Glitter Gulch!

Pretty self-explanatory
Post Reply
wehitandrun
Posts: 1752
Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2004 10:14 pm
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Contact:

Glitter Gulch!

Post by wehitandrun »

I adore this song, it has definitly jumped into my top five Elvis songs. I love the vocal melodies and lyrics.
Image
User avatar
Jackson Monk
Posts: 1919
Joined: Fri Sep 19, 2003 4:33 pm
Location: At the other end of the telescope

Post by Jackson Monk »

that's nice
corruptio optimi pessima
User avatar
spooky girlfriend
Site Admin
Posts: 3007
Joined: Mon Jun 02, 2003 5:19 pm
Location: Huntsville, Alabama
Contact:

Post by spooky girlfriend »

Good for you, WHAR. Does that mean you are listening to KOA? :D
wehitandrun
Posts: 1752
Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2004 10:14 pm
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Contact:

Post by wehitandrun »

See, I try to start Elvis-related topics, and they still aren't taken seriously.

Heh, yes, KOA is great. mmmmm
Image
BrilliantMistake45
Posts: 57
Joined: Mon Apr 05, 2004 4:12 pm

Post by BrilliantMistake45 »

I love this song too. I made an EC mix and this is the first track. The whole King of America record isnt that bad either.
I wish that I could push a button
And talk in the past and not the present tense
And watch this hurtin' feeling disappear
Like it was common sense
It was a fine idea at the time
Now it's a brilliant mistake

~Elvis Costello
User avatar
Jackson Monk
Posts: 1919
Joined: Fri Sep 19, 2003 4:33 pm
Location: At the other end of the telescope

Post by Jackson Monk »

wehitandrun wrote:See, I try to start Elvis-related topics, and they still aren't taken seriously.
No. You did not. You started a thread about your opinion. When you are a little older you may understand the difference my little short trousered friend :D
corruptio optimi pessima
wehitandrun
Posts: 1752
Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2004 10:14 pm
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Contact:

Post by wehitandrun »

Actually, it's an Elvis-related topic. "Glitter Gulch" is a song, Jackson... and it is performed by a musician named Elvis Costello. It was on the album King Of America, Jackson.
Image
User avatar
tokyo vogue
Posts: 146
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 8:05 pm
Location: philadelphia

Post by tokyo vogue »

I seriously want to punch you in the face.

Just an FYI.
if we can rock together, why can't we walk together?
wehitandrun
Posts: 1752
Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2004 10:14 pm
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Contact:

Post by wehitandrun »

:lol:

you can hear the original recorded version on http://www.purevolume.com/theflamesoftroy , complete with the madlibs line.
Image
User avatar
Jackson Doofster
Posts: 531
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 4:25 pm
Location: Some far flung Canadian Club

Post by Jackson Doofster »

Ok. Glitter Gulch is an interesting point for discussion. It was recorded on the Demon label in 1986 and was the forerunner for a whole series of songs that focus on the frightening changes in a modern world - a world increasingly driven by a media with too many technological toys.

The song highlights the nonsense that is the prime time quiz show. Elvis is in effect predicting a horrific future where TV companies will sink to lower and lower depths in order to win better ratings. They create an ugly TV World where contestants take to having sex with the hostess in order to win that dream home or new speedboat.

In recent years, the quiz show has altered from the traditional format to something darker and more perverse than even Elvis could have imagined. The ersatz joke that is 'Big Brother' was bad, but the teenage version plumbed new depths as the Channel 4 (UK) bosses blatantly tried to get boring, no-life 18 year-olds to shag each other on live TV. Thankfully the format failed miserably because watching zit-faced youngsters (whose only interest is themselves) washing their teeth and spouting bullshit is not much fun really.

Elvis has always been good at keeping his finger on the pulse of current trends and contemporary culture. Early in his career, he mentioned the use of video long before it had become a mainstream media (Living in Paradise). Likewise, he saw the advent of Karaoke nights way before they were common place in British high streets (Coal Train Robberies). 'Satellite' (Warner Bros 1989) followed a similar path to 'Glitter Gulch' but in a wider, more global sense. Its focus on the introduction of worldwide satellite television, and the potential for it to be used in a negative and possibly abusive manner was almost Orwellian in its starkness.

On Mighty Like a Rose (1991), The Other Side of Summer (a hit single that never was) demonstrated how effortlessly Elvis can tap into different musical genre. On this occasion he took the Brian Wilson approach on what was his last truly great stab at the commercial singles market. Again, he was strikingly tuned in to the youth culture of the period. "...and now you can't afford to fake all the drugs your parents used to take" took a pop at the somewhat bizarre trend for younger people to pretend that they were under the influence of non-prescribed medication. he hammered home the point again on 'Invasion Hit Parade' when he talks about "liberation forces..... playing their Doors Records and pretending to be stoned" .

A long forgotten EC classic, Invasion Hit Parade is a song which grows more relevant with the passing of time. His analysis of political realities is frighteningly accurate. The whole of MLAR is like a predication of doomsday and shows what a perceptive songwriter he truly is.
"But they can't hold a candle to the reciprical war crimes which have plagued our policy of foriegn affairs."
clairequilty
Posts: 237
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2004 6:22 pm

Post by clairequilty »

Jackson Doofster made a very insightful post that probably would have been left in his head were it not for the initial thread by We Hit and Run.

Sometimes even the most seemingly banal posts catch fire and elicit controversial, informative, interesting replys.

We Hit and Run.... I salute you!
User avatar
Branst
Posts: 137
Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2003 3:46 am
Location: Omaha, NE

Post by Branst »

I think we know who clairequilty is.
clairequilty
Posts: 237
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2004 6:22 pm

Post by clairequilty »

Branst wrote:I think we know who clairequilty is.
No, I am not Bebe Buell!!!!
User avatar
tokyo vogue
Posts: 146
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 8:05 pm
Location: philadelphia

Post by tokyo vogue »

This is a sockpuppet-free zone. Act accordingly.
if we can rock together, why can't we walk together?
wehitandrun
Posts: 1752
Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2004 10:14 pm
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Contact:

Post by wehitandrun »

I don't get it. :(

But, I will take full responsibility for this thread, and all contents which lie therein.

Got a problem with that? Take it up with me. (that is sarcasm :wink: )
Image
Post Reply