New Musical Express, February 26, 1994: Difference between revisions
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"You know what?" He becomes intense, passionate, a little proud. "There's a certain responsibility on my part to stand up for my collaborators (The Brodsky Quartet) because they're drawn into a petty-minded media position which is informed entirely by my back history, not theirs. Perhaps it was ill-advised to write, you should probably always be above it. But right at that moment I got furious because I felt it was unfair to those guys. They didn't ask for any of that shit, or some tired old hack like Tony Parsons taking us to task, trying to pretend to be dangerous by writing for the ''Daily Telegraph''. | "You know what?" He becomes intense, passionate, a little proud. "There's a certain responsibility on my part to stand up for my collaborators (The Brodsky Quartet) because they're drawn into a petty-minded media position which is informed entirely by my back history, not theirs. Perhaps it was ill-advised to write, you should probably always be above it. But right at that moment I got furious because I felt it was unfair to those guys. They didn't ask for any of that shit, or some tired old hack like Tony Parsons taking us to task, trying to pretend to be dangerous by writing for the ''Daily Telegraph''. | ||
"But in the long run, the whole reason for shouting at somebody about anything is it gets it out of your head. Now it can be an important thing that really is close to your heart, or it can just be something that | "But in the long run, the whole reason for shouting at somebody about anything is it gets it out of your head. Now it can be an important thing that really is close to your heart, or it can just be something that fucking pisses you off. You shout, and then it's gone, and after that it doesn't matter." | ||
That kind of anger, that forceful energy, seems to inform the new songs. | That kind of anger, that forceful energy, seems to inform the new songs. | ||
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"Maybe so. I think there are more important things to focus your aggression on. It's not like you're contriving to feel angry, you ''feel'' about something what you ''feel'' about it, and you can either (press it or you can't." | "Maybe so. I think there are more important things to focus your aggression on. It's not like you're contriving to feel angry, you ''feel'' about something what you ''feel'' about it, and you can either (press it or you can't." | ||
But one sentiment that fills the record — especially on "20 | But one sentiment that fills the record — especially on "20% Amnesia" — is that you're ever too old to be angry. | ||
"Well, I think it's a bit dangerous to become complacent, when you start accepting stuff that you used to think was unacceptable. And I think there are a lot of things that are unacceptable. They're different to you as you get older, you become more forgiving about certain frailties of other people. And at the same time you become absolutely unforgiving about things which perhaps you were too self-centred to even realise were happening in the past. In certain periods of my life I've had blinkers on." | "Well, I think it's a bit dangerous to become complacent, when you start accepting stuff that you used to think was unacceptable. And I think there are a lot of things that are unacceptable. They're different to you as you get older, you become more forgiving about certain frailties of other people. And at the same time you become absolutely unforgiving about things which perhaps you were too self-centred to even realise were happening in the past. In certain periods of my life I've had blinkers on." | ||
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What about the last three records? ''Mighty Like A Rose'' drew a lot of criticism. | What about the last three records? ''Mighty Like A Rose'' drew a lot of criticism. | ||
"You know what it was? It was the beard. The beard freaked people out. The beard was seen like, 'Oh, he's lost his mind'. It was also my turn — I was comparatively bulletproof until ''Mighty Like A Rose''. Even ''Spike'', when a lot of people freaked out and said it was over-ambitious or pretentious or whatever. Who cares? I like it! 750.000 people like it, so you can go | "You know what it was? It was the beard. The beard freaked people out. The beard was seen like, 'Oh, he's lost his mind'. It was also my turn — I was comparatively bulletproof until ''Mighty Like A Rose''. Even ''Spike'', when a lot of people freaked out and said it was over-ambitious or pretentious or whatever. Who cares? I like it! 750.000 people like it, so you can go fuck yourself, basically! | ||
