Melbourne Age, September 13, 1991: Difference between revisions
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'''A matured Chris Beck rang Elvis Costello in Japan recently and Elvis told him that rock music is such a boring formula that he has to keep fiddling with it. | '''A matured Chris Beck rang Elvis Costello in Japan recently and Elvis told him that rock music is such a boring formula that he has to keep fiddling with it. | ||
<!-- ''"The real Elvis doesn't live in Memphis and is not fat." <br>{{nm}}{{nm}}{{nm}}{{nm}}{{nm}}{{nm}}{{nm}}{{nm}}{{nm}}{{nm}} — Elvis Costello, 1977.--> | |||
''"The real Elvis doesn't live in Memphis and is not fat." <br>{{nm}}{{nm}}{{nm}}{{nm}}{{nm}}{{nm}}{{nm}}{{nm}}{{nm}}{{nm}} — Elvis Costello, 1977. | |||
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"Some of the other American artists were in awe of him (Orbison)," says Costello. "I really respected him because of his great songs. When I was a kid they didn't instantly appeal to me. As I got older I appreciated how individual he was. His material was a lot more grown up than the songs I was used to. The stories he sang were a lot more tragic than just sad." | "Some of the other American artists were in awe of him (Orbison)," says Costello. "I really respected him because of his great songs. When I was a kid they didn't instantly appeal to me. As I got older I appreciated how individual he was. His material was a lot more grown up than the songs I was used to. The stories he sang were a lot more tragic than just sad." | ||
Costello, like Orbison, has written more than his fair share about torment and torture in the mental lane. Much to his chagrin, his music has endured much analysis. Articles and books have been written about his lyrics, placing him as one of few influential modern songwriters. But Costello calls songwriters a "race of pygmies" | Costello, like Orbison, has written more than his fair share about torment and torture in the mental lane. Much to his chagrin, his music has endured much analysis. Articles and books have been written about his lyrics, placing him as one of few influential modern songwriters. But Costello calls songwriters a "race of pygmies," meaning that to be placed above Stock Aitken and Waterman is no big deal. | ||
He's cagey talking about his lyrics. On ''Mighty Like A Rose'', it was his wife, Cait, who took over the manic-depressive reins when she wrote "Broken." Costello sang it with an emotive ambiguity-the emphasis on guilt, suspicion and threat is open to interpretation — and he won't discuss it further. | He's cagey talking about his lyrics. On ''Mighty Like A Rose'', it was his wife, Cait, who took over the manic-depressive reins when she wrote "Broken." Costello sang it with an emotive ambiguity-the emphasis on guilt, suspicion and threat is open to interpretation — and he won't discuss it further. | ||
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"I don't want to make records saying what is wrong with the world without ever trying to look for something good. 'Couldn't Call It Unexpected' (from ''Mighty Like A Rose'') has some possibility of faith in it. I try not to be cynical about anything. But it helps to have a healthy sceptiscm about those kind of dreams particularly these days." | "I don't want to make records saying what is wrong with the world without ever trying to look for something good. 'Couldn't Call It Unexpected' (from ''Mighty Like A Rose'') has some possibility of faith in it. I try not to be cynical about anything. But it helps to have a healthy sceptiscm about those kind of dreams particularly these days." | ||
After the gutsy emotion of his back-to-basics album ''Blood | After the gutsy emotion of his back-to-basics album ''Blood & Chocolate'', there was a healthy dose of sceptiscm hurled about when ''Spike'' turned up in 1989. Not only did the album (his first with Warner Brothers) bring together a huge cast of musicians, but showcased the various styles and sounds that Costello has developed over the past 13 years. | ||
"I had a bigger budget than I had had for a while. I had nothing to lose by doing something bold. I don't know that now I would have taken those songs and gone quite so extreme on some of the arrangements. Though I didn't expect massive success, I did feel frustrated with my American career which had reached a real stalemate. Hardly anybody at Columbia had any faith in me. I was almost universally reviled inside the company. They perceived wasted opportunities in what I perceived as a creative career. | "I had a bigger budget than I had had for a while. I had nothing to lose by doing something bold. I don't know that now I would have taken those songs and gone quite so extreme on some of the arrangements. Though I didn't expect massive success, I did feel frustrated with my American career which had reached a real stalemate. Hardly anybody at Columbia had any faith in me. I was almost universally reviled inside the company. They perceived wasted opportunities in what I perceived as a creative career. | ||
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[[image:1991-09-13 Melbourne Age Entertainment Guide | [[image:1991-09-13 Melbourne Age Entertainment Guide cover.jpg|x300px|border]]{{n}} | ||
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<br><small>Section cover and clipping.</small> | |||
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<center><h3> The king and I </h3></center> | <center><h3> The king and I </h3></center> | ||
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There is a special comfort about having a hero. I wandered aimlessly through life sampling drugs, women, religion and saunas before my revelation. Elvis is God. He may not know it but he saved my soul. I sold it in the '70s when I gave in to be popular and did the "Bus Stop" and "Nut Bush City Limits," at the Mentone Hotel. I hated that music and I never got popular. But the alternative was to sit around a lounge room with 15 other bored teenagers, watch the TV with the sound down, listen to Supertramp and burn tattoos in your arm with incence sticks. Bowie was a pretentious poseur and Bryan Ferry was a ponce. Who could I look up to? | There is a special comfort about having a hero. I wandered aimlessly through life sampling drugs, women, religion and saunas before my revelation. Elvis is God. He may not know it but he saved my soul. I sold it in the '70s when I gave in to be popular and did the "Bus Stop" and "Nut Bush City Limits," at the Mentone Hotel. I hated that music and I never got popular. But the alternative was to sit around a lounge room with 15 other bored teenagers, watch the TV with the sound down, listen to Supertramp and burn tattoos in your arm with incence sticks. Bowie was a pretentious poseur and Bryan Ferry was a ponce. Who could I look up to? | ||
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[[image:1991-09-13 Melbourne Age illustration.jpg| | <small>Illustration by [[Jim Pavlidis]].</small><br> | ||
[[image:1991-09-13 Melbourne Age illustration.jpg|380px]] | |||
<small>Page scans.</small><br> | |||
[[image:1991-09-13 Melbourne Age Entertainment Guide pages 16-17.jpg|x120px|border]] | |||
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Revision as of 20:54, 19 December 2021
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