It’s appropriate that I’m featuring an Elvis Costello song on Halloween, as I first saw the man in concert in Sunrise, Florida, with my brother-in-law on Halloween night, 1999.
That was his first time in Florida in many years and my first opportunity to see him during the decade I’d been a fan. I’ve since seen him four or five more times but that first one remains the most special (and not just because he went “off mic” to sing his closing number).
But back to This Year’s Model. I vividly remember first buying this album in college and being surprised by how in-your-face the opening tracks were, especially compared to the few Costello albums I owned. Scanning the track list, I wondered which, if any, of the tracks would be ballads, or at least more mellow than the first few.
I guessed that track six, ‘You Belong to Me,’ would be a slow song, based only on the title. As anyone who owns this album knows, it ain’t. But before I got to it, track five — ‘Little Triggers’ — surprised me by being that slow burner I was looking for.
The soulful ‘Little Triggers’ is This Year’s Model‘s one change of pace, and a fine showcase for both the band and Costello’s vocals.
Little triggers. I don’t wanna be hung up,
strung up, when you don’t call up.
Little sniggers on your lips.
Little triggers in your grip.
Little triggers. My hand on your hip.
Thinkin’ all about those censored sequences,
worryin’ about the consequences,
waiting until I come to my senses.
Better put it all in present tenses.
Worryin’ about the common decency
when it is only a question of frequency
when you say O.K. But I gotta cheek
to be sayin’ you’re tired of me
when you don’t even weaken these
Little Triggers
Meet Me In Montauk 
That was a great and special concert.:)
I overlooked this song yesterday as one of the standouts on this album. It’s a very good one Probably my third favorite after the two I mentioned yesterday.
I second the acclaim for both the band’s performance and the vocals on this track — incredible sensitivity from the combo (playing clicktrackless, no less, to follow the weary wandering of the singing), and an amazing combination of anger, regret and wistful desire in the vocals, with an amazing tender falsetto slide on “call uuuppp”…
And again to Dana with the It’s Almost Too Punk For Me jibber-jabber: you’ve got ‘Alison’ on the 1st album, this song on album 2, ‘Party Girl’ on Armed Forces — from the jump EC was always way more multidimensional than regular ‘punk rock’. Replace ‘punk rock’ with ‘pub rock’ and you’re more on track. That guy was a full-on entertainer from day one, and didn’t even try to hide it. He was, and is, a Pop Encyclopedia, with Pop encompassing 1940s Big Band through tomorrow’s Space Music.
Elvis Is King! And yes, he’s great in concert.
My general fandom for nearly every musical artist I liked as a young musichead would culminate whenever I finally saw them in concert — I would love the records and then, after the live show, would usually move on to the next obsession. But not with Elvis: he’s kept me coming back over and over.
And I’ve got a fun Juliet Letters Live story if that album ever comes across Clay’s Elvis Weekend.
Yes, Ned, agreed that EC was more than just punk from the get-go. All I’m saying is that, when I’m in a Costello mood, I reach for those albums that came after these first two more than I reach for these.
And Clay is going chronologically through the discography, one album per weekend, so we will have to wait patiently for your Juliette Letters story:)
Good gravy, when’s that going to be — mid-July 2011? (the man’s made a lot of records, is my point)
Exactly! Maybe you should just tell the story now:)
Or you could saunter over to SOTD 830 (Dusty Springfield) and join the “musical racism” debate:)
Great song. I missed that concert all those years ago, as Alex accompanied me and Mulan (Maddie at 3) around Keystone Point that Halloween night. Still, I’ve adored the live performances of his I have seen. He is a great recording artist and an equally amazing performer.