Incredible new, exciting game!!

cbartal · Post by **cbartal** » Thu Oct 16, 2003 1:19 am

As beautiful as anything on North. The double entendre of the title harckens (sp?) back to Costello's most endearing wordplay, ie "I can't believe, I'll never believe in anything again."

Interesting to me that the "My Darling" part borrows both from his earlier remake of "Psycho Mama" as well as Wilco's "My Darling" from their first masterpiece, Summerteeth.

Oh well, why not.

Psycho Mama...

lapinsjolis · Post by **lapinsjolis** » Thu Oct 16, 2003 1:56 am

Psycho is sung so understated and nonchalant. He sings is with steely calm and cleverly turns each lyric that increasingly reveals the insanity to the gruesome end. Humorous and grim a classic cover.

Get Yourself Another Fool

Mr. Misery · Post by **Mr. Misery** » Thu Oct 16, 2003 3:30 am

Another gorgeous cover version, beautifully sung torch-song style by Elvis with a mournful sounding organ leading the musical backdrop. The words are simple, the singer has been cheated on and has decided to end a relationship because of it. That certainly seems a good reason to do so.

The Very Thought of You

lapinsjolis · Post by **lapinsjolis** » Thu Oct 16, 2003 4:15 am

'North' is sort of an answered prayer for all of the fans who fell in love with his performance on this beautiful love song. It also proves one doesn't need to get involved with a jazz princess in need of a camisole to sing a standard with feeling. A beautiful interpretation.

I Threw It All Away

Post by **spooky girlfriend** » Thu Oct 16, 2003 5:47 am

I'll never forget the first time I heard Elvis singing this song. I was trying to decide about moving to Huntsville to be near my now-husband, and if a life together for us was really going to happen. It was really a gutsy move for me then, and when I heard this song all I could think of was, "I don't want to look back in regret - having thrown something away that could have been mine." As always, Elvis strains his voice in certain spots of this song that make you feel it all the way down to your toes.

I love his version of this song. And though I wasn't an Elvis fan at the time I first heard him sing it, that song almost solely helped me finalize my decision to move here. Well, that song and this next one (forgive me if it's already been done on this thread - I've missed a few days being out of town):

Remove This Doubt

lapinsjolis · Post by **lapinsjolis** » Thu Oct 16, 2003 3:05 pm

The Kojak Variety is filled with such great songs. 'Remove This Doubt' is so soulful. The common and heartbreaking dilemma of fearing the person you are in love with is falling out of love with you. The plea to be loved and reassured is so earnest and humbling. Did they remove the doubt for you Spooky Girlfriend?

Two Little Hitlers

Post by **spooky girlfriend** » Thu Oct 16, 2003 3:32 pm

As a matter of fact, they did lapinsjolis. I married my hubby about six months after that. I still remember all those feelings each and every time I hear Kojak Variety. But those songs helped me make some important decisions and I'll never forget that.

Okay, enough about me. Back to Elvis and the next song.

Two Little Hitlers

Mr. Misery · Post by **Mr. Misery** » Thu Oct 16, 2003 11:28 pm

Spooky Girlfriend, it's good to hear that those doubts were removed and that you have a happy marriage. Songs can be so significant in our lives.

'Two Little Hitlers' may be his most audacious title, and a clue to why he originally titled the album Emotional Fascism. Likening a relationship to a power struggle among tyrants seems over the top, but there is good humor here, a lively ska beat, and one of the so-called dictators seems to be just a lonely left-out boy: "I need my head examined, I need my eyes excited/ I'd like to join the party but I was not invited."

Please Stay

lapinsjolis · Post by **lapinsjolis** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 12:14 am

This one is so heartbreaking. The emotionally available narrator pleads with the subject in simple words that you know he used before and will no doubt use again. He sings them with the certainty that he will never love another and his life hangs on her every action. Unquestioning and generous love that is so rare that it rarely exists out of song.

Alibi

Mr. Misery · Post by **Mr. Misery** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 12:33 am

One of my favorites from When I Was Cruel about the excuses we use to get what we want. Normally I'm not a fan of cynicism but this is honest and bracing, and delivered in vintage style. He mocks pseudo-deprivation ("You never had a pony") and is scathingly sarcastic ("You deserve it 'cos you're special"). The chorus has a classic sound to it.

The most famous part is the line about love and hate but I'm drawn to the one that goes "If I've done something right, then don't be surprised."

My Little Blue Window

lapinsjolis · Post by **lapinsjolis** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 1:29 am

This one was sweet when he was with his wife. A person prone to be a cynic and to be downcast drawing his joy from another. The song is a someone with a bleak outlook asking to be kept in check and having the vision to look beyond the ugly world.

Lost in the Stars

Mr. Misery · Post by **Mr. Misery** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 2:41 am

It's well worth buying the CD September Songs (unless you are fortunate enough to be given it) just for this Kurt Weill-composed song performed passionately by EC backed by the Brodsky Quartet.

The theme is the human condition, how we are lost amongst the stars without certainty but hope for God's protection even as we question it and search for meaning even when none is apparent. It is a joy to listen to Elvis's singing, he radiates authenticity and makes the song his own. How many different types of music he has taught us to appreciate!

