Sounds, March 4, 1989: Difference between revisions
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{{:Bibliography index}} | {{:Bibliography index}} | ||
{{:Sounds index}} | {{:Sounds index}} | ||
{{Bibliography article header}} | {{Bibliography article header}} | ||
<center><h3> Who the El does Costello think he is? </h3></center> | <center><h3> Who the El does Costello think he is? </h3></center> | ||
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<center>Francesco Adinolfi</center> | <center>Francesco Adinolfi</center> | ||
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'''Elvis Costello is back with an acclaimed new album — and the latest in a long line of alter-egos. So just who is 'Spike'? And why has he been recording with Paul McCartney and Roger McGuinn? | |||
{{Bibliography text}} | {{Bibliography text}} | ||
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Besides, the name suited his sneeringly direct line. Since 1976, his career has turned into a veritable odyssey of vinyl, taking in landmarks such as 1980's Stax-marshalled ''Get Happy!!'', 1981's country cousin, ''Almost Blue'', and the lavishly-arranged hubris of ''Imperial Bedroom'' (1982). | Besides, the name suited his sneeringly direct line. Since 1976, his career has turned into a veritable odyssey of vinyl, taking in landmarks such as 1980's Stax-marshalled ''Get Happy!!'', 1981's country cousin, ''Almost Blue'', and the lavishly-arranged hubris of ''Imperial Bedroom'' (1982). | ||
Elvis began to opt for the jokey alter-ego when he became The Imposter for "Pills And Soap" (1983) and Howard Coward for "The People's Limousine," in conjunction with | Elvis began to opt for the jokey alter-ego when he became The Imposter for "Pills And Soap" (1983) and Howard Coward for "The People's Limousine," in conjunction with T{{nb}}Bone Burnett. | ||
For the ground-breaking ''King Of America'' (1986) he reverted to his real name but, later the same year, ''Blood | For the ground-breaking ''King Of America'' (1986) he reverted to his real name but, later the same year, ''Blood & Chocolate'' heralded a new persona — Napoleon Dynamite. | ||
True, these were all astonishingly diverse records, worthy of the highest individual attention. But the man's identity crises appeared to be reaching fever pitch | True, these were all astonishingly diverse records, worthy of the highest individual attention. But the man's identity crises appeared to be reaching fever pitch — must all his records demand a new name, a new image? | ||
Now he's back again — this time at the apex of the WEA roster — with a new LP, ''Spike'', which includes collaborations with artists such as | Now he's back again — this time at the apex of the WEA roster — with a new LP, ''Spike'', which includes collaborations with artists such as Paul McCartney, T{{nb}}Bone Burnett and Roger McGuinn. | ||
It's brilliantly unpredictable and predictably, it's brilliant. A finely-honed promotion campaign has promoted him from the position of Court Jester To The Disgusted to that of Poet Laureate For The Free-Thinking. | It's brilliantly unpredictable and predictably, it's brilliant. A finely-honed promotion campaign has promoted him from the position of Court Jester To The Disgusted to that of Poet Laureate For The Free-Thinking. | ||
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"I can't deny that it shows a variety of musical styles but the choice of the instruments and the arrangements was pre-planned. | "I can't deny that it shows a variety of musical styles but the choice of the instruments and the arrangements was pre-planned. | ||
"Myself, T | "Myself, T{{nb}}Bone Burnett and Kevin Killen (Elvis' co-producers) got together and decided which instruments we would use for each song, because we thought that would bring songs to life — in the same way as an arranger for an orchestra chooses any instrument he thinks is correct for the music. | ||
"We tried to create the right mood for the songs, so the song dictated the instruments and sometimes things happened casually like, for instance, the involvement of Roger McGuinn." | "We tried to create the right mood for the songs, so the song dictated the instruments and sometimes things happened casually like, for instance, the involvement of Roger McGuinn." | ||
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"Sort of. Basically, Elvis Costello is a brand name, like Ferrari, and the name changing is just like, an act of taking some different roles to portray different characters. | "Sort of. Basically, Elvis Costello is a brand name, like Ferrari, and the name changing is just like, an act of taking some different roles to portray different characters. | ||
