Melody Maker, May 13, 1989: Difference between revisions
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We talk late into the afternoon, too tired almost to quit. Drinks keep arriving. Pretty soon, I'm getting drunk again. We try to remember when either of us last felt quite so bad, and Costello remembers when it was always like this for him — endless tours, fuelled by drugs and too much booze, every day a hangover, a stumbling through entire seasons, strung out on alcohol and narcotics; hell, after the novelty had worn off, leaving only the habit and the debris. | We talk late into the afternoon, too tired almost to quit. Drinks keep arriving. Pretty soon, I'm getting drunk again. We try to remember when either of us last felt quite so bad, and Costello remembers when it was always like this for him — endless tours, fuelled by drugs and too much booze, every day a hangover, a stumbling through entire seasons, strung out on alcohol and narcotics; hell, after the novelty had worn off, leaving only the habit and the debris. | ||
"I really thought all that nonsense had reached a kind of peak when we were in Holland doing '' | "I really thought all that nonsense had reached a kind of peak when we were in Holland doing ''Get Happy!!''," Costello says, his voice chipped at the edges with exhaustion, "when we were literally writing songs on the way to the studio from the bar. But later, it was just as bad. Probably worse. When we were in Nashville for ''Almost Blue'', there was a film crew with us, making that ''South Bank Show'' documentary. While they were filming, it was all very serious, and I'd be making all these ponderous statements about why I was making this country album, which everyone seemed to think was a completely lunatic thing to be doing. But as soon as the cameras stopped rolling, it was 'Right — more drugs, where's the fuckin' drinks?' Screaming our bloody heads off, because we were just so completely fuckin' out of it. | ||
"A lot of people think that album sounds so depressed because I was drinking so much at the time. But there were other things that contributed to that, things were happening in my private life that! don't really want to talk about. It wasn't just drinking. I mean, I was drinking a lot in fuckin' '78. But I was having a better time then. It's when you're drinking and you're not happy, that's when you've got to worry. That's when it's gonna affect the way you look at things, because you're probably drinking for the wrong reasons. And that's when things start to get warped and you don't think anything through. | "A lot of people think that album sounds so depressed because I was drinking so much at the time. But there were other things that contributed to that, things were happening in my private life that! don't really want to talk about. It wasn't just drinking. I mean, I was drinking a lot in fuckin' '78. But I was having a better time then. It's when you're drinking and you're not happy, that's when you've got to worry. That's when it's gonna affect the way you look at things, because you're probably drinking for the wrong reasons. And that's when things start to get warped and you don't think anything through. | ||
"I remember | "I remember Nick Lowe once said to me, he said, 'You know, I just don't understand you. You fight every drink or any drugs you take. You fight them all the time. You're trying to stay straight all the way through it.' And I still do it. I'll never admit that I'm drunk. But we all drink. And sometimes it's for the right reasons... to let your mind off the leash for a while, and have a bit of fun, and then you don't mind if you make a bit of a prat of yourself, like last night. And it doesn't matter if you end up shouting at people, or have a punch up or whatever, as long as you wake up the same person. It's when you don't want to wake up the same person that you've got a problem. "And I think I maybe went through that for a while. There were times when I'd feel every moment as bad I do this morning. Times when you'd wake up, feeling like you were knocking on heaven's fuckin' door and there'd be nobody there to fuckin' answer you. Those were the worse times..." | ||
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"Like I say, it's all in the past... none of it means a damn. You can't go digging around forever in the past. It's history. Let it go. It's what I'm doing now that counts. That's what I want people to realise." | "Like I say, it's all in the past... none of it means a damn. You can't go digging around forever in the past. It's history. Let it go. It's what I'm doing now that counts. That's what I want people to realise." | ||
