Relatively Insignificant EC Stuff. . .

[erey]

EC and Taylor Swift, BFF:

https://twitter.com/ElvisCostello/statu ... 5168952321

[verbal gymnastics]

Not that my opinion counts but I love Taylor Swift. She's undoubtedly intelligent and articulate and is in the fortunate position to be able to influence things.

Go girl indeed.

[sheeptotheslaughter]

There is a trailer on BBC 1 for a programme called Fake or Fortune and Watching the Detectives in being used. I was in the gym the other night when i first saw it, perhaps the first time I have seen 'Elvis Costello' come on in subtitles on the tv

[Man out of Time]

Meanwhile, over at the Södra Teatern in Stockholm, Sweden last March there was a performance of "The Juliet Letters" by David Saulesco and Prismakvartetten. Details are here: http://sodrateatern.com/juliet-letters/

In Swedish the website says:

"JULIET LETTERS
Prismakvartetten & David Saulesco ger The Juliet Letters

The Juliet Letters är en sångcykel skriven av Elvis Costello tillsammans med den brittiska stråkkvartetten The Brodsky Quartet. Verket inspirerades av en tidningsartikel om en italiensk akademiker som under en tid svarat på fiktiva brev från Julia Capulet, hjältinnan i Shakespeares pjäs. Varje sång är som en ögonblicksbild ur livet, skriven som en form av korrespondens; kärleksbrev, kedjebrev, självmordsbrev, vykort, med mera. Ofta skildras svåra och ångestfyllda situationer, vilket ger sångcykeln ett övergripande narrativ. Sångerna pendlar mellan det komiska och allvarsamma, mellan ömsint och plågat, men alltid med starka och uttrycksfulla människoporträtt – trots rollfigurernas anonymitet.

David Saulesco, född 1985, är en musiker och tonsättare som rör sig obehindrat mellan olika genrer och sammanhang: från spelmusik till symfoniorkester, från körverk till poplåtar. Hans musik har framförts såväl i Sverige som runt om i Europa och Nordamerika och han har givit ut flera skivor. David är sedan unga år en flitig körsångare och solist och har uppträtt med bland annat Kungliga Filharmonikerna. http://www.saulesco.se.

Prismakvartetten bildades hösten 2013 och har sedan dess framträtt under Stockholms Internationella Filmfestival, Julgalan i Globen, vid studioinspelningar av nyskriven opera, fest- och eventspelningar, bröllop med mera. Kvartetten, som gärna rör sig inom olika genrer, består avIsabelle Andö och Gaianeh Pilossian (violin), Sophie Bretschneider (viola) och Anja Strautmanis (cello)."

Or in English (via Google Translate):

"The Juliet Letters is a song cycle written by Elvis Costello with the British string quartet The Brodsky Quartet. The work was inspired by a newspaper article about an Italian academic who for some time answered the fictitious letter from Juliet Capulet, heroine of Shakespeare's play. Each song is like a snapshot of life, written as a form of correspondence; love letters, chain letters, suicide letters, postcards, and more. Often portrayed difficult and anguished situations, giving the song cycle an overall narrative. The songs oscillate between comic and serious, the tender and tormented, but always with strong and expressive human portraits - even though the characters anonymity.

David Saulesco, born 1985, is a musician and composer who moves effortlessly between genres and contexts: from the playing music to symphony orchestra, from choral to pop songs. His music has been performed in Sweden and around Europe and North America, and he has published several discs. David is a young age a keen choir singer and soloist, and has performed with, among other things, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. http://www.saulesco.se.

Prism Quartet was formed in 2013 and has since emerged during the Stockholm International Film Festival, Julgalan in the Globe, the studio recordings of the new opera, banquet and event gigs, weddings and more. The Quartet, which happily moves in various genres, consists deice belle Andö and Gaianeh Pilossian (violin), Sophie Bretschneider (viola) and Anja Strautmanis (cello)."

You can see a brief clip of David Saulesco and Prismakvartetten performing "I Almost Had A Weakness" here:

He seems to capture the spirit of the piece, whilst standing oddly still.

MOOT

[johnfoyle]

Smash Hits, May 22 1985. It's astonishing to see what videos used to cost.

[johnfoyle]

https://twitter.com/LlamauUK/status/617339997222473728

Llamau @LlamauUK
The fantastic @elviscostello has drawn another great sketch for "Illustrating Homelessness" ‪#‎charity‬ project! Thanks!




