or sang.

TS: Zoogz Rift's "High Fidelity" vs. Linda Ronstadt's "Party Girl"

What would the top 10 EC covers be?

no. 1:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alUSx_X_za8

/did any female posters vote?/

No
--kornrulez6969

Small sample but my gf is really glad the voting period is over and has promised retaliation if she hears any more EC before 2014.

iirc in the girls x 3 liner notes, elvis mentions that 'oliver's army' was a nice ditty, perhaps a b-side, before being transformed by nieve's piano work. there's a lot of that from all of them

going over my ballot, picking songs was much about "Steve did something amazing on this song" or Pete or Bruce etc. as what Elvis wrote or sang.
--some dude

Deeply OTM. Secret key to this poll IMO.

If red shoes made my ballot at all it was 100% thanks to the guitar work.

yeah...it's interesting that of all the configurations EC has recorded with since My Aim Is True, he's almost never returned to having a "lead" guitarist or even any 2nd guitarist at all. some nice guitar work on the record with The Roots, though.

http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Girls_Girls_Girls_%281989%29_liner_notes

"New Amsterdam": Recorded in a fifteen quid-an-hour demo studio (backwhenfifteenpoundwasalotofmoneyIcantellyou). As you might guess I didn't use a metronome but I did employ the owner's exotic equipment; vibes! a fretless bass! a very nasty synth! even God forbid, DRUMS!!! the first in an occasional series: A bewildered lad,

I was gonna vote but it turns out that I suck and am lame srry

If you hurry you can still get your vote in. Turns out I'm not going to be able to tally these until this evening.

What would the top 10 EC covers be?

My favorite is The Mendoza Line's version of Sleep Of The Just which you can hear below.

https://myspace.com/variousartists-46086687/music/song/sleep-of-the-just-52648481-56856696

Small sample but my gf is really glad the voting period is over and has promised retaliation if she hears any more EC before 2014.
Seconded. I had to do my listening with headphones. In a lead-lined vault.

strong seconding of the mendoza line's 'sleep of the just', loved that band so much

Yeah, me too. Bracy is in a new band called Paranoid Style which released a good EP last year. Shannon McArdle has 2 solo records. But it's not the same.

Any reviews of the bio Complicated Shadows? I'm reading it.

Loved Mendoza Line. Love that cover.

What are people's thoughts on rolling this out starting on Christmas? I can start Thursday also. Totally up to you guys.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZNMt4u_qL8

pollmaster's choice!

declan the halls

you should time it so "t.k.o. (boxing day)" is revealed on thursday, obviously. this of course applies only if "t.k.o." actually got votes.

Any reviews of the bio Complicated Shadows? I'm reading it.

read it quite a while ago. It's very good and in-depth; its shortcomings are its subject's. After an interesting childhood, a messy first marriage and a few years of celebrity tumult (Bebe Buell, the Bonnie Bramlett incident etc) EC pretty much entirely devotes himself to work and the book dulls out quite a bit esp. in the Warner years; it becomes just tour-mediocre LP-tour, rinse, repeat. I imagine it would be similar to reading a bio of, say, Don DeLillo.

what struck me most was the coldness of the relationship of EC and the Attractions: they've played together for nearly 4 decades in some cases but there's little sense of camaraderie or even nostalgia w/ them. EC hates Bruce Thomas now (or did when this bio came out) but he doesn't seem to be remotely friends w/P. Thomas or Nieve--he's still just their employer, in a sense.

Bruce wrote a book called The Big Wheel which was supposedly a semi-fictionalized account of an EC tour or two (I haven't read it). Names aren't named, but it's pretty obvious who "the singer" refers to. EC wrote "How To Be Dumb" in response, and was extremely reluctant to bring Bruce back on for Brutal Youth (in fact, I don't think Bruce plays on all of it).

http://i.imgur.com/oyTIdKM.jpg

ead it quite a while ago. It's very good and in-depth; its shortcomings are its subject's. After an interesting childhood, a messy first marriage and a few years of celebrity tumult (Bebe Buell, the Bonnie Bramlett incident etc) EC pretty much entirely devotes himself to work and the book dulls out quite a bit esp. in the Warner years; it becomes just tour-mediocre LP-tour, rinse, repeat. I imagine it would be similar to reading a bio of, say, Don DeLillo.

The other shortcoming is common in rock bios: little original reporting.

can anyone find an image of the "Don't Join" poster that came with the Ryko 2 1/2 years reissue back in the 90s? Always one of my favorite images, but can't seem to find it anywhere.

in a way it's kind of perfect that the Attractions aren't best buds, given their musical personality and the way they came together. surprising if not even EC and Nieve are close at all, though, given how much they've played together even outside the band and the way Elvis always seems to be quick to compliment Steve on and offstage.

yeah if they were friends it'd be harder to toss'em a compliment

This is the closest thing I can find to the "Don't Join" poster. I can't remember if it's the same base photograph with a different caption or just from the same shoot:
http://jonmwessel.wordpress.com/2011/08/17/design-barney-bubbles/barney-bubbles-elvis-costello-2/

http://s.pixogs.com/image/R-3019550-1312187496.jpeg

Bruce and Elvis were totally on the outs c. Brutal Youth. Iirc, Nick Lowe handled bass for a bunch of that album, but since Froom was largely producing it, and since Bruce had played bass on a few Froom projects (like the two great Vega records), Froom suggested they just get Bruce Thomas for that ol' Bruce Thomas feel. The reunion tour was great, but by the time I saw them tour All This Useless Beauty (the same night as the local Sex Pistols reunion, oddly), the spark was clearly gone. Elvis fired Bruce shortly afterwards, The guy playing with Elvis now is an OK substitute, but not quite as cool as the real deal.

Not a bad blogger!

http://www.brucethomas.co.uk/

Results to come soon. Just testing my images.

http://i.imgur.com/4IwecXO.jpg

alriiiiiight

And they pulled him out of the polled polled ground: Elvis Costello Poll Results