New Musical Express, February 18, 1989: Difference between revisions
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{{Bibliography header}} | {{Bibliography header}} | ||
{{Bibliography index}} | {{:Bibliography index}} | ||
{{:NME index}} | {{:NME index}} | ||
{{Bibliography article header}} | {{Bibliography article header}} | ||
<center><h3> And | <center><h3> And so to bedlam </h3></center> | ||
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<center> Sean O'Hagan </center> | <center> Sean O'Hagan </center> | ||
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'''If 'you're nobody 'til everybody thinks you're a bastard' then, logically, the universal acclaim received by Elvis Costello's ''Spike'' LP must make him one of the hottest bastards around. Sean O'Hagan helps EC tread the ground down. | |||
{{Bibliography text}} | {{Bibliography text}} | ||
The Big Picture | |||
''"All over the world at the very same time people sharing the same sorrow / As the satellite looks down her darkest hour is somebody else's bright tomorrows."'' | ''"All over the world at the very same time people sharing the same sorrow / As the satellite looks down her darkest hour is somebody else's bright tomorrows."'' | ||
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The Best Medicine | |||
''Spike'' is Costello's first vinyl outing since '86's schizoid coupling of the stately ''King Of America'' and the "narrow-minded, made-with-blinkers-on" brutalism of ''Blood And Chocolate''. The latter is now described as "claustrophobic, not so much black and white as brown and red." | ''Spike'' is Costello's first vinyl outing since '86's schizoid coupling of the stately ''King Of America'' and the "narrow-minded, made-with-blinkers-on" brutalism of ''Blood And Chocolate''. The latter is now described as "claustrophobic, not so much black and white as brown and red." | ||
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The Killing Joke | |||
"Many of these songs," Elvis elucidates, "are, erm, tragi-comic. They're born of the idea that things are, have become, soo absurd that laughter is the only response." | "Many of these songs," Elvis elucidates, "are, erm, tragi-comic. They're born of the idea that things are, have become, soo absurd that laughter is the only response." | ||
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Watching The Defectives | |||
"Critics," Elvis Costello spikily informs me, "search for themes and directions in my work. I don't sit down, like Sting or somebody, and go, with furrowed brow, 'Oh, I dealt with the disintegration of relationships on my last manuscript, now I'm revisiting it again. It just isn't that conscious." | "Critics," Elvis Costello spikily informs me, "search for themes and directions in my work. I don't sit down, like Sting or somebody, and go, with furrowed brow, 'Oh, I dealt with the disintegration of relationships on my last manuscript, now I'm revisiting it again. It just isn't that conscious." | ||
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"Nearly always. That's why this record is consciously more third person. I couldn't be a great hack songwriter though. It has to come, on some level, from my emotions. People constantly misunderstand, though. | "Nearly always. That's why this record is consciously more third person. I couldn't be a great hack songwriter though. It has to come, on some level, from my emotions. People constantly misunderstand, though. | ||
"Remember 'Possession' off ''Get Happy''? Man, people read so much into that but what happened was I saw this beautiful waitress in a cafe in Hilversham and I said to Pete (Thomas) | "Remember 'Possession' off ''Get Happy''? Man, people read so much into that but what happened was I saw this beautiful waitress in a cafe in Hilversham and I said to Pete (Thomas) 'I want to possess her!' I banged out 'Possession' on the way back to the studio. We recorded it that night. Demented, really." | ||
Ahhh, the very word. I'm glad you brought up the demented angle. That's another EC constant: there does seem to be an edge of dementia about some of your best work. | Ahhh, the very word. I'm glad you brought up the demented angle. That's another EC constant: there does seem to be an edge of dementia about some of your best work. | ||
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Beyond Good And Evil | |||
These 14 new songs are a last resting place for Costello's last two years worth of dredged up memories, observations, fantasies and reflections. Hence, ''Spike'' is a sprawling affair juxtaposing the weirded-out, multi point of view, welcome-to-my-nightmare Costello with the chastened, straight forward, life's-a-bitch-but-I'm-a-stoical fellow Costello. | These 14 new songs are a last resting place for Costello's last two years worth of dredged up memories, observations, fantasies and reflections. Hence, ''Spike'' is a sprawling affair juxtaposing the weirded-out, multi point of view, welcome-to-my-nightmare Costello with the chastened, straight forward, life's-a-bitch-but-I'm-a-stoical fellow Costello. | ||