The Greatest Thing

lapinsjolis · Post by **lapinsjolis** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 3:12 am

A rarity in that it sings the praises and speaks of the joy of adultery with a beautiful woman. I'm guessing though that the greatest thing is the stirring of something like love but with a great dose of infatuation.

For Other Eyes

Mr. Misery · Post by **Mr. Misery** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 7:14 am

A note: EC always claimed that 'The Greatest Thing' was a defense of marriage, but after rereading the lyrics your interpretation makes sense too, LJ. He is not always candid about those things.

'For Other Eyes.' Moody and magnificent strings guide this tale of infidelity and its effects. Trust is lost and the woman narrator (portrayed by EC fearlessly) has lost all trust in her partner, as she tries to catch him in further deceit. There is grim humor as a phone number found connects her with the dentist's office. But things turn dark at the end, she can't forgive him and "we don't know each other anymore."

Talking in the Dark

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 9:57 am

Talking In The Dark... desperate need for company and some self-loathing stand out well with its repetitive "I miss talking in the dark... without you..." refrains, but are enhanced further with the contrast provided by the well developed Beatlesy bits, which take it to a new dimension.

I'm not sure it belonged on The Very Best Of EC double CD, other than to lure as a non-original-album oddity (with Big Tears, That Day Is Done & She).

Wednesday Week

girl out of time · Post by **girl out of time** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 2:21 pm

i don´t have anything good to say about this song.....sorry.....but i bet someone, out there has a lot to say about one of costello´s greatest song ever.......

.......the world of broken hearts

lapinsjolis · Post by **lapinsjolis** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 3:03 pm

Mr. Misery-Drat! I kind of knew that, I was focusing on the 'not married in your heart' and not the disclaimer afterwords. I think I let my personal feelings creep in, forgive me. I thought it would make a better vision of the theme instead of say, "A Backstreet Affair".

Now to 'The World of Broken Hearts'.

It brings the mind the fascination of despair of any heartbreak creates and wallowing in it to the exclusion of hope. The power of sorrow to that makes people familar but unreachable. A gloomy song that is sung and orchestrated with dramatic effect. I hope your not going through it Girl Out of Time!!

After The Fall

laughingcrow · Post by **laughingcrow** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 3:51 pm

After the fall just begs to be listened to in the dark, it's got a kind of a folk tune feel. A bitter and remoresful tale of a return to a scorned lover... some great biting lyrics in this one.

I'd love to hear this song performed as the songs of North, with just piano accompaniment.

Next song: The Ugly Things

Post by **BlueChair** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 3:55 pm

I love "The Ugly Things"! I've never heard the Brinsley Schwartz original, but the Elvis version is great. I love Elvis' vocal delivery, and the keyboards hint at Nick Lowe's later work.

The song seems to be a light-hearted song about the cruelness of a woman, and how the protagonist still keeps coming back to the woman.

The sound doesn't really fit in with Spike, which is probably why it was a B-Side. But it's definitely one of the better Elvis covers in my opinion.

next song: A Drunken Man's Praise Of Sobriety

laughingcrow · Post by **laughingcrow** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 4:12 pm

at KoS..you cheeky scamp.

Yeah Bluey, it's a cracking cover. I haven't heard the BS version either, in fact I havent heard any BS (brindley schwarz that is

) ...I keep meaning to buy their stuff, cos Nicks so great and all.

A drunken man's praise of sobriety is an excellent example of EC's similarity with his lyrics to the great poets...like WB Yeats. Those words coulda been his. Good tune adapted to some awkawrd verse, typical Brutal Youth sound.

Next song: Life Shrinks

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 7:05 pm

Life Shrinks... is intriguing.

laughingcrow · Post by **laughingcrow** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 7:10 pm

...is that all you've got to say about my EC song of the day! I can't stop listening to it!!

The piccolo!!!! The piccolo!!

girl out of time · Post by **girl out of time** » Sat Oct 18, 2003 7:01 pm

i could add that i love that military drum on this song......that beat is great!

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Sat Oct 18, 2003 7:20 pm

Life Shrinks... OK, a song about brutal youth. The cryptic writing and the emotional delivery perfectly convey the sense of conflict of a man looking at repressed brutality from childhood causing him to feel damaged as an adult*. "Life shrinks and before you know it, you have forgotten all the cuts and bruises", he cries in a haunting falsetto, speaking to himself (as the adult; alternates also to speaking to the child throughout from whom he feels removed) ... brilliant.

*(reference to St. Thomas = doubting Thomas, I think).

That military drumbeat seems to represent the rigidity of how the guy grew up perhaps...

Next up: Secondary Modern

lapinsjolis · Post by **lapinsjolis** » Sat Oct 18, 2003 8:21 pm

Bambooneedle-I'm certain you are correct about St. Thomas. I would have talked about 'The Button War' movie and how life shrinks as you are divided by class and pettiness but I wouldn't claim to be smarter than you.

Secondary Modern is such a beautifully muted song about the awkwardness new sexual desires and rejection. I love his vocal delivery as he sings "Is it out the question between you and me?" and of course ". . blue to blue." The Secondary reference is not only one to education as we know it but of learning the art of seduction and failing.

You Belong To Me