Elvis at McCartney White House Tribute, June 2010

Pretty self-explanatory
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docinwestchester
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Re: Elvis to Perform at McCartney White House Tribute

Post by docinwestchester »

Small point here, but I'm glad he went hatless. Probably a just show of respect, being in the White House and all, but still, the hat kind of obscures his facial expressions, which are an important part of his overall delivery.

Ditch the hat EC. You're balding. So what?!
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Re: Elvis to Perform at McCartney White House Tribute

Post by scielle »

Agreed. The hats are ridiculous. He looks much better without them.
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Re: Elvis to Perform at McCartney White House Tribute

Post by sabreman »

I am a hat wearer and collector of mostly vintage hats. I disagree about him not looking good in hats. Just take a look at the vintage hats he wore around the time of Trust. IMHO it has to do with his current taste in hats (I do like the wide brim Homburg like straw). If he wants hats he should check the following custom makers or go vintage.

http://www.vintagesilhouettes.com/

http://www.optimohats.com/
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Re: Elvis to Perform at McCartney White House Tribute

Post by Jack of All Parades »

Sabreman, thank you for posting the sites- enjoyed them- am planning on ordering a Porkpie from the optimo site-agree a hat always looks good if properly fitted and maintained. That EC seems to enjoy them is for me a plus- a little extra color and panache never hurts- whether he is hiding a thinning pate or not. Like you think the straw homburg he has been sporting that is caramel colored is a good looking hat and finishes him off nicely when it is perched upon his head. I sometimes think you are not properly dressed unless you have the appropriate hat, as well. Have to think EC feels the same.
"....there's a merry song that starts in 'I' and ends in 'You', as many famous pop songs do....'
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Re: Elvis to Perform at McCartney White House Tribute

Post by docinwestchester »

Christopher Sjoholm wrote: I sometimes think you are not properly dressed unless you have the appropriate hat, as well. Have to think EC feels the same.
Why do you think he went sans hat in the White House? Security reasons?
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Re: Elvis to Perform at McCartney White House Tribute

Post by Jack of All Parades »

I can only assume out of etiquette and respect for the surroundings. As one viewed the room during the broadcast you saw not a single hat on a man. Even the Master Sergent was hat less and if you have ever seen the President's Marine Band play[ and I have on a few occasions] they very much wear their military hats while performing. That said there are clearly photos posted on this thread which show EC with his hat of the day upon his head within other parts of the White House as he seemingly was touring the building with other performers. I prefer to think he was being respectful, courteous and in keeping with good etiquette given his surroundings[probably made his 'mam' proud as I can only assume she brought him up right].
"....there's a merry song that starts in 'I' and ends in 'You', as many famous pop songs do....'
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Re: Elvis to Perform at McCartney White House Tribute

Post by johnfoyle »

Some images from the video-

Image

Image

Image

Image
Poor Deportee
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Re: Elvis to Perform at McCartney White House Tribute

Post by Poor Deportee »

Boy, did I ever enjoy watching the YouTube vid of EC performing his version of one of the very finest songs in the history of popular music. The whimsical tone was spot on; the smile/sneer in reference to the fireman and the Queen was of course vintage Elvis, finding opportunity for vitriol even in this seemingly innocuous number.

Hope I get to watch the whole show some day. McCartney's Beatles work truly is absolutely astounding...effortless, joyful, life-affirming, and so generous in both musicality and spirit. Every time I listen to those albums I'm blown away by their sheer quality. 3/4 of the tracks on most Beatle records would represent the pinnacle of most bands' careers.

Watching this, I was also struck by the complete and now fully successful transformation in EC's public presentation since his salad days. Far from the thoroughly discomfiting 'irritant' he once was, he is now something plausibly approaching the 'beloved entertainer' he sardonically called himself on Spike...universally respected as a perhaps puzzling but fundamentally benign statesman of sorts. (Not quite a statesman, but close; not quite beloved, but definitely respected as both accomplished and essentially benign). Spectacle has done wonders to solidify this image. Telling Sir Paul he 'loves him' is the sort of thing it's hard to imagine from the lunatic leering from the cover of This Year's Model. Considering how he seethed about his imagine for most of the 1980s, it must give Elvis great pleasure to observe this transformation.
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Re: Elvis to Perform at McCartney White House Tribute

Post by docinwestchester »

Poor Deportee wrote:Boy, did I ever enjoy watching the YouTube vid of EC performing his version of one of the very finest songs in the history of popular music. The whimsical tone was spot on; the smile/sneer in reference to the fireman and the Queen was of course vintage Elvis, finding opportunity for vitriol even in this seemingly innocuous number.