Google tells me the words are from "Home (When Shadows Fall)", a song written by Harry Clarkson, Geoffrey Clarkson and Peter van Steeden in 1931. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_(When_Shadows_Fall)

http://www.llamau.org.uk/

[johnfoyle]

http://www.punkmuseum.it/?p=10542


MAIT sleeves at The Venice Punk Museum

[johnfoyle]

http://dangerousminds.net/comments/dick ... 4-65858169


Dick Tracey Meets The Punks
From Nov. 1979
This is , apparently , a tribute to Elvis & Deborah Harry

[verbal gymnastics]

I bet Elvis and Debbie were really flattered!

[Harry Worth]

http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/

Elvis is referenced a few times in the latest issue of The Word (May '12). '...

Finally , a review by David Quantick( p.95) of Here Comes Everybody:The Story of The Pogues by ( Pogue member) James Fearnley notes 'There's special, and fairly critical, mention for Elvis Costello (only eats fruits that rhyme with his name) and his stormy relationship with Pogues bassist Cait O'Riordain'.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Here-Comes-Ever ... 265&sr=8-1

I've just finished reading Fearnley's book and can recommend it. He was wanting to become a writer when he auditioned for Shane MacGowan's previous band The Nips who eventually evolved into The Pogues and he has a poetic turn of phrase at times, although he can go a bit muso when describing the time structures and keys of various songs!

The book covers the alcoholic rise of The Pogues and the succumbing of several of its entourage to alcoholism culminating in MacGowan's sacking in Japan in 1991. Costello (and to a lesser extent Joe Strummer) are two supporting characters given more than the slightly cursory mention in the review quote above. With Elvis there are anecdotes from touring with him and the Attractions; interesting observations on the sessions (and his production approach) that resulted in Rum, Sodomy and the Lash; and of course the whole Cait thing - which doesn't come across as particularly stormy for Elvis, just annoying for the band (most of who never rated her as a bassist anyway!).

[As an aside 'A Drink with Shane MacGowan' co-written by MacGowan with Victoria Mary Clarke is also an interesting read.]

[verbal gymnastics]

It was 19 years ago today...

...that I saw Elvis Costello and the Attractions for the last time. It was at Shepherds Bush Empire, for what was the best show I ever saw them do. I was right at the front.

http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/inde ... -26_London

The one thing I particularly remember was Elvis looking at Bruce and smiling as he sang "You know I love you more than slightly" in Human Hands. That didn't last much longer

It was an amazing show for me to end on.

[johnfoyle]

http://www.billboard.com/articles/colum ... -musicians

July 30, 2015

Among the 29 executives included in Billboard's Latin Power Players list, it turns out a good number of them are musicians too. Read on to learn how music changed their lives and the defining musical moments that shaped their careers.

(extract)


5. Tomas Cookman (president, Cookman/Nacional; drummer): "When I first saw Elvis Costello’s My Aim Is True on the shelves at a record store, I was intrigued, bought the album without hearing it, and it changed my life. From there I discovered The Clash, Ramones, Talking Heads and so much more. It was a parallel universe for a guy growing up in the projects in a Puerto Rican family. From that moment on, I said ‘I have to be in this,’ and a month later I was in a band."

[johnfoyle]

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/entert ... /30982615/

Review: A sultry Krall shows sass on a blue moon Friday

Susan Whitall, The Detroit News
August 1, 2015

(extract)


Krall’s skill at the piano and melancholy alto are enlivened in concert by her sassy banter with the audience. That sass can turn to steel when needed — an important skill when the moon is full.

After she sang “’Deed I Do,” there was a slight eruption in the audience stage right, when someone yelled out “Play ‘Alison’!”

Krall looked perplexed. The song is an early hit by her husband, Elvis Costello. Muffled yells continued from that general area, but it didn’t last long.

“SHUT UP!” the singer yelled suddenly, cutting them off.

“Do you think buying a ticket means you can tell me what to sing?” Krall shook her head. No doubt a few cans of margarita were involved, and it’s probably the same person who yells out “Stairway to Heaven” when Robert Plant does a gig — although at least he once sang that.

“It’s the ‘Alison’ that threw me,” Krall said. “Linda Ronstadt sang it too, and very well. I’m sure (Elvis) is singing that right now.” (Costello is on the road with Steely Dan).

