Relatively Insignificant EC Stuff. . .

[johnfoyle]

http://thequietus.com/articles/04017-lu ... nniversary

All That Useless Beauty: 20th Anniversary Of Lush's Mad Love

The Quietus ,
April 2nd, 2010

Graham Bendel writes a love letter to 90s shoegazers Lush, and in the process wonders if they were better, in fact, than My Bloody Valentine…

(extract)

Their cover versions (and the response to them) are another piece of evidence of their incredulous credibility. Aside from their covering The Rubinoo’s 'I Wanna Be your Boyfriend' (which, strangely, was mentioned in an Avril Lavigne court case), Lush have paid homage to the Beach Boys’ Dennis Wilson, Zoundz, Wire and Vashti Bunyan.

Phil King (their resident musical polymath) reveals that on hearing their version of ‘Outdoor Miner’, Wire’s Colin Newman stated that it "was the best cover of a Wire song that he had ever heard." He goes on to say: "Vashti Bunyan [the cult 60s troubadour] was fairly surprised that someone had even taken an interest in her work, and commented that it was the first time she had ever made any money from one of her songs." If that wasn’t enough King points out that the esteemed writer Greil Marcus preferred their version of ‘All This Useless Beauty’, originally penned by Elvis Costello. To quote the Professor himself: "No pose, no preening. What they do with the song makes Costello seem like an actor…as hard, as resistant, as betrayed as anything in ‘Anarchy in the UK’." It’s high praise, indeed.

[johnfoyle]

Teeniest tiniest Costello connection -

http://singsingrecords.blogspot.com/201 ... -only.html

[johnfoyle]

http://drawburtdraw.blogspot.com/2010/0 ... hords.html


http://boosterrific.com/comics/issues/? ... -1-Issue-1

[johnfoyle]

http://blog.zap2it.com/ithappenedlastni ... debut.html

'House': Jennifer Morrison returns for Hugh Laurie's directorial debut

By Liz Pardue
April 12, 2010

(extract)

All-around awesome person extraordinaire Hugh Laurie was at the helm for this episode of "House," and I definitely enjoyed the new insight into our ragtag bunch of doctors.

Chase and Cameron: Cameron is back! And she brought divorce papers! And in the ultimate uncomfortable situation, she's immediately locked down with an angry, confrontational Chase who wonders if she ever even loved him. He makes a pretty good case, actually, and she confirms that she doesn't know. Or rather, she did love him, but not in a way that would've worked. "I'm a mess ... I'm unfixable." Well I coulda told you that from Season 1, lady. Still, Chase did murder someone, so I'm not going to lay all the fault on either side.

Chase signs the papers, and they reminisce over what they miss about each other. Cue dancing to "Allison" by Elvis Costello, playing on Chase's cell phone (smooth, buddy). And cue kissing. Aaaand cue sex. Well, that's one way to have a "proper goodbye," I suppose.

Related -

http://hdmusicadventures.blogspot.com/2 ... tello.html

[johnfoyle]

A bit more than 'Less Than Zero'

Oswald Mosley's plonk for sale -

Four bottles of Volnay 1937 (estimate £160-220)
Three bottles of Chateau Cheval Blanc 1934 (estimate £300-360)
A bottle of Château Cheval Blanc 1952 (estimate £200-260)
A bottle of Château Mouton Rothschild 1952 (estimate £200-260)
A bottle of Château Mouton Rothschild 1953 (estimate £400-480)


http://www.bonhams.com/cgi-bin/public.s ... ineNo=4771

[And No Coffee Table]

Galia Arad - the Elvis Costello song

[martinfoyle]

http://twitter.com/nilerodgers/status/12446329221

Elvis Costello at rehearsal today. http://bit.ly/dqKb59

[johnfoyle]

Rehearsals for what?

[sweetest punch]

Rehearsals for what?

The sugarcane tour? See Mike Compton's diary http://www.mikecompton.net/calendar.php

[johnfoyle]

Niles Rodgers was the bandleader in a charity show Elvis was part of in March '06 ; maybe the photo dates from then -

http://www.elviscostellofans.com/phpBB3 ... Bernadette

[sweetest punch]

Niles Rodgers was the bandleader in a charity show Elvis was part of in March '06 ; maybe the photo dates from then -

http://www.elviscostellofans.com/phpBB3 ... Bernadette

This photo seems to me the new "thin" Elvis. And isn't that a Sugarcane in the background?

[migdd]

Do their rehearsals have something to do with this?

http://blog.kexp.org/blog/2010/04/16/20 ... bad-songs/

[And No Coffee Table]

And isn't that a Sugarcane in the background?

Mike Compton is on the left, and I think that's Stuart Duncan on the right.

[Jeremy Dylan]

That's an amazing photo!

