by

Song of the Day #885: ‘Pills and Soap’ – Elvis Costello

The second of the political songs on Elvis Costello’s Punch the Clock is a strange track toward the end of the album.

Costello has said that he got the inspiration for the sound of ‘Pills and Soap’ from the rap song ‘The Message’ by Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel. He says of that single, “It was the first rap record that I had encountered that was anymore than an invitation to dance. It spoke about ugly life.”

Now it would have been interesting had Costello been inspired to actually rap on his own record, but alas, we were deprived of (or spared) that experience.

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #884: ‘Shipbuilding’ – Elvis Costello

Keeping up his breakneck streak, Elvis Costello released his seventh album in as many years in 1983. Punch the Clock was a departure from the baroque pop of Imperial Bedroom and Costello’s most commercial-sounding album to date.

Punch the Clock was produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, a pair of Brits I’ve seen described as “hit-makers,” though I don’t recognize any of the so-called hits they produced. They brought a high-gloss sheen to Costello’s tunes, including a jaunty brass section and a pair of girl-group backing vocalists known as Afrodiziak.

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #883: ‘In the Air Tonight – Phil Collins

I recently read an article in Rolling Stone about Phil Collins and his withdrawal from public life as a reaction to relentless bashing of his music.

Collins, who was one of the 80s biggest stars thanks to hits such as ‘Sussudio’ and ‘Against All Odds,’ not to mention his popular work with Genesis (‘Land of Confusion’ and ‘Invisible Touch’ to name just a couple), now spends almost all of his time curating an impressive collection of Alamo memorabilia.

He is actually one of the world’s top collectors of artifacts from the Alamo and was touched and proud to be accepted into their world as an equal. Fascinating.

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #882: ‘Pigs (Three Different Ones)’ – Pink Floyd

It’s funny how these days, when CDs and digital music are the norm, you still see so many artists sticking to the concept of “sides.” Often track listings on CDs are broken into two groups and even labeled as distinct sides of music.

Increasingly, too, artists are releasing vinyl versions of new albums. It’s nostalgia, I guess, for a time when the physical limitations of the medium forced artistic decisions. Why not have a “hot” and “cold” side, say, if vinyl demanded that you split your album in half?

But today I’m featuring an artist that was way ahead of its time, looking past the idea of sides to the yet-to-come full-length CD format years before it was available.

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #881: ‘You Don’t Own Me’ – Lesley Gore

I like to think I’m pretty knowledgeable about music, both contemporary and historic. I’m not a walking encyclopedia like some people but I’m familiar with a rather wide range of songs and musicians.

But once in awhile I come across something that reminds me how completely out of the loop I really am, some musical blind spot that I have a hard time justifying.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Lesley Gore.

Continue reading →