"But I do mean it quite literally, the beard did ''alarm'' people; 'Oh God! What's that?' Because whether I like it or not, some people see me as representative of some time or attitude, that I've got to be angry or on the edge, and if I've got a beard... that represents something else. Are people as easily fooled as that? I think some of the best tunes I've ever written are on that record, ''maybe'' they're not presented in the most ingratiating way. But you know what? Maybe I meant to do that. You don't always have to be trying to stroke the audience. | "But I do mean it quite literally, the beard did ''alarm'' people; 'Oh God! What's that?' Because whether I like it or not, some people see me as representative of some time or attitude, that I've got to be angry or on the edge, and if I've got a beard... that represents something else. Are people as easily fooled as that? I think some of the best tunes I've ever written are on that record, ''maybe'' they're not presented in the most ingratiating way. But you know what? Maybe I meant to do that. You don't always have to be trying to stroke the audience. | ||
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"And there's the total libertine decision that it was nobody's business and he was just unlucky to die. If he hadn't died, then nobody would've been any the wiser. You know, it could be John Major doing that, none of us know. He might have this really secret, incredibly exotic life... I somewhat doubt it, but he might have. But I think Portillo is more likely to. I suspect him of some deep-seated perversity. It's in the mouth, it's something cruel, he looks like a conquistador..." | "And there's the total libertine decision that it was nobody's business and he was just unlucky to die. If he hadn't died, then nobody would've been any the wiser. You know, it could be John Major doing that, none of us know. He might have this really secret, incredibly exotic life... I somewhat doubt it, but he might have. But I think Portillo is more likely to. I suspect him of some deep-seated perversity. It's in the mouth, it's something cruel, he looks like a conquistador..." | ||
<i>Brutal Youth</i>'s most explicitly political song is "20 | <i>Brutal Youth</i>'s most explicitly political song is "20% Amnesia," a clattering collection of doomy soundbites that pinpoints the miserable injustices — from petty disputes to international outrages — that people conveniently try and forget about. | ||
"I wrote it in little snapshots because I didn't want it to be one long rant about one thing. It's an argument with somebody at the airport, a stupid, pointless crime, somebody standing at the dispatch box with a brandy in his hand. All these things chip away at what people used to think — not about what was decent and what was good — but what was good sense. | "I wrote it in little snapshots because I didn't want it to be one long rant about one thing. It's an argument with somebody at the airport, a stupid, pointless crime, somebody standing at the dispatch box with a brandy in his hand. All these things chip away at what people used to think — not about what was decent and what was good — but what was good sense. | ||
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"The other thing that's in it is <i>'It's a dangerous game that comedy plays / Sometimes it tells you the truth / Sometimes it delays it.'</i> You know, it's very easy to caricature John Major with his underpants, like Steve Bell does, and all impressionists. But the constant reducing of somebody's philosophy to that, and that alone, disguises it. They get away with murder by doing that, sometimes quite literally. | "The other thing that's in it is <i>'It's a dangerous game that comedy plays / Sometimes it tells you the truth / Sometimes it delays it.'</i> You know, it's very easy to caricature John Major with his underpants, like Steve Bell does, and all impressionists. But the constant reducing of somebody's philosophy to that, and that alone, disguises it. They get away with murder by doing that, sometimes quite literally. | ||
"That's why I told the story in the song about Gorbachev. That really did happen, they took him to see ''Cinderella''. When he came begging for money I went to the opera, and I happened to go there the night they took him there. Suddenly the whole place was in uproar. Major walks in — 'My mate Mikhail' — and they've taken him to see ''La Cenerentola'', which is ''Cinderella''. Do you think that was an accident? I don't think so. These things are planned — what can we take him to that'll ''really'' humiliate him? OK, we'll bring him over here, we're not gonna give him the money, he's | "That's why I told the story in the song about Gorbachev. That really did happen, they took him to see ''Cinderella''. When he came begging for money I went to the opera, and I happened to go there the night they took him there. Suddenly the whole place was in uproar. Major walks in — 'My mate Mikhail' — and they've taken him to see ''La Cenerentola'', which is ''Cinderella''. Do you think that was an accident? I don't think so. These things are planned — what can we take him to that'll ''really'' humiliate him? OK, we'll bring him over here, we're not gonna give him the money, he's fucked anyway, and let's really rub it in now. This is the way those public school bastards at the Foreign Office work." | ||