WE were in Dublin to talk about '' | WE were in Dublin to talk about ''Spike'', as if it hadn't been talked about enough already. The album arrived in February, in a blizzard of promotional activity unprecedented in Costello's career. For the first couple of weeks of the album's release, he was everywhere. You couldn't pick up a magazine, turn on the radio or television without finding Costello waxing lyrical about the record. | ||
It got to the point eventually where all this public salesmanship seemed evidence almost of a desperate attempt by Costello to revive an interest in himself and his work, increasingly marginalised in the Eighties, and to recapture the commercial ground he'd lost after the enormous commercial success of '' | It got to the point eventually where all this public salesmanship seemed evidence almost of a desperate attempt by Costello to revive an interest in himself and his work, increasingly marginalised in the Eighties, and to recapture the commercial ground he'd lost after the enormous commercial success of ''Armed Forces'' in 1979. There were times, though, when his cheerful bluster seemed positively ingratiating. | ||
"I certainly didn't feel that way," Costello bristles when this is brought up. "I think it's important to remember that the last 10 years with Columbia in America were often really frustrating. They just didn't know how to promote us. They'd run out of ideas. And by the end, I think they'd just given up, especially after ''King Of America'', which they didn't have a fuckin' clue what to do with, and ''Blood & Chocolate'', which they hated and subsequently just fuckin' ''buried''. | "I certainly didn't feel that way," Costello bristles when this is brought up. "I think it's important to remember that the last 10 years with Columbia in America were often really frustrating. They just didn't know how to promote us. They'd run out of ideas. And by the end, I think they'd just given up, especially after ''King Of America'', which they didn't have a fuckin' clue what to do with, and ''Blood & Chocolate'', which they hated and subsequently just fuckin' ''buried''. | ||
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"So this was our first one with Warner Brothers, and obviously you've got to accept the fact that the record company has nothing but horror stories from the past about you, and I simply didn't want to get off on the wrong foot with them and end up having to go through the same old fuckin' battles just to get a fuckin' record in the shops. | "So this was our first one with Warner Brothers, and obviously you've got to accept the fact that the record company has nothing but horror stories from the past about you, and I simply didn't want to get off on the wrong foot with them and end up having to go through the same old fuckin' battles just to get a fuckin' record in the shops. | ||
"So when the impetus came from America for me to promote the album, I said I'd do it. There was nothing ingratiating about it. As for being desperate — you can't force people to put you on the covers of magazines or on the television or the radio or whatever. That was their choice. And it just proves to me how | "So when the impetus came from America for me to promote the album, I said I'd do it. There was nothing ingratiating about it. As for being desperate — you can't force people to put you on the covers of magazines or on the television or the radio or whatever. That was their choice. And it just proves to me how fuckin' dull everything must be right now, if someone with my tenure in the business can just reappear after three years and get that kind of attention. I mean, it's no big fuckin' deal. | ||
"But it amazed me, the ease which on the one hand you can come back and command the centre stage, just by saying you're there, and secondly still be regarded as somewhat outrageous. But what else is happening? In England, there's a cult a week for some band that's gonna save us all, and then you never fuckin' hear of them again. It's very easy and I suppose attractive to get excited and emotional about The Darling Buds or somebody. But after a while, you can't keep up with who's the latest flame. | "But it amazed me, the ease which on the one hand you can come back and command the centre stage, just by saying you're there, and secondly still be regarded as somewhat outrageous. But what else is happening? In England, there's a cult a week for some band that's gonna save us all, and then you never fuckin' hear of them again. It's very easy and I suppose attractive to get excited and emotional about The Darling Buds or somebody. But after a while, you can't keep up with who's the latest flame. | ||
