Newsweek, August 9, 1982: Difference between revisions
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He's been called a menace and a misfit. He still scorns the pop mainstream: "It's toothpaste." He writes off American radio: "It's not even music, it's wallpaper." But now meet the new Elvis Costello. He wants his songs to have "heart," "compassion," "humility." Compulsively self-critical, he faults some of his early work for being too "smug," "clinical," "narrow-minded." He worries that his recent material — capped by '' | He's been called a menace and a misfit. He still scorns the pop mainstream: "It's toothpaste." He writes off American radio: "It's not even music, it's wallpaper." But now meet the new Elvis Costello. He wants his songs to have "heart," "compassion," "humility." Compulsively self-critical, he faults some of his early work for being too "smug," "clinical," "narrow-minded." He worries that his recent material — capped by ''Imperial Bedroom,'' his breathtaking new album — may have "lost some of the edge that bloody-mindedness gives you." But he wants, above all, to break with that old bloody-mindedness: "It's easy to become trapped in an image which seems to have been tailored for you, somewhat by your own doing, somewhat by circumstances. I was trapped by this aggressive image." | ||
It's been five years since Costello first burst into view as the new wave's angriest young man. Since then, he's composed and recorded nearly 100 songs in a protean range of styles: bare-knuckled rock, baroque pop, tender ballads, bluesy laments, Nashville weepers. The variety is awesome, and belies the myth that Elvis Costello is "Mr. Revenge and Guilt," as he ruefully puts it. Still, like most myths, this one has its reasons. He evinces, always, a burning need to connect — to startle, mock, move, touch, cut to the quick. His songs are usually short and tart. His lyrics betray a scabrous obsession with deceit, domination, untrammeled desire. Much of his music revolves around moods of bitterness and shame, rage at others and disgust with himself. He refuses to coin slogans or use sunny cliches. Sardonic, demanding, ruthlessly unsentimental — he is, by far, the most interesting figure in pop music today. | It's been five years since Costello first burst into view as the new wave's angriest young man. Since then, he's composed and recorded nearly 100 songs in a protean range of styles: bare-knuckled rock, baroque pop, tender ballads, bluesy laments, Nashville weepers. The variety is awesome, and belies the myth that Elvis Costello is "Mr. Revenge and Guilt," as he ruefully puts it. Still, like most myths, this one has its reasons. He evinces, always, a burning need to connect — to startle, mock, move, touch, cut to the quick. His songs are usually short and tart. His lyrics betray a scabrous obsession with deceit, domination, untrammeled desire. Much of his music revolves around moods of bitterness and shame, rage at others and disgust with himself. He refuses to coin slogans or use sunny cliches. Sardonic, demanding, ruthlessly unsentimental — he is, by far, the most interesting figure in pop music today. | ||
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Revision as of 08:10, 6 July 2019
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