Song of the Day #246: ‘Shot With His Own Gun’ – Elvis Costello

trustWith today’s selection, I’m breaking from my usual rule of featuring only album cuts. This is an interesting clip of ‘Shot With His Own Gun’… it appears to have been filmed as a simple music video more than a live performance. I’m not sure where it originally aired.

I’m OK using the non-album cut in this case because the song as it appears on Trust is similarly bare-bones. It’s just Costello on vocals and the fabulous Steve Nieve on piano. I do regret that this version leaves out the nice piano solo in the middle of the album version, but mostly it’s spot on.

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Where the Wild Things Are trailer

wildthingWell, here’s something I’m looking forward to…

Spike Jonze delivered Being John Malkovich and Adaptation his first two times up to bat. Now, without writer Charlie Kaufman on his team, he’s tackling Maurice Sendak’s beloved children’s book Where the Wild Things Are. And this first glimpse looks amazing.

Apart from the fabulous imagery and the potential for poignant scenes about the magic and uncertainty of childhood, you have Catherine Keener and Mark Ruffalo in the human roles. What more can you ask for?

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Song of the Day #245: ‘Riot Act’ – Elvis Costello

gethappyIn 1979, Costello stirred up controversy and damaged his career with some drunken racist remarks about Ray Charles and James Brown. He made them in a bar during a fight with some other musicians and days later saw them plastered on the news.

His next album, Get Happy, was a collection of 20 quick-burst soul songs that many listeners read as a reaction to the embarrassing episode. Get Happy is also one part of my Costello Holy Trinity — the three albums I consider his most spectacular achievements (I’ll reveal the other two as they come up chronologically).

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Farewell to Galactica

starbuckAnd so Battlestar Galactica, one of television’s greatest shows, has come to an end, signing off with a rousing finale that highlighted both how wonderful and how frustrating it could be. The series was as maddeningly imperfect as its characters but at its best it was among the most resonant and meaningful works of art I’ve seen in any medium.

From the miniseries that launched this reimagining of the 70s cheese-fest of the same name through the midway point of Season Two, Galactica delivered at a level previously uncharted in the sci-fi genre. Viewers expecting cardboard-cutout heroes and villains and rubber-suit aliens were instead met with brutal morality tales and deeply flawed protagonists. It was often tough to watch, but always rewarding.

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Song of the Day #244: ‘Two Little Hitlers’ – Elvis Costello

armedforcesOnce in awhile an album or song you’ve owned for awhile winds up surprising you. Maybe you never really gave it a proper listen in the first place or maybe something in you changed in the meantime and you’re somehow hearing it with fresh ears.

Such was the case for me with today’s song, ‘Two Little Hitlers.’ I’ve always considered Elvis Costello’s third album, Armed Forces, among his weakest efforts. Apart from strong singles ‘Oliver’s Army’ and ‘Accidents Will Happen’ and nifty, disturbing little pop song ‘Green Shirt,’ I just haven’t found much to like on the record.

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