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My own first reaction to ''Spike'' was loud and indignant the furious gnashing of a fan betrayed, small-minded and spiteful. My favourite Costello albums have invariably found him in harness with The Attractions, galloping at full tilt, often neurotic, eyes blazing, burning up the surrounding landscape. ''Spike'' is a notably different beast, and at first I wasn't much convinced by any of it. | My own first reaction to ''Spike'' was loud and indignant the furious gnashing of a fan betrayed, small-minded and spiteful. My favourite Costello albums have invariably found him in harness with The Attractions, galloping at full tilt, often neurotic, eyes blazing, burning up the surrounding landscape. ''Spike'' is a notably different beast, and at first I wasn't much convinced by any of it. | ||
As you'll know, the record was recorded in London, Hollywood, Ireland and New Orleans, and features an international supporting cast, including co-producer and "musical conscience" T | As you'll know, the record was recorded in London, Hollywood, Ireland and New Orleans, and features an international supporting cast, including co-producer and "musical conscience" T{{nb}}Bone Burnett, Paul McCartney, Chrissie Hynde, Roger McGuinn, Allen Toussaint, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, guitarist Marc Ribot and percussionist Michael Blair from Tom Waits' band, veteran jazzer Buell Neidlinger, an assortment of former Confederates and a line-up of some of Ireland's finest traditional musicians. | ||
The album largely reflects these global resources, romping through what ''Village Voice'' critic Richard Gehr described as "the rock of all ages: Morrisonian Celtic soul, gospel, R&B, protest folk, cool jazz, C&W and ballads". Costello has been this diverse before, but never all at once. ''Spike'' sounded initially like a kind of musical tourism. | The album largely reflects these global resources, romping through what ''Village Voice'' critic Richard Gehr described as "the rock of all ages: Morrisonian Celtic soul, gospel, R&B, protest folk, cool jazz, C&W and ballads". Costello has been this diverse before, but never all at once. ''Spike'' sounded initially like a kind of musical tourism. | ||
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Beyond the crafted excellence of songs like "...This Town...," "Let Him Dangle," "God's Comic," "Satellite," "Any King's Shilling," "Miss Macbeth" and "Last Boat Leaving," the album would be worth the price of admission for one track alone. I'm thinking, of course, of "Tramp The Dirt Down", Costello's furious indictment of 10 years of Conservative government and Margaret Thatcher specifically, in which Costello wishes the dragon dead and imagines dancing on her grave. It's a vicious tirade, all the more brutal for the absence of melodrama, breast beating self-righteousness and political posturing. The clear-sightedness of its venom is chilling. | Beyond the crafted excellence of songs like "...This Town...," "Let Him Dangle," "God's Comic," "Satellite," "Any King's Shilling," "Miss Macbeth" and "Last Boat Leaving," the album would be worth the price of admission for one track alone. I'm thinking, of course, of "Tramp The Dirt Down", Costello's furious indictment of 10 years of Conservative government and Margaret Thatcher specifically, in which Costello wishes the dragon dead and imagines dancing on her grave. It's a vicious tirade, all the more brutal for the absence of melodrama, breast beating self-righteousness and political posturing. The clear-sightedness of its venom is chilling. | ||
As | As Greil Marcus observed in ''Village Voice'': "To make true political music, you have to say what decent people don't want to hear; that's something that people fit for satellite benefit concerts will never understand, and that Costello understood before anyone heard his name." It's this terrific disinclination to pander to liberalistic, simple minded humanistic self-righteousness that separates Costello so profoundly from the simpering conceits, the bland admonishments, the reek of moral attitudinizing that marks the worried global concerns of Bono and Jim Kerr and Sting... | ||
