Tag Archives: Elvis Costello

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Song of the Day #3,244: ‘Warm Blood’ – Carly Rae Jepsen vs. Elvis Costello

The latest Montauk Madness Round One matchup features a prime contender for the whole title (Elvis Costello) vs. a newcomer with only a couple of albums under her belt (Carly Rae Jepsen). Not exactly a fair fight.

But Jepsen is a talent, no question. She might not be Rocky Balboa taking Apollo Creed to 15 rounds and losing by judge’s decision, but Costello is definitely in the other corner having taken a solid shot to the eye, nodding her way and saying “You have great things ahead of you, kid.”

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Song of the Day #3,229: ‘The Beat’ – Elvis Costello

Here’s a nifty little New Wave cut from Elvis Costello’s second album, 1978’s This Year’s Model.

Costello has spent the last two decades or so in elder statesman mode, releasing chamber orchestra and country folk albums, so it’s easy to forget what a scrappy, literate punk rocker he was back in the day.

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Song of the Day #3,187: ‘Clean Money’ – Elvis Costello

‘Clean Money’ is an outtake from Elvis Costello’s album Armed Forces. It was later reworked with portions of its lyrics ending up in the song ‘Love For Tender,’ the lead-off track of his next album, Get Happy!!.

In this form, the song was at one point the opening track of Armed Forces, as Costello explains in the voluminous liner notes of the deluxe edition.

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Song of the Day #3,110: ‘Senior Service’ – Elvis Costello

armedforcesThis song, from Elvis Costello’s third album, 1979’s Armed Forces, is further proof that you need to be British to really get his lyrics.

For example, “Senior Service” is both a reference to the United Kingdom’s Navy (the highest ranked of their armed forces) and a brand of cigarettes. Both of those meanings are toyed with in this song, along with probably a dozen other things I’m too stupid and/or American to catch.

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Song of the Day #2,960: ‘Why Can’t a Man Stand Alone?’ – Elvis Costello

uselessAh, my favorite kind of Random Weekend — one that falls on the birthday of a loved one. This allows me to dedicate the song to the person — in this case my sister — sight unseen and then see what fate serves up.

So here we go… Happy Birthday, Amy! This mystery song is for you!

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