[johnfoyle]

?

http://www.caroljoynt.com/my-blog/2010/ ... -town.html

ELVIS COSTELLO'S GLASSES, AT THE SMITHSONIAN

[sheeptotheslaughter]

Niles Rodgers was the bandleader in a charity show Elvis was part of in March '06 ; maybe the photo dates from then -

http://www.elviscostellofans.com/phpBB3 ... Bernadette

This photo seems to me the new "thin" Elvis. And isn't that a Sugarcane in the background?

Maybe Elvis is throwing us a curve ball and making a disco/funk album with Nile about the only genre he hasn't tackled

[johnfoyle]

http://www.dailymercury.com.au/story/20 ... tradition/

The Daily Mercury, Mackay, Queensland, Australia.



Tony Martin
Mackay Central State School band members, including Tia Harrison, 11, front, and, from left, Kyle Vincent, 12, Alana Quarrell, 11, Ryan Horder, 11, Talea Oosen, 11, Elvis Costello, 11, Kaylah, 11, and Divya Arun, 12, will take part in the main parade in Mackay.


Students uphold Anzac tradition


Clare Chapman | 22nd April 2010

MORE than 3000 school children are preparing to take part in Anzac Day marches and services across the region on Sunday.

Some students will wear their grandfathers’ war medals and others will play instruments, but they will all honour those who lived and died fighting for our country.

And children who wish to march separately from school groups alongside veterans are welcome to as long as they are at least eight years of age and are accompanied by an adult, Mackay RSL Sub Branch president George Newton said.

For the first time this year, Mackay Central State School band members will take part in the march to the main parade in Mackay while playing their instruments.

Principal Phil Wilson said the 45 students who would be participating were looking forward to the event after learning about the meaning of the day in recent weeks.

“They look forward to it every year,” Mr Wilson said.

“This school is pretty multicultural and a lot of those families try to immerse themselves in the Australian way of life and take part in these events.”

Student Elvis Costello, 11, said participating in the day’s events meant a lot to him.

“My pop fought in WWII and lost his life,” he said.

“But we still have his medals. I have been wearing them in the march since I was in Grade 1.”

Anzac Day committee and Mackay RSL Sub Branch member Col Benson said 30 schools would participate in marches and services around the region this year.

“There are about 3300 students participating and up to 200 teachers will be supporting them,” Mr Benson said.

“The number of veterans is going to decline over the years so we hope, and I feel very satisfied that it will happen, that the school students will carry the baton to make sure there is always an Anzac Day service,” he said.

[SteveL]

The character Jim Keats (as played by Daniel Mays), in Series 3 Episode 2 of Ashes to Ashes, said one of his favorite musicians is Elvis Costello.

[johnfoyle]

http://www.placenorthwest.co.uk/news/ar ... rance.html

Rock star approached for World Expo appearance

23 Apr 2010, 10:57
Michael Hunt

Liverpool Vision is hoping to line up a special performance in Shanghai from a Merseyside rock legend to help promote the city in October.

Mike Taylor, director of investment and enterprise for Liverpool Vision, said: "We are still waiting for confirmation from Elvis Costello's management team to see if he can perform at a special Liverpool Day concert in Shanghai on 16 October. We already have a performance arranged with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra on the day. Both Elvis Costello and the RLPO are important to the cultural essence of the city."

London-born Costello, real name Declan Patrick MacManus, was christened in Birkenhead and finished his school days in Liverpool, has in past talked about his passion for the city.

He recently announced his only UK appearance ahead of his world tour this year will be in Liverpool at the Philharmonic Hall in June.

Liverpool's participation in the World Expo is being led by Liverpool Vision in partnership with the North West Development Agency, Liverpool City Council and the Liverpool-Shanghai Partnership.

The World Expo runs between 1 May and 31 October and is expected to attract around 70 million visitors during the six months.

Vision and its partners launched two videos yesterday which gave an insight into how the £1.1m Liverpool Pavilion will look, as well as a taster of a specially commissioned promotional film created by River Media.

[sheeptotheslaughter]

The character Jim Keats (as played by Daniel Mays), in Series 3 Episode 2 of Ashes to Ashes, said one of his favorite musicians is Elvis Costello.

I didn't hear him say that. Although his glasses make him look a bit of a Elvis fan. Im sure Elvis used to wear glasses like that at one stage. I seem to remember Rayban's coming in that style.
The programme is turning into a Costello love fest. The playout track last week was Shipbuilding albeit the Robert Wyatt version and Watching the Detectives was the playout track last night.

[johnfoyle]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/28/arts/ ... happy.html

April 27, 2010

ABC's “Happy Town,” which has its pilot on Wednesday night.

(extract)

You should know where you stand on “Happy Town” just a few minutes into the pilot on Wednesday night.

Other signs that this isn’t really about the Midwest: the constant movie-trivia references and a soundtrack that begins with Elvis Costello’s “Watching the Detectives.”