"The idea of The Imposter was to make that song separate from Elvis Costello's songs. But people take it too seriously — they think it's my neurosis. I think it's theirs." | "The idea of The Imposter was to make that song separate from Elvis Costello's songs. But people take it too seriously — they think it's ''my'' neurosis. I think it's theirs." | ||
''In the UK, a few people have been very neurotic about you. | ''In the UK, a few people have been very neurotic about you. | ||
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"He likes some songs very much. He really likes Public Enemy and Guns N' Roses. But he doesn't take them seriously — he appreciates them in the same way that he would go and see Donald Duck when he was younger. | "He likes some songs very much. He really likes Public Enemy and Guns N' Roses. But he doesn't take them seriously — he appreciates them in the same way that he would go and see Donald Duck when he was younger. | ||
"Somebody who grew up in the '50s really believed in The Beatles or Otis Redding, but I don't really believe Axl Rose. He's fine, he's good cartoon but he is a cartoon, like David Lee Roth, who's entertaining but is like Daffy Duck." | "Somebody who grew up in the '50s really believed in The Beatles or Otis Redding, but I don't really believe Axl Rose. He's fine, he's good cartoon but he ''is'' a cartoon, like David Lee Roth, who's entertaining but is like Daffy Duck." | ||
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"Most of the time, l feel honoured. My audience in the USA was made much larger by Linda Ronstadt, who did my songs — even though I didn't much care for her interpretations. In fact, I've been really rude about them! But it did open other people's ears. | "Most of the time, l feel honoured. My audience in the USA was made much larger by Linda Ronstadt, who did my songs — even though I didn't much care for her interpretations. In fact, I've been really rude about them! But it did open other people's ears. | ||
"Most of the covers I've heard have been very good. I've heard a few bad ones but some of my favourite singers have recorded my songs — | "Most of the covers I've heard have been very good. I've heard a few bad ones but some of my favourite singers have recorded my songs — Johnny Cash, George Jones, Dusty Springfield, Roy Orbison, Robert Wyatt. If, at the beginning of my career, someone had asked me who I'd like to record my songs, there's a fairly good chance that three or four of those people would have been on the list." | ||
''You said that your collaboration with Roger McGuinn was almost casual. | ''You said that your collaboration with Roger McGuinn was almost casual. | ||
"Not in the intention, but in the way it came about it was very casual. T | "Not in the intention, but in the way it came about it was very casual. T{{nb}}Bone Burnett produced ''King Of America'' and, for the new album, we went together to New Orleans to meet the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and Allen Toussaint, who both appear on ''Spike'', and one night we went to see Roger McGuinn play in New Orleans. | ||
"I went to the show and, unfortunately, someone put alcohol in my drink and I met him when I was very drunk- I was embarrassed the next day because I had waited nearly 20 years to meet him and now I was saying, C'mon Roger, gimme a guitar! | "I went to the show and, unfortunately, someone put alcohol in my drink and I met him when I was very drunk- I was embarrassed the next day because I had waited nearly 20 years to meet him and now I was saying, C'mon Roger, gimme a guitar! | ||
"l asked T | "l asked T{{nb}}Bone, who had met McGuinn in the past, whether he would like to come and play and very kindly he came. McGuinn is still ahead of his time. There's a quote, that's attributed to Charlie Mingus, about Charlie Parker, If Charlie Parker was a gangster, there would be a lot of dead saxophone players. | ||
"Well, if Roger McGuinn was a gangster, there would be a lot of dead REMs and groups like that. Not that they're not good groups but, without McGuinn, they wouldn't exist. And he's not really given a proper credit for his influence on modern music." | "Well, if Roger McGuinn was a gangster, there would be a lot of dead REMs and groups like that. Not that they're not good groups but, without McGuinn, they wouldn't exist. And he's not really given a proper credit for his influence on modern music." | ||
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"Those are particular songs. The sounds are not imitation folk music — I translate traditional music into my songs, but they take on a different quality. | "Those are particular songs. The sounds are not imitation folk music — I translate traditional music into my songs, but they take on a different quality. | ||
