Rolling Stone, October 22, 2015: Difference between revisions
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"I was asked to write an autobiography when I was 24," says Elvis Costello, 61, on the day he receives his first hard-bound copy of his revelatory, evocatively crafted, highly entertaining new memoir, ''Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink''. "I said, 'Could I just live some life?'" | "I was asked to write an autobiography when I was 24," says Elvis Costello, 61, on the day he receives his first hard-bound copy of his revelatory, evocatively crafted, highly entertaining new memoir, ''Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink''. "I said, 'Could I just live some life?'" | ||
Back then, Costello (born Declan MacManus), the son of a big-band vocalist, blew through rock | Back then, Costello (born Declan MacManus), the son of a big-band vocalist, blew through rock 'n' roll like a bespectacled tornado, fusing punk, American-roots music and slashing, literary candor on 1977's ''My Aim Is True'' and 1978's ''This Year's Model'', the latter with his feral combo the Attractions. | ||
Early on, he famously said that all of his songwriting was driven by revenge and guilt, an image-making quote he now laughs off. "That was never ''all'' that it was about," he says. "It just became a nice tagline to put next to my name. Even when I said it, I was daring people to go, 'Of course that's not true.' Unfortunately, some people are literal-minded." | Early on, he famously said that all of his songwriting was driven by revenge and guilt, an image-making quote he now laughs off. "That was never ''all'' that it was about," he says. "It just became a nice tagline to put next to my name. Even when I said it, I was daring people to go, 'Of course that's not true.' Unfortunately, some people are literal-minded." | ||
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"Radio Soul" (1975)<br> | "Radio Soul" (1975)<br> | ||
[Early version of "Radio Radio"] | [Early version of "Radio, Radio"] | ||
This was way before ''My Aim Is True''. I recorded it with my semipro band Flip City, when we were doing all these things that were clearly indebted to Bruce Springsteen. Obviously, this song morphed into [the 1978 single] "Radio Radio." I took the pop hooks from this one and flipped its meaning to fit the furious mentality of 1977. But it's an odd thing: "Radio Radio" doesn't resonate to me now the way this one does. I sing this version now live and let the audience know this is what I meant to say. The idea is closer to [Van Morrison's] "Caravan": that you are tuned in to this mythic thing, radio, celebrated in Bruce's songs. | This was way before ''My Aim Is True''. I recorded it with my semipro band Flip City, when we were doing all these things that were clearly indebted to Bruce Springsteen. Obviously, this song morphed into [the 1978 single] "Radio, Radio." I took the pop hooks from this one and flipped its meaning to fit the furious mentality of 1977. But it's an odd thing: "Radio, Radio" doesn't resonate to me now the way this one does. I sing this version now live and let the audience know this is what I meant to say. The idea is closer to [Van Morrison's] "Caravan": that you are tuned in to this mythic thing, radio, celebrated in Bruce's songs. | ||
"Poison Moon" (1976) | "Poison Moon" (1976) | ||
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"(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes" (1977) | "(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes" (1977) | ||
This was more like a visitation. I wrote it in 10 minutes on a train out of Liverpool — the whole song in one gulp. I had the essential image, then I worked backward — a dancehall scene with the put-down lines. That kind of framed this other, weirder idea of "I won't get any older" — I went, "Why am I saying this when I'm 22?" And then there was the whole comedic thing of getting it down. Nowadays you can demo things on your phone. I had to block it out in my mind. Then I had to get off the train, get to my mother's house, grab an old guitar I had there and play the song until I imprinted it in my memory. I had no tape recorder. I had no way other than repetition to