Hope I get to watch the whole show some day. McCartney's Beatles work truly is absolutely astounding...effortless, joyful, life-affirming, and so generous in both musicality and spirit. Every time I listen to those albums I'm blown away by their sheer quality. 3/4 of the tracks on most Beatle records would represent the pinnacle of most bands' careers.

Watching this, I was also struck by the complete and now fully successful transformation in EC's public presentation since his salad days. Far from the thoroughly discomfiting 'irritant' he once was, he is now something plausibly approaching the 'beloved entertainer' he sardonically called himself on Spike...universally respected as a perhaps puzzling but fundamentally benign statesman of sorts. (Not quite a statesman, but close; not quite beloved, but definitely respected as both accomplished and essentially benign). Spectacle has done wonders to solidify this image. Telling Sir Paul he 'loves him' is the sort of thing it's hard to imagine from the lunatic leering from the cover of This Year's Model. Considering how he seethed about his imagine for most of the 1980s, it must give Elvis great pleasure to observe this transformation.
Very well said. I would also add (having watched the video now oh about 15 times) that EC looks totally comfortable in his own skin. The polka dot tie on flowered shirt pretty much sums it up for me.

I put the entire show on FLAC files on Dime:
http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-deta ... ?id=315278

A fellow Forum member here is trying to put Penny Lane on FLAC and mp3 on Mediafire, but is experiencing technical difficulties.
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Re: Elvis to Perform at McCartney White House Tribute

Post by sabreman »

Christopher Sjoholm wrote:Sabreman, thank you for posting the sites- enjoyed them- am planning on ordering a Porkpie from the optimo site-agree a hat always looks good if properly fitted and maintained. That EC seems to enjoy them is for me a plus- a little extra color and panache never hurts- whether he is hiding a thinning pate or not. Like you think the straw homburg he has been sporting that is caramel colored is a good looking hat and finishes him off nicely when it is perched upon his head. I sometimes think you are not properly dressed unless you have the appropriate hat, as well. Have to think EC feels the same.
Thanks! :) Those are both great custom hat makers. They will stitch in the liners ect. I am sure EC wears hats more now because of the thinning hair line but he has always been into hats. An example of a great EC hat is the straw Boater he wore around IBR. He also sported some nice vintage Fedoras around that time period. I have over 200 hats and most are vintage.

Late 1920s Borsalino of mine.

Image

1930s Hückel Sigma Velour of mine.

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1930s Hückel Superior of mine.

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Early 1950s P. & C. Habig Camber of mine.

Image

Sorry for the thread drift but I am sure EC would like these too. :)
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Re: Elvis to Perform at McCartney White House Tribute

Post by Ypsilanti »

Saberman-
Hats off to your hats! They're gorgeous! And another "Hats off" to you for keeping the fine tradition of wearing them alive!

I'm sure Elvis is slightly concerned with covering his lack of hair, but he clearly wears hats because he loves them--all of his hats are extraordinarily beautiful and unusual. The top of his head is like a tiny museum of haberdashery! A particular favorite of mine is on the cover of Painted From Memory.

Obviously, Elvis is something of a sartorial peacock--exquisite hand-tailored suits, cuff links, jewelry, wild shirts, purple shoes, crazy socks, etc. IMO, he always looks great--the attention to detail is impressive. Whatever "look" he's sporting, he pulls it off with real style and panache. In other words, he "rocks it"--but, of course, he is a Rock Star, so that's to be expected. These are his work clothes. Maybe Declan MacManus runs around in sweat pants and flip flops, but Elvis Costello wouldn't be Elvis Costello if he wasn't dressed to the nines.
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Re: Elvis to Perform at McCartney White House Tribute

Post by Jack of All Parades »

Sabreman, thank you for the additional photos of your hats- really like the Huckle from the 30's-do not make the thread drift one iota as hats are very much a part of the EC persona- as you adroitly point out from the early days. In fact, I think my favorite photos of EC always manage to have him wearing one. You are right; they do mean something to him and his fashion sense. Whether he is hiding a thinning scalp or not means little to me. Although I guess even these days one has to present an image of eternal youth as a performer[I always think back to Frank Sinatra and that wig he wore for the last half of his life.].

