PeeBee wrote: 

Elvis Presley is my biological father!

But this is a really good song by Elvis Costello...


Joshua 10: 24

And it came to pass, when they brought out those kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said unto the captains of the men of war which went with him, Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings.  And they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them.

 kingart wrote: 
The story is that Costello was really drunk.  Also, he had the whole "angry young man" thing going on back then.  Supposedly, there had been some competition between the Costello & Attractions crowd and the Steven Stills & Bonnie Bramlett crowd over some girl at the bar.  The story is that Costello was trying to rile up the Stills crowd, so he said the most inflammatory thing he could think of.  When you listen to his work, which includes some pointedly political songs that leave no doubt about which side of the aisle he's on, then it's difficult to think that Costello is a racist.  But I can believe that a British guy in his mid-20's a few thousand miles from home was drunk and trying to piss off some old folk-rocker by saying something he didn't mean and later regretted.  That doesn't mean that he's not a world-class shithead, but he's certainly not the only shithead in the music industry.

 kaybee wrote: 
This is Elvis Costello??  I need to go lower my rating.

 WonderLizard wrote: 
Wow. That's some anecdote for a guy who made a lot of his reputation on What's So Funny About Peace Love and Understanding. Was he drunk or stoned, or is he / was he a world-class shithead? 

 kaybee wrote: 
He invites both. There's the famous 1979 incident at a Holiday Inn in Columbus, during which his band and Stephen Stills's band traded insults and ultimately blows. Costello called Ray Charles "a blind, ignorant n****r," whereupon Bonnie Bramlett, bless her heart, promptly decked him. Once the story hit the papers, even though Charles himself shrugged it off, Costello was through in the US as a major act. That's one reason to hate him.

Then there are songs like this one.

I deplore his racism—just as prevalent across the pond (c.f., John Terry), but no more acceptable than here—but admire him as a songwriter, producer, and performer. And he seems to have redeemed himself enough to have had his own show, "Spectacle," on the Sundance Channel from 2008-10. Pretty good show, too.

 cShaggy wrote: 
That link doesn't work.  Here's on straight from the horse's webmaster...

 http://www.elviscostello.com/words-detail/Hear+Music/Elvis+Costello+/Bullets+for+the+New-Born+King/cd/729/8919

 ch83575 wrote: 
I like your comment.  But I wanted to address something you wrote here that I do not agree with.  Since your comment a year ago, there have been 9 other comments on the song of the fairly ordinary variety of song comment filler.  So, there is certainly no issue with running out of page space.  There is infinite page space, actually.  People can always skip long posts they don't want to read.   Why is it not best to talk about EC's impact on society?   I would welcome it.  Don't worry about the peanut gallery.  There is a legion of commenters out there, usually just passing through, who love to take pot shots at anyone trying to contribute thoughtful comments. Just ignore them. 

 linden wrote: 
"And even though you ain't my honey, I'm so in love with your money"...

I've never heard this before. Great song. Food for thought. 
 

Very Pretty,

Thanks Bill 

Every human must "love" him! Everybody can think about his lyrics! If I can, why do you not?
I'm a christian from germany, I wonder that you don't see the message in his songs!

This is fantastic!  Surprised it's got such a low rating.  But I've noticed that people at RP either love or hate Elvis Costello.

Bump this up another notch with each listen.  Started at five and now an eight. Like this Costello fellow.

never get tired of Elvis Costello

 lemmoth wrote: 
I am sticking to my guns on this one... just look at the album cover and album title!  Now, I am not saying that I don't feel ripped off by the government, but it probably isn't the best idea to get into that here.  Point of the story: I absolutely would put Elvis in your short list.  He is anything but apolitical.

 ch83575 wrote: 
I have the exact opposite problem.  I can't stand his music, but like his politics.

I get that he is hugely influential and has a massive library of "classics", but there is some quality to his voice and music that I just can't get into.

 beezoo wrote: 
This latest CD really is getting hammered here, true.  In general his ratings are what you would expect for someone of his stature. 

 ch83575 wrote: 

His politics????

Have seen him dozens of times, and he is hardly political.  Yes -he is - if you read interviews, or interpret an occasional song or two - literally 5 or 6 over his entire career - a liberal - as are the vast majority of musicians and artists.

But he is not Bono, or Bruce, or even Eddie Vedder when it comes to his shows.

Saw Elvis last night with his giant wheel, the Imposters and lots of diverse tunes and friends.

He is truly a musical treasure.

This song is good too.

If you like the rockers, try the recent Momofuku - some great ones there - like Stella Hurt and Turpentine.

Beautiful.  

nice

I am horribly torn:  I love Elvis' music, but I hate his politics.  He puts on a great show, studded with political commentary so inane it made me want to throw my drink at him.  Like I said... im torn.

Is that a Vera Bradley bag the wolf has there?

We're very very far from Chelsea, here... but the guy can sing, for sure.
He is a real artist... great one.

Huge, longtime Elvis Fan. He's long been the only Elvis that counts.
Saw him in solo concert this year, he was GREAT,
That said, this song is merely good 6 (& 1/2 maybe?).   . Sorry