[johnfoyle]

Lovely girl







https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=et6jER3Hx40

[johnfoyle]

RIP Cilla Black

http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/inde ... _June_1996

Elvis in 1996

What was the first gig you went to?

Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas, Johnny Kidd & The Pirates and Cilla Black at the Kingston Granada in 1963. I liked Cilla, she was actually very good. I can remember everyone booing Johnny Kidd & The Pirates because it was a NEMS package and they were kind of old-fashioned. Then Billy J. Kramer walked on, sang "You'll never know how much I really love you..." and all the girls went, Waaaaaah! You never heard another note after that, it was just screaming.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/bradford_ ... 743754619/

http://www.bradfordtimeline.co.uk/mindex63d.htm




Interior of the Kingston Granada

http://blackholereviews.blogspot.ie/201 ... on-on.html

[johnfoyle]

Great write up in today's Irish Times , which concurs with my theory that this T Bone Burnett album is very much a companion piece to King Of America

[johnfoyle]

Lightweight .

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvan ... ne-up.html


10 Aug 2015

Strictly Come Dancing 2015: contestant line-up

Keep up with this year's announcements as the celebrities for the 2015 series of Strictly are revealed


Jeremy Vine

Age: 50
Height: 6ft 3in
Career: Author, journalist and BBC news presenter working on Newsnight, Panorama, Points of View and Eggheads as well as his self-titled BBC Radio 2 programme
Married? Yes, to news presenter Rachel Schofield; they have two daughters
Did you know? Jeremy's brother is comedian Tim Vine

Fun fact: He's been to see Elvis Costello play live 17 times

He says: "Every time I move my body, people start calling ambulances but I want to put my dad-dancing days behind me"

[sheeptotheslaughter]

Lightweight .

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvan ... ne-up.html


10 Aug 2015

Strictly Come Dancing 2015: contestant line-up

Keep up with this year's announcements as the celebrities for the 2015 series of Strictly are revealed


Jeremy Vine

Age: 50
Height: 6ft 3in
Career: Author, journalist and BBC news presenter working on Newsnight, Panorama, Points of View and Eggheads as well as his self-titled BBC Radio 2 programme
Married? Yes, to news presenter Rachel Schofield; they have two daughters
Did you know? Jeremy's brother is comedian Tim Vine

Fun fact: He's been to see Elvis Costello play live 17 times

He says: "Every time I move my body, people start calling ambulances but I want to put my dad-dancing days behind me"

I saw Jeremy in the crowd at Kenwood House a few years back. Wearing a sheepskin coat on a July evening.
Sitting in front of us was BBC newsman Jon Sopel and his daughter.

[johnfoyle]

http://musicgeekstress.tumblr.com/post/ ... -the-angry

#elviscostello #illustration #study #ink The Angry Young Man

By Christine Hirtescu

[verbal gymnastics]

It does nothing for me. It doesn't translate as "angry young man" - his face is too full for a start. But then I don't have an artistic eye.

I'm sure others can tell me the beauty of this and why I'm talking out of my rear end

[johnfoyle]

It's a bit better than this -

http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/searc ... s-Costello




Elvis Costello
by Adam Birtwistle
tempera and gouache on paper, 1996
33 in. x 26 in. (840 mm x 661 mm) uneven
Purchased, 1999
NPG 6460

[verbal gymnastics]

Hmm - my "artistic" eye says otherwise.

I'll ask Mini VG to do a couple of pictures and I'll bring them along on Saturday!

[sulky lad]

I think the first one looks like Thora Hird ( sorry for this UK limited reference !)

[johnfoyle]

https://www.morrisonhotelgallery.com/ph ... aphID=3277




c. 1978/9 - Photo by Tom Wright

[johnfoyle]

http://www.kentucky.com/2015/08/24/4003 ... .html?rh=1



The Kentucky Women Writers Conference has been uniting creative community since 1979
BY CHERYL TRUMAN
ctruman@herald-leader.com

August 24, 2015



(extract)

In a telephone interview, Ann Beattie said that her keynote speech, "All This Useless Beauty: Symbol and Subtext in the Short Story," is titled after an Elvis Costello song, but the song's name didn't occur to her until after she conceived the speech.

"I did confine my subject a little more than the official title would indicate," she said, adding that she would discuss female short story writers in the mid-20th century.