Rockland Journal-News, November 10, 1978

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Elvis Costello: At his 'evil' best


Eric Shepard

Sex and violence. Noble and traditional rock 'n' roll subjects. Sure the Beatles gave us a lot of love and most of the folkies dispensed sexless passion but the real rockers, emerging from the blues and r&b traditions, retained the darker, more primal drives at the poles of their music. Like the Stones at their evil best, Elvis Costello is obsessed.

His first two albums, My Aim is True and This Year's Model, expose the raw nerves of relationships, the unwritten rules of the game as it were, baring the sexual and violent hooks which create the pain we love to suffer. "I don't want to be your lover. I just want to be your victim."

Costello doesn't peddle jiggling t and a, coy innuendo or the messy gore that has the PTA and other guardians up in arms. Rather, he uncovers the emotional violence we inflict on each other and ourselves, and the very basic sexual drives that propel the "mystery dance" of male-female associations.

Why don't you tell me bout the mystery dance
I wanna know about the mystery dance
Why don't you show me cause I tried and tried
and I'm still mystified
I can t do it anymore and I'm not satisfied.

Desperate sensitivities. Frustrated sexuality. Intimacies played as weapons in a power game.

This column, with its familial restrictions, doesn't allow an extensive analysis of the sexuality permeating Costello's work. One can only look at some of the titles, ("Lip Service," "No Action" as well as "Mystery Dance"), imagine, and take my word for it, noting at the same time that the tunes are in no way "dirty" but that sex, rarely consummated, frequently plays a central role.

In Costello's world, relationship is struggle, before, during and after the dance. For the most part, he sings from the post-breakup or never-started points of view. Sheltered in a sea of bitterness, he lashes out against all of the cliches of the tender love ballad, against his partners, often against himself.

Don't say you love me when it's just a rumor
don't say you love me if there is any doubt
sometimes I think that love is just a tumor
you got to cut it out
sometimes I almost feel just like a human being

Humanity, by its very perversion or absence, remains a central issue in these songs. Bitterness cannot exist in a vacuum; you can't help but feel that behind the sneers, jibes and desperation lies a source of lost innocence. Without that presence, Costello's anger and disillusionment would not slice as deeply as they do.

Most sociologists used various definitions of alienation to characterize the youth of the '60s, many looking to rock and folk lyrics to substantiate their claims. Costello, though obviously scornful of any such role, provides a perfect case. He won't be caught suffering his anomie however; Elvis often revels in his powerlessness.

Later in the evening when arrangements are made
I'll be at the keyhole outside your bedroom door
you think that I don't see the boys that you're touchin
but I'll be at the video and I will be watchin

Reduced to an apparently helpless voyeurism, the shunned lover reaches for guilt and exposure, far from the weakest of weapons.

Many of Costello's songs recall the bitter insights of Bob Dylan's mid-60s work — "Just Like A Woman," "Positively 4th Street," "Sooner or Later" and especially "Most Likely You Go Your Way" ("You say you disturb me and you don't deserve me. but you know sometimes you lie.") Costello's equally quotable lines share that same edge, the same illusionless understanding. "I could tell you that I like your sensitivity; but you know it's just the way that you are."

The music, supplied by Elvis and his band, the Attractions, shares the minimal tendencies of punk or New Wave, but avoids repetition. Simple, often hard, the guitar, bass, organ and drums tighten early '60s rock 'n' roll into a riveting frame for the vocals and lyrics. Hence the most puzzling aspect of Costello's music. For all of its anger, and desperation, it's fun to listen to. Besides the dark humor of it all, the tunes are infectious and Costello's voice, again like Dylan's, imposes a unique brand on each tune.

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The Journal-News, November 10, 1978


Eric Shepard analyzes Elvis Costello lyrics.

Images

1978-11-10 Rockland Journal-News page M-05 clipping 01.jpg
Clippings.

1978-11-10 Rockland Journal-News page M-16 clipping 01.jpg


1978-11-10 Rockland Journal-News page M-05.jpg 1978-11-10 Rockland Journal-News page M-16.jpg
Page scans.

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