drill it into my head so I wouldn't lose it. | This was more like a visitation. I wrote it in 10 minutes on a train out of Liverpool — the whole song in one gulp. I had the essential image, then I worked backward — a dancehall scene with the put-down lines. That kind of framed this other, weirder idea of ''"I won't get any older"'' — I went, "Why am I saying this when I'm 22?" And then there was the whole comedic thing of getting it down. Nowadays you can demo things on your phone. I had to block it out in my mind. Then I had to get off the train, get to my mother's house, grab an old guitar I had there and play the song until I imprinted it in my memory. I had no tape recorder. I had no way other than repetition to drill it into my head so I wouldn't lose it. | ||
"High Fidelity" (1980) | "High Fidelity" (1980) | ||
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"New Lace Sleeves" (1981) | "New Lace Sleeves" (1981) | ||
Some of the best things the Attractions did, like this one, were at slower tempos. It's a myth that it's all about speed and power. "New Lace Sleeves" is almost like dub reggae. I wrote the first lines in about 1974. I was writing a big, grand song about | Some of the best things the Attractions did, like this one, were at slower tempos. It's a myth that it's all about speed and power. "New Lace Sleeves" is almost like dub reggae. I wrote the first lines in about 1974. I was writing a big, grand song about post-war life; it was called "From Kansas to Berlin." But the carnal comedy in there, all the embarrassment of the morning after — I didn't know that stuff so well then. I knew it pretty well by the time of this song. It also was about class and control. People used to say Margaret Thatcher held her Cabinet with some sort of sexual magnetism. Power is seductive. The fact that the music was slinky suited the words. We had to be exhausted to play like that. We had to drain ourselves of the impulse to play fast. | ||
"Beyond Belief" (1982) | "Beyond Belief" (1982) | ||
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"Indoor Fireworks" (1986) | "Indoor Fireworks" (1986) | ||
''Imperial Bedroom'', ''Punch the Clock'' [1983] and ''Goodbye Cruel World'' [1984] were the most Eighties-sounding records we ever allowed ourselves to make. We had some hits. We had some people come to the party, then we didn’t like the party when the people came to the door. I started playing whole sets of songs that nobody — including the Attractions — wanted to hear. I just wanted to get out, and I did: I made ''King of America''. The songs are more emotionally raw, and that more raw sound allows that to come through. Those were painful sessions with the Attractions as we were breaking up — on ''Blood | ''Imperial Bedroom'', ''Punch the Clock'' [1983] and ''Goodbye Cruel World'' [1984] were the most Eighties-sounding records we ever allowed ourselves to make. We had some hits. We had some people come to the party, then we didn’t like the party when the people came to the door. I started playing whole sets of songs that nobody — including the Attractions — wanted to hear. I just wanted to get out, and I did: I made ''King of America''. The songs are more emotionally raw, and that more raw sound allows that to come through. Those were painful sessions with the Attractions as we were breaking up — on ''Blood & Chocolate'', too. That was an ugly period where we made some great records. They come out of the tension. | ||
"London's Brilliant Parade" (1994) | "London's Brilliant Parade" (1994) | ||
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It was at the end of the very long process of making ''Wise Up Ghost''. It was these strange chords. Most of the songs on that album are outward-looking bulletins. I don't know why the music made me go there, but that night I wrote an account of my father's last days and hours. I wrote the lyrics in one draft and sang it in one take, into my computer on the kitchen counter. It's described in a way as clear as I can — the way music was my father's companion to his last breath. It's a somber conclusion. But why be afraid of it? | It was at the end of the very long process of making ''Wise Up Ghost''. It was these strange chords. Most of the songs on that album are outward-looking bulletins. I don't know why the music made me go there, but that night I wrote an account of my father's last days and hours. I wrote the lyrics in one draft and sang it in one take, into my computer on the kitchen counter. It's described in a way as clear as I can — the way music was my father's companion to his last breath. It's a somber conclusion. But why be afraid of it? | ||