What about "London's Brilliant Parade," where Swinging London and a lush, lovely setting is contrasted with reality, poverty, homelessness and the possibilities of suicide? | What about "London's Brilliant Parade," where Swinging London and a lush, lovely setting is contrasted with reality, poverty, homelessness and the possibilities of suicide? | ||
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" 'All The Rage' (a waltzing, malcontent's letter of intent, where he sneers, significantly, <i>'I'll never be as unhappy as you want me to be'</i>) is like that too. As much as its accusative, it's also accusing oneself of the Can-You-Not-Get-Over-This anger that you feel. When it's not focused, when its just random. I don't think I get in a rage pointlessly, but there are times when you get past the point where there's any sense to the anger. The bridge is the closest to a personal statement that this record has — <i>'I'll probably play along left to my own devices / Spare me the drone of your advice.'</i> | " 'All The Rage' (a waltzing, malcontent's letter of intent, where he sneers, significantly, <i>'I'll never be as unhappy as you want me to be'</i>) is like that too. As much as its accusative, it's also accusing oneself of the Can-You-Not-Get-Over-This anger that you feel. When it's not focused, when its just random. I don't think I get in a rage pointlessly, but there are times when you get past the point where there's any sense to the anger. The bridge is the closest to a personal statement that this record has — <i>'I'll probably play along left to my own devices / Spare me the drone of your advice.'</i> | ||
"I don't need to be told, you know. These couple of songs are personal, and there's no apology needed for that. If you didn't put something of yourself in it then the whole question of looking outwards would just be, 'Oh well, I'm satisfied with my life but you're | "I don't need to be told, you know. These couple of songs are personal, and there's no apology needed for that. If you didn't put something of yourself in it then the whole question of looking outwards would just be, 'Oh well, I'm satisfied with my life but you're fucked.'{{nb}}" | ||
As the years go by, more of your songs are less direct, hiding behind a story and using a narrator. | As the years go by, more of your songs are less direct, hiding behind a story and using a narrator. | ||
"That's what interests me now. There's no loss of immediacy, or confidence, or belief in what I'm saying. In some ways you're able to be more brutally honest about things that are unpleasant to talk about, even about things in yourself. But less self-regarding and much less self-indulgent — like, there's a lot of this (''he mimes slashing his wrists'') pity-me music around now, and because there's so much of it, I'm doing it this way. Maybe that's being perverse, but I've made records where they're very literal and straight out of my head, like ''Blood | "That's what interests me now. There's no loss of immediacy, or confidence, or belief in what I'm saying. In some ways you're able to be more brutally honest about things that are unpleasant to talk about, even about things in yourself. But less self-regarding and much less self-indulgent — like, there's a lot of this (''he mimes slashing his wrists'') pity-me music around now, and because there's so much of it, I'm doing it this way. Maybe that's being perverse, but I've made records where they're very literal and straight out of my head, like ''Blood & Chocolate''." | ||
So is your predilection for this kind of writing influenced by your personal life being settled now, by a sense of contentment? | So is your predilection for this kind of writing influenced by your personal life being settled now, by a sense of contentment? | ||
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{{Bibliography notes}} | {{Bibliography notes}} | ||
{{Bibliography next | {{Bibliography next | ||
|prev = New Musical Express, | |prev = New Musical Express, December 25, 1993 | ||
|next = New Musical Express, March 5, 1994 | |next = New Musical Express, March 5, 1994 | ||
}} | }} | ||
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[[John Mulvey]] interviews Elvis Costello. | [[John Mulvey]] interviews Elvis Costello. | ||
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John Mulvey names five Elvis Costello albums you should own. | |||
{{Bibliography images}} | {{Bibliography images}} | ||
[[image:1994-02-26 New Musical Express cover.jpg| | [[image:1994-02-26 New Musical Express cover.jpg|380px]] | ||