I have been privileged to watch many great jazz artists over the years, including my father in law, and they all loved their hats as part of their uniform. I cannot think of Lester Young without his Porkpie or Coleman Hawkins without a beautifully blocked Fedora. My home has so many photos in albums where a well made hat sits atop a gentleman. My wife's grandfather would not think of presenting himself to the world without his gray fedora. My favorite photos of Franz Kafka are where he is sportingly wearing a homburg. I am all for hats.
"....there's a merry song that starts in 'I' and ends in 'You', as many famous pop songs do....'
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Re: Elvis to Perform at McCartney White House Tribute

Post by sabreman »

Thanks! :)

Speaking of Homburgs here are some of mine. :)

Image
Image
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Re: Elvis to Perform at McCartney White House Tribute

Post by Poor Deportee »

I too mourn the demise of the man's hat. A lot of that demise has to do with a culture of obsessive youth; once we entered the youth-obsessed 60s it became a faux-pas to present oneself in the dignified fashion of older generations. The idea was to project youthful vigour where before it had been to project solidity and achievement. The key moment may have been JFK's abandoning of the hat: even the president was now radiating breezy youth.The ultimate result of all this is a society in which 50-year-olds go around wearing backwards baseball caps, not to mention the grotesque zombie death masks of plastic surgery and the sorry spectacle of Bob Dylan's craggy features being airbrushed into oblivion on the cover of the great Love and Theft. (Of course the popularity of 'Mad Men' has rehabilitated the pre-1960s style to a degree. But I doubt that any shift from the bigger youth-driven ethos is imminent except on the fringes).

So I suppose I don't see EC's sartorial sense as a nod to youth culture. Despite its occasional garishness, I think it reflects a certain innate conservatism that runs through a lot of his outlook (despite his leftist politics - although there's no incompatibility between being conservative and being concerned with decency and basic social justice). It also reflects his well-documented vanity, no doubt, but I'm betting it has more to do with his overall rejection of a dumbed-down and leveling popular culture.

That, and one other thing. EC sees himself in part as a showman. And I remember him commenting in an interview that he always favoured performers who brought a certain flair in their self-presentation. While I have no interest in the Liberace/Elton John school of masquarade, I tend to agree with this basic attitude...if performers can't be free and creative enough to dress with some imagination and flair, who can?

(Having said all of this, I can't seem to find a hat that really works on me! 8) So despite all my ramblings, I mostly go around hatless).
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Re: Elvis to Perform at McCartney White House Tribute

Post by Jack of All Parades »

Really like those Homburgs-particularly the blue steel gunmetal colored one at the end of the third row on the right[my color blindness may have me seeing it as a different color.]. That is an attractive hat. The city I grew up in and came back to live in as an older adult was the hat making capital of the country in the 19th century-there were hat factories up and down the creek at one time. Some of your vintage ones could very well have been made here. It must be an adventure finishing your wardrobe ensemble each day with such a personal selection to choose from. These days I am partial to a simple straw Panama with a single band that shades me and keeps my head from burning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiVFligG7lo

In honor of the Homburg I offer this little ditty.

Poor Deportee- love the 'riff' on hats. Had never thought to consider that Dylan could have been airbrushed on those photos[stupid of me- love the 'crags' though not the thought that they may have partially come from all those years of intense smoking. And also yet another lover of hats over his career- love them and the 'Nudie' cowboy suits- yet another reminder for me of Gram Parsons. In fact this very minute the lines "Well, you must tell me, baby, How your head feels under somethin' like that Under your brand new leopard-skin pill-box hat" are coming out of my speakers- speaking of Jack and Jackie. Best of luck to you in the ongoing sartorial chapeau search. I have every reason to believe Dylan must feel like this these days- I know I do:
I Look Into My Glass

I Look into my glass,
And view my wasting skin,
And say, "Would God it came to pass
My heart had shrunk as thin!"

For then, I, undistrest
By hearts grown cold to me,
Could lonely wait my endless rest
With equanimity.

But Time, to make me grieve,
Part steals, lets part abide;
And shakes this fragile frame at eve
With throbbings of noontide.

