For some artists, I own everything they’ve ever released. If a new album comes out, I’m going to buy it, no matter what. With others, it’s more sporadic — I’ll own the “important” ones, the most beloved or critically acclaimed.
Then there are the one- or two-album wonders, performers who have extensive, well-respected catalogs but who for some reason never captured my attention enough to take hold. Jackson Browne and Tracy Chapman are great examples who leap to mind.
For the second weekend in a row, the Random iTunes Fairy has selected an Elvis Costello tune. This one is a bonus disc cut from the 2001 reissue of Spike.
Written by Nick Lowe, ‘The Ugly Things’ was originally recorded by Lowe and his band Brinsley Schwarz (named after the group’s guitarist, one Brinsley Schwarz). Why anybody would name a band, or a child, that escapes me.
Randy Newman is such a brilliant satirist that it’s probably safe to say that any “bad” song he’s ever written was bad on purpose.
I suspect that is exactly the case with ‘Masterman and Baby J,’ his stab at a rap anthem. He had to mean this as a parody of some sort. And yet I don’t think that really matters… it’s still embarrassing.
Elvis Costello has written so many hundreds of songs that it was inevitable he’d write a bad one.
In truth, he’s written several not-good songs, but those are generally long-winded and lacking in melody, not abrasive. ‘20% Amnesia,’ on the other hand, is just plain assaulting to the senses.
‘Sweet Side,’ from Lucinda Williams’ raw and sadly beautiful World Without Tears album, certainly means well.
If you just read the lyrics, it’s a poignant (though overly rhyme-y) letter to a damaged person who’s been turned cruel by decades of abuse. It ends on a hopeful note, as Williams looks past the rough exterior to the wounded innocent inside.