{{cx}} | |||
{{tags}}[[Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink]] {{-}} [[Declan MacManus]] {{-}} [[Ross MacManus]] {{-}} [[My Aim Is True]] {{-}} [[This Year's Model]] {{-}} [[Revenge and guilt]] {{-}} [[The Attractions]] {{-}} [[Paul McCartney]] {{-}} [[The Jackson 5|Michael Jackson]] {{-}} [[Burt Bacharach]] {{-}} [[Allen Toussaint]] {{-}} [[The Roots]] {{-}} [[Kris Kristofferson]] {{-}} [[Rosanne Cash]] {{-}} [[Radio Soul]] {{-}} [[Radio, Radio]] {{-}} [[Flip City]] {{-}} [[Bruce Springsteen]] {{-}} [[Van Morrison]] {{-}} [[Caravan]] {{-}} [[Poison Moon]] {{-}} [[John Prine]] {{-}} [[Randy Newman]] {{-}} [[(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes]] {{-}} [[High Fidelity]] {{-}} [[Lip Service]] {{-}} [[Mystery Dance]] {{-}} [[New Lace Sleeves]] {{-}} [[Margaret Thatcher]] {{-}} [[Beyond Belief]] {{-}} [[Imperial Bedroom]] {{-}} [[U2]] {{-}} [[Pete Thomas]] {{-}} [[Indoor Fireworks]] {{-}} [[Punch The Clock]] {{-}} [[Goodbye Cruel World]] {{-}} [[King Of America]] {{-}} [[Blood & Chocolate]] {{-}} [[London's Brilliant Parade]] {{-}} [[The Juliet Letters]] {{-}} [[The Brodsky Quartet]] {{-}} [[When I Was Cruel No. 2]] {{-}} [[The Puppet Has Cut His Strings]] {{-}} [[Wise Up Ghost]] | |||
{{cx}} | {{cx}} | ||
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{{Bibliography next | {{Bibliography next | ||
|prev = Rolling Stone, August 27, 2015 | |prev = Rolling Stone, August 27, 2015 | ||
|next = Rolling Stone, | |next = Rolling Stone, June 15, 2017 | ||
}} | }} | ||
'''Rolling Stone, No. 1246, October 22, 2015 | '''Rolling Stone, No. 1246, October 22, 2015 | ||
---- | ---- | ||
[[David Fricke]] interviews Elvis Costello on the inspiration behind 10 key songs. | [[David Fricke]] interviews Elvis Costello on the inspiration behind 10 key songs. | ||
{{Bibliography images}} | {{Bibliography images}} | ||
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[[image:2015-10-22 Rolling Stone page 24.jpg|360px|border]] | [[image:2015-10-22 Rolling Stone page 24.jpg|360px|border]] | ||
<br><small>Page scans.</small> | <br><small>Page scans.</small> | ||
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[[image:2015-10-22 Rolling Stone page 05.jpg| | <small>Contents page.</small><br> | ||
[[image:2015-10-22 Rolling Stone page 05.jpg|300px|border]] | |||
<small>Photo by [[Richard Young]].</small><br> | <small>Photo by [[Richard Young]].</small><br> | ||
[[image:2015-10-22 Rolling Stone photo 01 ry.jpg| | [[image:2015-10-22 Rolling Stone photo 01 ry.jpg|300px]] | ||
<small>Cover.</small><br> | <small>Cover.</small><br> | ||
[[image:2015-10-22 Rolling Stone cover.jpg|x120px | [[image:2015-10-22 Rolling Stone cover.jpg|x120px]] | ||
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==External links== | ==External links== | ||
*[http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/elvis-costello-my-life-in-10-songs-20151012 RollingStone.com] | *[http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/elvis-costello-my-life-in-10-songs-20151012 RollingStone.com] | ||
*[https://www.rollingstone.it/musica/news-musica/elvis-costello-la-mia-vita-in-10-canzoni/289788/#RadioSoul Rolling Stone Italy] | |||
*[https://archive.org/details/Rolling_Stone_December_2015_AU/page/n57/mode/2up Rolling Stone Australia] | |||
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling_Stone Wikipedia: Rolling Stone] | *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling_Stone Wikipedia: Rolling Stone] | ||
*[http://www.elviscostellofans.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10639 Elvis Costello Fan Forum] | *[http://www.elviscostellofans.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10639 Elvis Costello Fan Forum] |
Revision as of 19:37, 3 March 2023
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