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Elvis Costello looked like a young, crumpled version of Woody Allen in his lyrics and offered cold comfort
In his program that do (2001) breaks Hans Teeuwen in a hilarious "manic tirade" the phenomenon wife to the ground off. Soon revealed the underlying reason for this tirade: sir is jealous. Obsessed. By his girlfriend. That a night out. While he is at home. And grinds. And running. Teeuwen: 'In your head it's all true: she lies back on a table, she gets fucked by some large guy, and she screams: Much better than Hans! Much better than Hans! "And that's only half of the torment, because in the room where this place is a photograph of Teeuwen where the 'broad guy' in question with fucking pointing and satanic laughter heaves.
That scene from that or has again, if I may, a high Elvis Costello content. Quite as remarkably, many of Costello's earliest songs, dating from the late seventies, the nightmare subject to that Teeuwen magnified to the ridiculous. The songs embody the frustration and rage about the fact that your loved one is doing it with another.
So far nothing new — a theme to having it broken heart as old as the world, thousands of songs. With the difference that in the texts of the minstrel Costello is tormented exhaust a sweetheart that has never been . His sweetheart Traditionally, in the pop music as : My baby left me , and now I'm feeling blue. Whereas Elvis Costello goes: 'I'm feeling blue , Because my baby has never been my baby. "
That seems like a nuance, but there is a yawning chasm between the songs which the man leave his anger and sorrow sings and those in which the man gives vent to the humiliation that 'his' wife did not even see him standing. What's more humiliating for a man than to be in favor of a stupid nepfiguur ? Beforehand ignored
Singing about abandoned is essentially cool — The Blues Is not Nothing but a good man feeling bad. Singing be ignored is very uncool, strictly forbidden, as unmanly and tastelessness.
That must have realized it at the time Costello. Themselves He accentuated his appearance as nerd avant la lettre: narrow shoulders in an a fashionable suit, lanky movements behind the microphone, a large black frame glasses with ink — now fashionable, then an almost masochistic mark. The hopeless with girls you just underlined it.
As a young, crumpled version of Woody Allen Costello presented himself to the world, and deeply felt anger he spat in 1977, the song I'm Not Angry into the microphone — even witty, if it had not been so harsh. It begins as follows: 'You're upstairs with the boyfriend / while I'm left here to listen / I hear you calling his name."
This is eerily close to the hilarious , hysterical delusion of Teeuwen — except that Costello's lyrics shockingly realistic and truthful happens . His first hit single Alison lyric appears in a follow-up: " I think somebody put out the big light / ' cause I can not stand to see you this way."
Was it a coincidence that an equally neurotic and scrawny -looking contemporary of Costello same theme dared in 1979 ? Joe Jackson was in that year a hit with Is She Really Going Out With Him ? That question fulfills the singer with disbelief and amazement: " Pretty women are walking with gorillas down my street . How is it that the cutest girls always choose certified assholes?
From memory scientist Draaisma the term 'popvenster': Are you interested in pop music around your 15th opens and closes slightly around your 25th. Regardless of your birth, says Draaisma, you have the idea that the best pop music was made when you yourself was around 20. Costello falls entirely within my private popvenster. I was 15 then appeared in 1977 Costello's debut album My Aim Is True, and his nervous, bozige, short-winded, hasty and hyperventilating numbers to Get Happy! 1980 stoffeerden the years when my popvenster opened wide. But Costello offered more than catchy and exciting tight — nervous pop songs. His texts offered little consolation. I was not alone.
Almost ten years later varied slightly gerijptere Costello returned to this theme of frustration. 1986 dates are hit I Want You. In that song than the geprangde narrator still had "something" with at least an Other. But he must clear the field for a stupid competitor here too. Self Affliction, depression, jealousy and loneliness by sizzle the song: "I want to hear he pleases you more than I do / Oh no my darling, not With That clown."
Elvis Costello got older, made triple jump movements to many genres, worked with — bien etonnes — Burt Bacharach, the Brodsky Quartet]] and Paul McCartney. Over the years I tried to follow. Distant kindred spirit from my youth Unfortunately, I got off track — but those early albums were years standing proud. Last week came Costello, now 57, in the Melkweg in Amsterdam. His work has been immense. For years he refused to play. His early songs I remember a concert painfully, ten or fifteen years ago in Carré. Torments he seemed not to have pretensions even more.
Also rounders can lose credibility and sustainability.
Thank God there was the concert of last week for the most important part of a choice of those earliest songs. For three hours he performed without pause. As you hear saying the veteran played the Milky flat. In the audience were suspiciously men my age — and made a trip through time ? I doubt. Actually, nothing had changed. In a way continue the shills and assholes call the shots in love, never changes anything. Very long do you not believe, until you harshly reminder. So it may happen that those old songs geprangde Costello take the harder many years after you. I was in the Melkweg in the company of a man and woman in her early 30, for whom Costello had always belonged to the past. After evaluated the two Costello's performance. He wore a hat and a mold neutering suit, persifleerde his own image, so it seemed. But he went, they found, in one go that inevitable heartbreak on to a higher level, especially during the ultimate lamentation I Want You, which he gave to an almost philosophical depth the burden of the broken heart.
My distant kindred spirit of yesteryear had come through the ballot among the younger generation with flying colors. I was deputy relieved and proud.
When the woman came to a conclusion. "Almost 60, and then so are publicly, deadpan, with self-deprecating, but without that self-mockery of the tragedy that intensely sad songs tarnished. I found him incredibly cool."
Finally justice.
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