"...Sting," Costello laughs. He knows what I'm talking about. "I always try to avoid slandering Sting because he's such an easy target," he continues. "And he's so pompous at times, but I think he's basically a decent guy... We had a very funny conversation at that Clapham anti-apartheid thing that | "...Sting," Costello laughs. He knows what I'm talking about. "I always try to avoid slandering Sting because he's such an easy target," he continues. "And he's so pompous at times, but I think he's basically a decent guy... We had a very funny conversation at that [[Concert 1986-06-28 London|Clapham]] anti-apartheid thing that Dammers put together, the one that lost all the money. And he came into my dressing room, because he always seems to sort of seek me out if we're ever anywhere together, to take me to task for the last horrible thing I've said about him. | ||
"And he said, 'I really don't know what I'm going to do next, What topics are there left for me to discuss?' And I said, 'That's the fuckin' trouble with you.' I said, 'You've been a bloody pop star for 10 years — now you want to be a serious fuckin artist. Don't come around here with your serious artist shit. And by the way, fire that fuckin' piano player.' He seemed to take it quite well. And I think it's good for people like that to hove people like me around to take the piss out of them... It's almost like they need people who aren't afraid to take the piss out of them so they can sharpen their act up a bit. Because he's pretty good, Sting, when you get in a little fencing match with him. He's a pretty sharp guy. He's not quite as pompous and idiotic as he might appear in a few of the announcements he makes in the papers." | "And he said, 'I really don't know what I'm going to do next, What topics are there left for me to discuss?' And I said, 'That's the fuckin' trouble with you.' I said, 'You've been a bloody pop star for 10 years — now you want to be a serious fuckin artist. Don't come around here with your serious artist shit. And by the way, fire that fuckin' piano player.' He seemed to take it quite well. And I think it's good for people like that to hove people like me around to take the piss out of them... It's almost like they need people who aren't afraid to take the piss out of them so they can sharpen their act up a bit. Because he's pretty good, Sting, when you get in a little fencing match with him. He's a pretty sharp guy. He's not quite as pompous and idiotic as he might appear in a few of the announcements he makes in the papers." | ||
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"And these days, that's an achievement in itself." | "And these days, that's an achievement in itself." | ||
{{cx}} | |||
{{tags}}[[Spike]] {{-}} [[Nick Lowe]] {{-}} [[Concert 1989-05-07 London|Palladium]] {{-}} [[London]] {{-}} [[T{{nb}}Bone Burnett]] {{-}} [[Joni Mitchell]] {{-}} [[John Lennon]] {{-}} [[Smokey Robinson]] {{-}} [[Paul McCartney]] {{-}} [[Chrissie Hynde]] {{-}} [[Roger McGuinn]] {{-}} [[Allen Toussaint]] {{-}} [[Dirty Dozen Brass Band]] {{-}} [[Marc Ribot]] {{-}} [[Michael Blair]] {{-}} [[Tom Waits]] {{-}} [[Buell Neidlinger]] {{-}} [[Any King's Shilling]] {{-}} [[Veronica]] {{-}} [[...This Town...|This Town]] {{-}} [[Let Him Dangle]] {{-}} [[Tramp The Dirt Down]] {{-}} [[Satellite]] {{-}} [[God's Comic]] {{-}} [[Miss Macbeth]] {{-}} [[Last Boat Leaving]] {{-}} [[Baby Plays Around]] {{-}} [[Margaret Thatcher]] {{-}} [[Concert 1986-06-28 London|Artists Against Apartheid]] {{-}} [[Jerry Dammers]] {{-}} [[Bono]] {{-}} [[U2]] {{-}} [[Concert 1983-12-18 London|The Big One]] {{-}} [[The Style Council]] {{-}} [[Ian Dury]] {{-}} [[Shetland Folk Festival]] {{-}} [[The Smiths|Morrissey]] {{-}} [[Nelson Mandela]] {{-}} [[King Of America]] {{-}} [[Alison]] {{-}} [[I{{nb}}Want You]] {{-}} [[Blood & Chocolate]] {{-}} [[The Attractions]] {{-}} [[The South Bank Show|South Bank Show]] {{-}} [[Get Happy!!]] {{-}} [[Almost Blue]] {{-}} [[Warner Bros.]] | |||
{{cx}} | {{cx}} | ||
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'''Melody Maker, May 13, 1989 | '''Melody Maker, May 13, 1989 | ||
---- | ---- | ||
[[Allan Jones]] interviews Elvis Costello. <span style="font-size:92%"> (concluded in [[Melody Maker, May 20, 1989|May 20]] issue.) </span> | [[Allan Jones]] interviews Elvis Costello. <span style="font-size:92%"> (interview concluded in [[Melody Maker, May 20, 1989|May 20]] issue.) </span> | ||