"Inevitably, musicians like | "Inevitably, musicians like Steve Wickham (The Waterboys), Christy Moore or Davy Spillane are using a different approach, they're playing arranged format music, they're not playing free form, traditional music because they're telling a story and have to stay inside the structure of the song. | ||
"I like Ireland because it's anarchy and also because Ireland is repressed, and the two things create ferment." | "I like Ireland because it's anarchy and also because Ireland is repressed, and the two things create ferment." | ||
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"Then he dies and goes to heaven, and is afraid that God's going to be angry with him. And when he gets to heaven, God is lying on a water bed full of tropical fish, reading a Jackie Collins novel with one eye and a Bret Easton Ellis novel with the other, and he has five TVs on — one with Sky Channel, one with the colourised version of ''It's A Wonderful Life'', another one with ''9½ Weeks'', and a couple of others. | "Then he dies and goes to heaven, and is afraid that God's going to be angry with him. And when he gets to heaven, God is lying on a water bed full of tropical fish, reading a Jackie Collins novel with one eye and a Bret Easton Ellis novel with the other, and he has five TVs on — one with Sky Channel, one with the colourised version of ''It's A Wonderful Life'', another one with ''9½ Weeks'', and a couple of others. | ||
"He's listening to Andrew Lloyd-Webber on his Sony compact disc and he's horrified with humanity. He thinks he should have given the world to the monkeys. Then he takes out his guitar and plays ' | "He's listening to Andrew Lloyd-Webber on his Sony compact disc and he's horrified with humanity. He thinks he should have given the world to the monkeys. Then he takes out his guitar and plays 'Last Train To Clarksville'. Does that make any sense?" | ||
''T-Bone Burnett has said that people take months to write songs that you compose in 12 minutes. | ''T-Bone Burnett has said that people take months to write songs that you compose in 12 minutes. | ||
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Do you agree that your songs often have a cinematic quality? | Do you agree that your songs often have a cinematic quality? | ||
"Possibly. I can only tell you that I'd love to do more film music. The music for The Courier film in 1987 which my wife Cait (O'Riordan) was in, was very instructive to the way I arranged ''Spike'' because, when you do film music, you have pictures and you just make noises that suit the mood. And some of the music on ''Spike'' is just a noise, it isn't always the music of the song. | "Possibly. I can only tell you that I'd love to do more film music. The music for ''The Courier'' film in 1987 which my wife Cait (O'Riordan) was in, was very instructive to the way I arranged ''Spike'' because, when you do film music, you have pictures and you just make noises that suit the mood. And some of the music on ''Spike'' is just a noise, it isn't always the music of the song. | ||
''Do videos play an important part in your career? | ''Do videos play an important part in your career? | ||
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{{Bibliography notes}} | {{Bibliography notes}} | ||
{{Bibliography next | {{Bibliography next | ||
|prev = Sounds, February | |prev = Sounds, February 18, 1989 | ||
|next = Sounds, May | |next = Sounds, May 6, 1989 | ||
}} | }} | ||
'''Sounds, March 4, 1989 | '''Sounds, March 4, 1989 | ||
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{{Bibliography images}} | {{Bibliography images}} | ||
[[image:1989-03-04 Sounds photo.jpg| | [[image:1989-03-04 Sounds page 26-27 composite.jpg|380px]] | ||
<br><small>Photo.</small><br> | <br><small>Pages 26-27.</small> | ||
[[image:1989-03-04 Sounds photo 01.jpg|380px]] | |||
<br><small>Photo.</small> | |||
<small>Cover.</small><br> | |||
[[image:1989-03-04 Sounds cover.jpg|x120px|border]] | |||
{{Bibliography notes footer}} | {{Bibliography notes footer}} | ||
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*[http://www.elviscostello.info/articles/s/sounds.890304a.html elviscostello.info] | *[http://www.elviscostello.info/articles/s/sounds.890304a.html elviscostello.info] | ||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sounds 1989-03-04}} | |||
[[Category:Bibliography 1989 | [[Category:Bibliography]] | ||
[[Category:Bibliography 1989]] | |||
[[Category:Sounds| Sounds 1989-03-04]] | [[Category:Sounds| Sounds 1989-03-04]] | ||
[[Category:Magazine articles | [[Category:Magazine articles]] | ||
[[Category:Interviews | [[Category:Interviews]] | ||
[[Category:1989 interviews | [[Category:1989 interviews]] |
Latest revision as of 02:15, 11 September 2021
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