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n his disti ngu ished c areer, Elvis Costello has often collaborated with older songwriters, most notably Paul McCartney and Burt Bacharach. This year, Costello, 59, became the senior partner in a new high-profile collaboration: On Wise Up Ghost, recorded with the Roots, he snarls about the “lies and howlers” of people and governments, over spare, fitful music he created with Questlove and the Roots’ longtime associate Steven Mandel. The teaming began at Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, where the Roots are the house band. After seeing them perform together on TV, some fans are already demanding a full tour. “We’re working toward making an appearance or two,” says Costello, “but we have to see what interest there is.”
''You’ve been saying for a couple of years that you might stop making records. Is this your last one?
I have no idea. I didn’t say that to cry wolf; it was purely a practical matter. I have a responsibility to my and my family’s well-being. The weight and the place records have in the culture is diferent now, and if you expect the same scale of commercial success, that’s bound to end up in frustration. Also, on a personal level, I lost my father [in 2011]. Just as romantic disaster governs your younger life, mortality afects the way you do things when you’re older. If you’re going to leave home to tour, you’d better have a good reason to go.
''What do you have in common with the Roots?
The Roots’ approach calls on them to play music with a lot of wit. That appeals to me. And when I was making [1980’s] Get Happy!!, whether we were listening to Stax and Motown or David Bowie’s records with Brian Eno, there was a collision of different styles. That’s a sensibility I share with the Roots: using a patchwork
guished ca-reer, Elvis Costello has oftencollaborated with older song-writers, most notably Paul
McCartney and Burt Bacharach.
This year, Costello, 59, became the
sen ior partner in a new high-profi le collaboration: On Wise Up
Ghost, recorded with the Roots,
he snarls about the “lies and
howlers” of people and governments, over spare, fi tful
music he created with Questlove and the Roots’ longtime
associate Steven Mandel. The
teaming began at Late Night
With Jimmy Fallon, where the Roots
are the house band. After seeing them
perform together on TV, some fans are
already demanding a full tour. “We’re
working toward making an appearance
or two,” says Costello, “but we have to
see what interest there is.”
You’ve been saying for a couple of
years that you might stop making
rec ords. Is this your last one?
I have no idea. I didn’t say that to
cry wolf; it was purely a practical matter. I have a responsibility to my and
my family’s well-being. The weight and
the place records have in the culture
is dif erent now, and if you expect the
same scale of commercial success, that’s
bound to end up in frustration. Also,
on a personal level, I lost my father [in
2011]. Just as romantic disaster governs
your younger life, mortality af ects the
way you do things when you’re older. If
you’re going to leave home to tour, you’d
better have a good reason to go.
What do you have in common
with the Roots?
The Roots’ approach calls on them
to play music with a lot of wit. That appeals to me. And when I was making
[1980’s] Get Happy!!, whether we were
listening to Stax and Motown or David
Bowie’s records with Brian Eno, there
was a collision of different styles.
That’s a sensibility I share with
the Roots: using a patchwork
of ideas. We’ve taken the same trail, even though we
started from dif erent points in time. I’m amazed by
the things Quest and Steven call up as references.
When we were working on [new song] “Come the
Meantimes,” they played a percussion part with
a bell. I said, “I dig that. It sounds like [Kelis’]
‘Milkshake.’ That’s one of my favorite records.”
And Steven looked at me, like, “What are you talking about?”
Questlove has called these songs “dissonant lullabies.” You’re using soul instrumentation – horns,
wah-wah guitar – to create unsettling
feelings instead of joy.
You could say that. Given my
love of that music, and the references to it in the Roots’ music,
it would be extraordinary if
we studiously avoided R&B.
But I don’t think it’s an unprecedented thing for those
rhythms to be turned on their
head. Think about the Norman Whitfi eld records for
Motown, or Marvin Gaye’s
“What’s Going On.” People have always turned
to dance rhythms while
telling a story of what’s
going on in the day.
Modern hip-hop and
R&B recording methods
must have been new to you.
Well, there was no process of tracking, then overdubbing, then mixing. You’re mixing from Day One. If
you’ve got a beat and a voice, you’ve
got a record – then you make it more
interesting as you add things, erase
things or drop a beat out for one
hit. Over beats Quest conceived, I
laid down electric piano and stabs
on the guitar, or three notes on the
bass, and then I sent the tapes back
to New York, and they added a sousaphone or replaced my bass part with
one that’s more active. It’s an editorial
way of recording.
Some of the lyrics you wrote for Wise
Up Ghost incorporate verses you recorded as long ago as 1983. And the
themes are bleak. Are you making the
point that the issues you wrote about
then are still relevant?
The words are sometimes bleak,
and as a counterpoint, the music isn’t
bleak. That’s the same structural
compound I used on [1979’s] “Oliver’s Army.” You know, I’m not being
a conspiracy theorist, but somebody
could be listening to us talk right now.
You’ve got the idiocy that PRISM, the
NSA stuf , has a logo. I’m sorry, there’s
a design department at the secret
agency? Satirical literature can’t
exist anymore, because it’s in our
newspaper every day.
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Revision as of 03:25, 11 November 2014

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Elvis Costello

On his new album with the Roots,
NSA scandals and why he might (or might not) retire
Rob Tannenbaum


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<< >>

Rolling Stone, No. 1192, September 26, 2013

Rob Tannenbaum interviews Elvis Costello.

Will Hermes reviews Wise Up Ghost.

Images

2013-09-26 Rolling Stone page 30.jpg 2013-09-26 Rolling Stone page 82.jpg
Page scans.


Wise Up Ghost

Elvis Costello and The Roots
Will Hermes

Another dubious Elvis Costello genre exercise? Actually, this collab is something sturdier and more interesting: a pained set about decaying culture long on verbose vitriol and (obviously) wicked grooves – think a dyspeptic What's Going On or a soul-powered Armed Forces. There's stealth hip-hop science: Songs slice up beats and flip deep-catalog Costello ("Pills & Soap" on the neck-snapping "Stick Out Your Tongue," "Satellite" on the waltz-time "Tripwire"). But the best bits, like "Cinco Minutos Con Vos," a slithering duet with fiery Mexicali fusionist La Marisoul, dodge pigeonholes like Questlove dodges the one. It's the sound of a savant songsmith trying to impress the world's best backing band.


2013-09-26 Rolling Stone photo 01 eg.jpg 2013-09-26 Rolling Stone clipping 01.jpg
Photo by Eugene Gologursky.

2013-09-26 Rolling Stone cover.jpg
Cover.


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External links

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