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The Sound Of Spike | |||
At the dead end of our tethers, we shift ground again. Music, Noise. The sound of ''Spike'' — the first record Elvis Costello made "entirely with a drum machine". These days, the "sound" of a record isn't as important as it once was. I don't mean in a CD, state of the art way, more in a conceptual, let's-make-the-sound-echo-and-compliment-the-content way. | At the dead end of our tethers, we shift ground again. Music, Noise. The sound of ''Spike'' — the first record Elvis Costello made "entirely with a drum machine". These days, the "sound" of a record isn't as important as it once was. I don't mean in a CD, state of the art way, more in a conceptual, let's-make-the-sound-echo-and-compliment-the-content way. | ||
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The Last Laugh | |||
The most beloved entertainer on ''Spike'' is not Elvis himself, but Macca. Paul McCartney takes his place (two songs co-written, bass played, presence felt) alongside a remarkable array of musicians that include Roger McGuinn, T-Bone Burnett, Allen Touissant, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band plus a host of itinerant Celts. | The most beloved entertainer on ''Spike'' is not Elvis himself, but Macca. Paul McCartney takes his place (two songs co-written, bass played, presence felt) alongside a remarkable array of musicians that include Roger McGuinn, T-Bone Burnett, Allen Touissant, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band plus a host of itinerant Celts. | ||
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{{Bibliography next | {{Bibliography next | ||
|prev = New Musical Express, February 11, 1989 | |prev = New Musical Express, February 11, 1989 | ||
|next = New Musical Express, | |next = New Musical Express, February 25, 1989 | ||
}} | }} | ||
'''New Musical Express, February 18, 1989 | '''New Musical Express, February 18, 1989 | ||
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[[Sean O'Hagan]] interviews Elvis Costello about ''[[Spike]]''. | [[Sean O'Hagan]] interviews Elvis Costello about ''[[Spike]]''. | ||
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''Spike'' debuts at No. 9 on the album chart ([[:image:1989-02-18 New Musical Express page 48 clipping 01.jpg|page 48]]). | |||
{{Bibliography images}} | {{Bibliography images}} | ||
[[image:1989-02-18 New Musical Express cover.jpg| | [[image:1989-02-18 New Musical Express cover 2.jpg|360px|border]] | ||
<br><small>Cover.</small> | <br><small>Cover photo by [[Kevin Cummins]].</small> | ||
[[image:1989-02-18 New Musical Express page 26-27 composite.jpg|360px|border]] | [[image:1989-02-18 New Musical Express page 26-27 composite.jpg|360px|border]] | ||
<br><small>Pages 26-27.</small> | <br><small>Pages 26-27.</small> | ||
[[image:1989-02-18 New Musical Express page 45 clipping.jpg|360px|border]] | |||
<br><small>Page 45 clipping.</small> | |||
<small> | <small>Photos by Kevin Cummins.</small><br> | ||
[[image:1989-02-18 New Musical Express page 27 photo 01 kc.jpg|360px|border]] | [[image:1989-02-18 New Musical Express page 27 photo 01 kc.jpg|360px|border]] | ||
[[image:1989-02-18 New Musical Express page 45 | [[image:1989-02-18 New Musical Express page 45 photo 01 kc.jpg|360px|border]] | ||
<br><small> | <br><small>Photos by Kevin Cummins.</small> | ||
[[image:1989-02-18 New Musical Express page | [[image:1989-02-18 New Musical Express page 48 clipping 01.jpg|x120px|border]] | ||
<br><small> | <br><small>Chart clipping.</small> | ||
{{Bibliography notes footer}} | {{Bibliography notes footer}} | ||
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*[http://www.kevincummins.co.uk/gallery/index.php?id=189 KevinCummins.co.uk] | *[http://www.kevincummins.co.uk/gallery/index.php?id=189 KevinCummins.co.uk] | ||
*[http://www.elviscostello.info/articles/n/nme.890218a.html elviscostello.info] | *[http://www.elviscostello.info/articles/n/nme.890218a.html elviscostello.info] | ||
*[http://www.flickr.com/photos/littletriggers/13912096239 Flickr: littletriggers] | |||
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[[Category:Bibliography 1989 | [[Category:Bibliography]] | ||
[[Category:Bibliography 1989]] | |||
[[Category:New Musical Express| New Musical Express 1989-02-18]] | [[Category:New Musical Express| New Musical Express 1989-02-18]] | ||
[[Category:Magazine articles | [[Category:Magazine articles]] | ||
[[Category:Interviews | [[Category:Interviews]] | ||
[[Category:1989 interviews | [[Category:1989 interviews]] |
Latest revision as of 16:25, 24 July 2016
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