Thomas Hardy
"....there's a merry song that starts in 'I' and ends in 'You', as many famous pop songs do....'
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Ypsilanti
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Re: Elvis to Perform at McCartney White House Tribute

Post by Ypsilanti »

Getting back on topic a bit...
It occurs to me that the video of Elvis' performance--perhaps a link to the PBS website to view the whole show, as well as Elvis' impressions of the concert, touring the White House, meeting Mr. & Mrs. Obama, etc. really ought to posted on his website. Just sayin'.

I mean, it's kind of a big deal, right?--meeting the President he was so excited to see elected?

He shouldn't just let his website sit there and rot, like the previous one and the one before that...
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Re: Elvis to Perform at McCartney White House Tribute

Post by cwr »

He shouldn't just let his website sit there and rot, like the previous one and the one before that...
I'm certain there will be a website upgrade of some sort when National Ransom comes out. The question is: will it matter?

You're exactly right that Costello singing Penny Lane should be right there on the front page of elviscostello.com, but that would mean solving the core problem of Costello's perpetually disappointing website: it requires either an active hand by EC in running the site, or for him to hire someone to do it for him and trusting them to be creative and make the site interesting.

Essentially, it's like he needs the webmaster equivalent of a Barney Bubbles, someone who'll make the site cool without having to get permission for every little thing they put online.

I know there were some defenders of the recent website upgrade, but how many people have returned to it with any kind of regularity? I just clicked on it for the first time in ages, only to see basically the exact same dull site sitting there. Go to the store and try to buy some Costello music, and you get one thing: Secret, Profane & Sugarcane. I don't know how many people are buying that CD through his website at this point, but I'd almost guarantee he'd make more money if he simply offered an unreleased demo of a random song and offered it there for a dollar.

Hopefully, National Ransom's release will provide the spark for a decent online redesign, but I think I've said that with every album since NORTH, and it seems less likely that it will happen with each passing year...

Still, on topic: that Penny Lane clip sure is fun!
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Re: Elvis to Perform at McCartney White House Tribute

Post by thepopeofpop »

cwr wrote:
You're exactly right that Costello singing Penny Lane should be right there on the front page of elviscostello.com,
This is impossible - excerpts from this broadcast cannot be used for commercial purposes - that's why it can only be shown on PBS. There is no way an artist will get to use clips from the show to promote their own websites.

Elvis does update his site occasionally these days. Reread the official biography - Elvis has inserted some amusing disinformation recently.

Besides - the site has been updated completely since "Secret, Profane and Sugarcane" - haven't you noticed?

The site used to look like the cover of the SPS album ... now it doesn't.
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Re: Elvis to Perform at McCartney White House Tribute

Post by Neil. »

I'm not sure I agree with the concerns about Elvis's offical website - I think Elvis's job is to write songs, record them in the way he wants them to be heard, then make them available for people who want to hear them, and perform live for people who want to hear him do so.

All the other stuff can be found on the web, posted by fans. Fans do the job of disseminating the other stuff - live bootlegs, YouTube clips - Elvis doesn't have to - it's duplicating work/energy for him to do what fans are doing for free already.

The web is an untrammelled entity which works in precisely this way - it means anyone who's web savvy can find out about an artist they care about. I found the Penny Lane video by coming to an unoffical messageboard for fans of Elvis Costello (hi, all!). If I hadn't, I would have continued my intermittent YouTube searches until someone (inevitably) posted it.

His website lists his albums, gives tour dates, and tell us when new albums are available (not that we'll need it, as we'll have found out beforehand on fan sites). It does really well as a site to tell new fans what his back catalogue is, and tell them how to buy them if they want to - he has no duty to do anything more: it's enough that he releases recording of great songs for us every year, and tours so that we can see him live.
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Re: Elvis to Perform at McCartney White House Tribute

Post by Poor Deportee »

Remember when EC tried posting entries on a blog on the website, responding to fan questions and comments? That was during the WIWC period. It went on for a while, as I recall, before praising the general thoughtfulness of his correspondents (while also attacking 'whiny babies'), and politely declaring that the tour was over, he wanted to help paint his parents' house (!), and was done with the blog.