---- | ---- | ||
[[Jon Wilde|Jonh Wilde]] reviews Elvis Costello, solo, Sunday, [[Concert 1989-05-07 London|May 7, 1989]], Palladium, London, England. | [[Jon Wilde|Jonh Wilde]] reviews Elvis Costello, solo and with [[Nick Lowe]], Sunday, [[Concert 1989-05-07 London|May 7, 1989]], Palladium, London, England. | ||
---- | ---- | ||
[[Ian Gittins]] reviews the [[Single: Baby Plays Around|single]] for "[[Baby Plays Around]]." An ad for the single runs on page [[:image:1989-05-13 Melody Maker page 31 advertisement.jpg|31]]. | [[Ian Gittins]] reviews the [[Single: Baby Plays Around|single]] for "[[Baby Plays Around]]." An ad for the single runs on page [[:image:1989-05-13 Melody Maker page 31 advertisement.jpg|31]]. | ||
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{{Bibliography images}} | {{Bibliography images}} | ||
[[image:1989-05-13 Melody Maker | [[image:1989-05-13 Melody Maker pages 32-33.jpg|390px]] | ||
<br><small>Page scans.</small> | <br><small>Page scans.</small> | ||
[[image:1989-05-13 Melody Maker cover.jpg| | <small>Cover and page scans.</small><br> | ||
[[image:1989-05-13 Melody Maker page 34.jpg| | [[image:1989-05-13 Melody Maker cover.jpg|x125px]] | ||
[[image:1989-05-13 Melody Maker page 31.jpg| | [[image:1989-05-13 Melody Maker page 22.jpg|x125px|page 22]] | ||
[[image:1989-05-13 Melody Maker page 34.jpg|x125px|page 34]] | |||
[[image:1989-05-13 Melody Maker page 31.jpg|x125px|page 31]] | |||
<br><br> | |||
{{Bibliography box | {{Bibliography box}} | ||
<center><h3> | <center><h3> Joker's wild </h3></center> | ||
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<center> Jonh Wilde </center> | <center> Jonh Wilde </center> | ||
---- | ---- | ||
'''Elvis Costello <br> | |||
London Palladium | |||
{{Bibliography text}} | {{Bibliography text}} | ||
[[image:1989-05-13 Melody Maker clipping 01.jpg| | [[image:1989-05-13 Melody Maker page 22 clipping 01.jpg|140px|right]] | ||
Allan Jones once remarked that Elvis Costello is always great theatre because you never know how far he's capable of pushing himself. I've seen Costello push himself some distances in my time, but rarely as far as he pushed tonight. This was tremendous theatre. | Allan Jones once remarked that Elvis Costello is always great theatre because you never know how far he's capable of pushing himself. I've seen Costello push himself some distances in my time, but rarely as far as he pushed tonight. This was tremendous theatre. | ||
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{{cx}} | {{cx}} | ||
{{cx}} | {{cx}} | ||
<br><br> | |||
<small>Photo by [[David Willis]].</small><br> | |||
[[image:1989-05-13 Melody Maker photo 10 dw.jpg|380px|border]] | |||
<br><br> | <br><br> | ||
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*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melody_Maker Wikipedia: Melody Maker] | *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melody_Maker Wikipedia: Melody Maker] | ||
*[http://www.flickr.com/search?safe_search=3&content_type=1&media=all&sort=date-posted-desc&adv=1&text=Costello%20%2013%3A05%3A1989 Flickr:] [[Stephen McCathie]] | *[http://www.flickr.com/search?safe_search=3&content_type=1&media=all&sort=date-posted-desc&adv=1&text=Costello%20%2013%3A05%3A1989 Flickr:] [[Stephen McCathie]] | ||
*[https://www.flickr.com/photos/nothingelseon/51545675920/ Flickr: nothingelseon][https://www.flickr.com/photos/nothingelseon/51545674440/ {{t}}][https://www.flickr.com/photos/nothingelseon/51543953247/ {{t}}][https://www.flickr.com/search/?user_id=89224990%40N00&view_all=1&text=Melody%20Maker%2C%2013%20May%201989 {{t}}] | |||
<!-- *[https://rettiwt.com/search?q=%40nothingelseon%20Melody%20Maker%2C%2013%20May%201989%20Costello&src=typed_query&f=top rettiwt: nothingelseon] --> | |||
*[http://www.elviscostellofans.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3874 Elvis Costello Fan Forum] | *[http://www.elviscostellofans.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3874 Elvis Costello Fan Forum] | ||
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[[Category:Interviews]] | [[Category:Interviews]] | ||
[[Category:1989 interviews]] | [[Category:1989 interviews]] | ||
[[Category:Single reviews]] | |||
[[Category:1989 concert reviews]] | [[Category:1989 concert reviews]] | ||
[[Category:1989 UK Tour|~Melody Maker 1989-05-13]] | [[Category:1989 UK Tour|~Melody Maker 1989-05-13]] |
Latest revision as of 18:00, 29 November 2023
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