[johnfoyle]

http://www.theatermania.com/new-york/re ... 26914.html

Alan Cumming at Feinstein's at Loews Regency

Reviewed By: Brian Scott Lipton · Apr 28, 2010 · New York

(extract)

The many moods of love are deftly explored by Cumming in a variety of songs. In Marcy Heisler's and Zina's Goldrich ever-charming, "Taylor, The Latte Boy," the actor precisely captures the intoxication of infatuation; while in a gorgeous take on William Finn's "What More Can I Say?" and the lovely "Next to Me" (which Cumming co-wrote with his invaluable music director, Lance Horne), Cumming conveys the contentment of being in a successful relationship. Equally effective, if somewhat more surprising, is a passionate medley of Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello's "I Still Have That Other Girl" and Stephen Sondheim's "Losing My Mind," which plays out as a three-minute mini-play.

I Still Have That Other Girl


I have to say that we should finish it now
Before we weaken ’cause we already know this is wrong
I could give in, sometimes I think that I will
Despite the temptation, I try to be very strong
If my reluctance seems a surprise
It's not ’cause I don't want you
But I just
Know I must... hesitate

Because I still have that other girl in my head
I still have that other girl in my head

There may be ugly rumors that I have been lying
There may be angry tears, but they're never worth the crying
That is why
Sometimes I... hesitate

Because I still have that other girl in my head
I still have that other girl in my head
I still have that other girl in my head


LOSING MY MIND
By Stephen Sondheim


The sun comes up
I think about you
The coffee cup
I think about you
I want you so
It’s like I’m losing my mind

The morning ends
I think about you
I talk to friends
I think about you
And do they know
It’s like I’m losing my mind

All afternoon doing every little chore
The thought of you stays bright
Sometimes I stand in the middle of the floor
Not going left
Not going right

I dim the lights
And think about you
Spend sleepless nights
To think about you
You said you loved . . me
Or were you just being kind
Or am I losing my mind

(musical interlude)
I want you so
it’s like I’m losing my mind

(musical interlude)
Does no one know
It’s like I’m losing my mind

All afternoon doing every little chore
The thought of you stays bright
Sometimes I stand in the middle of the floor
Not going left
Not going right

I dim the lights
And think about you
Spend sleepless nights
To think about you

You said you loved . . . . me
Or were you just being kind
Or am I losing my mind

[johnfoyle]

http://www.troyrecord.com/articles/2010 ... 788696.txt


Freedy Johnston’s fractured fairy tale

April 29, 2010

(extract)

A songwriter’s songwriter, Johnston was named Songwriter of the Year by Rolling Stone in 1994. He sold family land in Kansas to pay for his breakout album “Can You Fly” and is best known for “Bad Reputation,” a song that peaked at 54 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1994. He sings about loneliness, and the heavy thread of futility runs through all his work.

Johnston grew up in Kinsley, Kansas, population 1,658. Its only distinction is that it is exactly half way between New York City and San Francisco. At 17 years old in 1978, Johnston’s sources of music were a high-end stereo turntable, late-night radio and subscription copies of Stereo Review, Creem and Rolling Stone. He describes his 45-mile road trip to Kansas City as his version of American Graffiti.

He’d read about Elvis Costello’s album “My Aim Is True” and decided he had to have it. “It does sound like a really hokey Ron Howard movie. I had a Saturday off. I didn’t have a car at all. So, my friend had a car, and I talked him into it. He didn’t want to go. I offered him some weed and said, ‘Let’s go to Dodge City and go to this head shop called One Door South’ where they sold records, too. And I said, ‘I think they have it.’”

He distinctly remembers seeing the Elvis Costello’s first album on the racks. “I didn’t know what to expect at all. I was scared of it.” He brought it home, and it changed his head forever. “It was like taking bar band R&B and just giving it a great injection of true art and great intellect. And it was all I listened to. It was like literally, this is what I want to do for a living. I get this. This is something I can do.”

Thirty-two years later, Johnston draws from that inspiration and from a life that cries out in quiet desperation. He spends a lot of time crafting words around melodies that come first. “It’s like it’s just a blank hang man game. That’s how it always works for me. I really fall in love with this music, and so I wanna take the words really seriously ’cause I only get one chance.”

[verbal gymnastics]

Going back to Ashes to Ashes, this series (which is set in the 1980s) played Robert Wyatt's version of Shipbuilding on the closing credits of episode 3 and had Watching the Detectives in episode 4. It also had The Stranglers' No More Heroes in episode 4.

You can't get the researchers....

[Jack of All Parades]

Thank you Mr. Foyle for posting this excerpt on Freedy. Have followed his career since its inception with the "Trouble Tree". Have even been fortunate to see him live a few times in NYC. Has not been around much lately, what with dealing with the taxman for some ten years, but really like his newest record from earlier this year, "Rain on the City", having previously written about it in the Annex. Not surprising he would be drawn to EC. "This Perfect World" is one of my favorite records from the nineties-would disagree about "Bad Reputation" as I think "This Perfect World" is a better song.