Weekend, week end.
I'm good and pissed. Tried going for a short run today after having little success last week. After cleaning my apartment all day, some slow and diligent stretching and walking for a warm up, I tried to get into it. I got about three blocks before I had to limp home. I hate my knee. So in search for something cathartic and contrarian I thought I'd extol the virtues of a furious young man. Sadly that man is young, no longer.
That man?
Shamefully, I knew little to almost nothing about Elvis Costello until I was almost 18. I know, right? But I take solace in the deep seated appreciation I hold for his music now, which compensates for me only slightly. At some point during my senior year of high school (yeah, I was old for my class - it made me popular for the sole purpose of purchasing contraband, though) I was watching a retrospective on Saturday Night Live's musical acts. One of the highlights playing on the show pertained to the controversies and banning of artists from NBC. While we're all familiar with the Sinead O'Connor incident, a lesser known, earlier example is the run in with Mr. Costello and his Attractions. Having been brought on the show to fill in for the (potentially worse) Sex Pistols, Costello stopped his band in the intro to 'Less Than Zero', saying there was no reason to play it. He then counted his band off and they all launched into the defiant 'Radio, Radio', a screed about the stale nature of commercial radio. To wit, there are lines in the song stating specifically "I wanna bite the hand that feeds me." Furious with Costello for the outburst of spontaneity and brash attitude, he was banned from the network for around 25 years.
Seeing this as a conniving little 18 year old, I was enthralled.
On a night out with some friends I picked up a couple albums I had been looking for, including an older Alkaline Trio album and Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols. In the same section of the store I found the album by Costello with that song, This Year's Model. Curious about his attitude yet aware of its age, I said "what the hell" and plunked down too much money for a CD, when I'm sure it would be less than 10 now, or 'free' in college. It was fantastic.
Full of the youthful vigor and undiluted passion of an artist with a clear vision of the world, the album is a personal favorite of mine. Starting in with Costello singing "I don't wanna kiss you, I don't wanna touch, I don't wanna see you cause I don't miss you that much", 'No Action' is a sign of things to come. A propulsive song that moves forward on rolling drums and the vibration of the keys, it shows Costello's emotional momentum as well as the band's. 'Pump It Up' has a similar frantic energy, pounding forward on a relentless rhythm and chunky bass line. The songs themselves display the power of The Attractions, working as a cohesive unit and delivering with intensity and detail. Other tracks maintain that same energy even if the tempo isn't the same - 'Little Triggers' is a slow burning throwback to doo-wop records, while '(I Don't Wanna Go To) Chelsea' has an almost reggae feel, slipping in just behind the beat in a head bobbing groove. 'Running Out Of Angels' sees Costello beating on his acoustic through chagrined false starts. 'Greenshirt' has no false starts but feels just as well crafted as a tight little acoustic number. The highlight for me, though, will always be 'Radio Radio'. I love everything about it - the chord progression, the lyrics, the melody and the attitude. Everything comes together so well and it feels so raw and ahead of its time. Does that make sense? Maybe not.
Whether or not that did make sense, I love this album. It was almost an accident that I came across it the way I did. I'm sure I would have discovered it eventually, but to have just the smallest nudges lead me to it at the point it did makes me appreciate it's forgotten beauty. It's only slightly forgotten for some, but for an entire generation it's completely unheard of. Either way, you should give it a spin - it's a phenomenally energetic, frenetic album showing an artist and band at the tipping point for passion.