I think it takes a specific type of person (and a specific generational profile) to want to engage fans in that systematic and ongoing way for the longer haul. Someone like Elvis, who seems so relentlessy busy, sociable, and creative, probably doesn't turn to the internet for any sort of stimulation as many of us, for better or worse, do - and he quite likely came to a business decision that he didn't need to do bother, the hardcore fans posting questions were going to follow his work regardless, while a blog dominated by those fans wouldn't do much to court new ones. It doesn't bother me, really; I don't need any further opportunities for time-wasting on the web. :roll:
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Re: Elvis to Perform at McCartney White House Tribute

Post by Ypsilanti »

Neil--
I agree with a lot of what you say--Elvis is not a webmaster, nor should he be. You're right, fans use the internet to spread the word quite efficiently. There are 5300 Elvis clips on Youtube alone. Doc's Penny Lane clip has 5000 views already--in 4 days.

However, if he's going have a website at all, there's no reason why it shouldn't be a pretty good one. If he's going to include videos on his site, it would be great if there were some more recent than a year ago. OK, if he can't legally post "Penny Lane", maybe a link to the PBS site.

If he's going to periodically post journal entries, it would be nice to read about something other than his fond memories of various dead friends. Meeting the President must have been exciting. I'd like to know what Elvis thought of all that.

I only meant to say...the new website seemed to have a lot of promise--seemed like a good start--obviously designed with a lot of wit and fun. It would be a shame to just let it sit there--to not expand on that good start a bit.

However, I will take the Pope's suggestion and look for new dis-information in the "Lies and Inventions" section. I actually love that part--it's hilarious. But, in truth, I don't visit it as often as I might because it's a pain in the ass to scroll through his entire life every time I visit that page. There's no convenient way to just look at 2009, for example.
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Re: Elvis to Perform at McCartney White House Tribute

Post by ice nine »

The camera showed Paul M. singing along with Stevie W. from his seat in the audience. The President was seated next to Paul. Do you think President Obama whispered to Paul to be quiet and just enjoy the music?
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Re: Elvis to Perform at McCartney White House Tribute

Post by docinwestchester »

ice nine wrote:The camera showed Paul M. singing along with Stevie W. from his seat in the audience. The President was seated next to Paul. Do you think President Obama whispered to Paul to be quiet and just enjoy the music?
Only if he was taping...
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Re: Elvis to Perform at McCartney White House Tribute

Post by krm »

Ypsilanti wrote: However, I will take the Pope's suggestion and look for new dis-information in the "Lies and Inventions" section. I actually love that part--it's hilarious. But, in truth, I don't visit it as often as I might because it's a pain in the ass to scroll through his entire life every time I visit that page. There's no convenient way to just look at 2009, for example.

There is actually. Take the link http://www.elviscostello.com/lies-inventions/page19 and just manually change the page number, - here "19" - to any other page you like to see. Like "18" or "12" or anything.
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Re: Elvis to Perform at McCartney White House Tribute

Post by cwr »

This is impossible - excerpts from this broadcast cannot be used for commercial purposes - that's why it can only be shown on PBS. There is no way an artist will get to use clips from the show to promote their own websites.
It's not really impossible-- embedding links to YouTube is a totally legit thing, and if PBS wants the clips taken offline, they will contact YouTube, not the site that has embedded the clip.
Elvis does update his site occasionally these days. Reread the official biography - Elvis has inserted some amusing disinformation recently.
Yeah, I have to say, maybe I'm alone in this, but the kind of disinformation EC has inserted into his online biography doesn't particularly amuse me. Saying that The Attractions recorded a version of MAIT that was accidentally issued and then deleted is a fairly obscure kind of *joke*-- either you know he didn't record it with him and realize, "oh, this is a funny lie" or, if I was a new fan, it might be this frustrating thing where I get my hopes up that this will be issued someday only to find out at some point later, "oh, it doesn't exist...

Obviously a lot of people don't care if EC has a good website, and I don't want him wasting time blogging about this or that when he could be making music or paying attention to something far more interesting that could influence whatever music he does next. I just think that the current incarnation of his website is dull as ditchwater, and that if he gave a little bit more freedom to whoever is running it, or provided them with some content they could use, it would be more interesting.

If the Internet had come into existence in the early 80s, Costello would have been one of the most creative artists at using it to get his music out there. I'm stunned that in the past decade, not ONCE has it occurred to him to write a song really quickly, upload it to his website, and cause a stir, the same way he did with the limited "Pills & Soap" single in the 80s-- rushing it into shops, getting it onto the charts and then just as quickly deleting it.
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