<br><small>Photo by [[Kevin Cummins]].</small> | <br><small>Photo by [[Kevin Cummins]].</small> | ||
[[image:1994-02-26 New Musical Express page 13.jpg| | [[image:1994-02-26 New Musical Express page 13.jpg|380px]] | ||
<br><small>Page scan.</small> | <br><small>Page scan.</small> | ||
[[image:1994-02-26 New Musical Express page 14.jpg| | [[image:1994-02-26 New Musical Express page 14.jpg|380px]] | ||
<br><small>Page scan.</small> | <br><small>Page scan.</small> | ||
[[image:1994-02-26 New Musical Express page 15.jpg| | [[image:1994-02-26 New Musical Express page 15.jpg|380px]] | ||
<br><small>Page scan.</small> | <br><small>Page scan.</small> | ||
{{Bibliography box | |||
{{Bibliography box}} | |||
<center><h3> The main attractions </h3></center> | <center><h3> The main attractions </h3></center> | ||
<center>''' Five Elvis Costello albums you should own </center> | <center>''' Five Elvis Costello albums you should own </center> | ||
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{{Bibliography text}} | {{Bibliography text}} | ||
[[image:1994-02-26 New Musical Express page 15 clipping 01.jpg|130px|border|right]] | |||
''This Year's Model'' (Radar, 1978) Horrible, sneering, rough-house assault on the glamour industry and the nice, safe world in general. The Attractions appear for the first time, sounding like the frothing-gobbed psycho garage band from hell. Which, obviously, they were. | ''This Year's Model'' (Radar, 1978) Horrible, sneering, rough-house assault on the glamour industry and the nice, safe world in general. The Attractions appear for the first time, sounding like the frothing-gobbed psycho garage band from hell. Which, obviously, they were. | ||
''Trust'' (F-Beat, 1981) The last really unhinged album until '86's ''Blood | ''Trust'' (F-Beat, 1981) The last really unhinged album until '86's ''Blood & Chocolate'', Costello starts widening his brief ("Clubland"'s vitriolic swing) and unleashes one of his finest twisted love songs in "New Lace Sleeves." Every one a whinger. | ||
''Imperial Bedroom'' (F-Beat, 19821 Arguably the masterpiece. EC returns from a fraught sojourn in Nashville bashing out the country covers ''Almost Blue'' album, links up with Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick, hires an orchestra and chucks in the kitchen sink for good measure. The result is ambitious, cinematic, mercilessly political and absolutely heartbreaking. | ''Imperial Bedroom'' (F-Beat, 19821 Arguably the masterpiece. EC returns from a fraught sojourn in Nashville bashing out the country covers ''Almost Blue'' album, links up with Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick, hires an orchestra and chucks in the kitchen sink for good measure. The result is ambitious, cinematic, mercilessly political and absolutely heartbreaking. | ||
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''King Of America'' (F-Beat, 1986) Billed as The Costello Show, the first LP ''sans'' Attractions since I977's debut ''My Aim Is True'' sees a platoon of class US sidesmen, a sound rooted in American country and blues history, and a much more reflective feel. Rich, relatively understated, mature and a complete contrast to... | ''King Of America'' (F-Beat, 1986) Billed as The Costello Show, the first LP ''sans'' Attractions since I977's debut ''My Aim Is True'' sees a platoon of class US sidesmen, a sound rooted in American country and blues history, and a much more reflective feel. Rich, relatively understated, mature and a complete contrast to... | ||
''Blood | ''Blood & Chocolate'' (Imp, 1986) Following mere months later, Costello recalls The Attractions, cranks up the volume and attempts to purge himself of hate for the rest of his life. An obnoxious album, notable for one track ("Tokyo Storm Warning") that makes "Subterranean Homesick Blues" look sweet and restrained, and another ("I Want You") that stands as one of the most disturbingly obsessive recordings ever. | ||
{{cx}} | {{cx}} | ||
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[[image:1994-02-26 New Musical Express page 04 advertisement.jpg| | |||
<small>Advertisement.</small><br> | |||
[[image:1994-02-26 New Musical Express page 04 advertisement.jpg|320px]] | |||
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<small>Photos by [[Kevin Cummins]].</small><br> | <small>Photos by [[Kevin Cummins]].</small><br> | ||
[[image:1994-02-26 New Musical Express photo 01 kc.jpg| | [[image:1994-02-26 New Musical Express photo 01 kc.jpg|380px]] | ||
[[image:1994-02-26 New Musical Express photo 02 kc.jpg| | [[image:1994-02-26 New Musical Express photo 02 kc.jpg|380px]] | ||
[[image:1994-02-26 New Musical Express photo 03 kc.jpg| | [[image:1994-02-26 New Musical Express photo 03 kc.jpg|380px]] | ||
<br><small>Photos by [[Kevin Cummins]].</small> | <br><small>Photos by [[Kevin Cummins]].</small> | ||
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