Elvis Costello Countdown

[countdownkid]

Hello, Elvis Fans. I write a blog devoted to counting down the songs of the finest artists in rock music. My current list is devoted to Elvis Costello, a personal favorite of mine whom I consider to be one of the best songwriters ever. Each day I count down a bunch of songs, in reverse order from #100, and include essays with each containing bits of trivia and my personal interpretations and analyses of the songs. The link to the blog is below. I hope you'll all check it out and comment, even if you think I'm way off base with the rankings or opinions. This countdown is meant to be a celebration of Elvis' music, so I hope you all check it out in that spirit. Thanks.

http://countdownkid.wordpress.com/

[johnfoyle]

Well done! I've been following this via a Google Blog search and welcoming the insights into some songs that I've been taking for granted.

[Neil.]

Wow, fantastic stuff! I'll definitely take a look!

[countdownkid]

Four more songs have been posted on the Elvis Costello countdown (#76-73.) Imperial Bedroom, Brutal Youth, and This Year's Model are represented in this batch, as well as a song intended for Dusty Springfield. Check it out in the link.

http://countdownkid.wordpress.com/

[Otis Westinghouse]

Nice concept and a lot of fun. Will follow EC through to completion, and also spend time with your Dylan, Springsteen and Beatles lists.

Nice work, CK, and thanks for the alert.

[countdownkid]

Thanks to everyone for the kind words, and thanks to all those checking out the countdown. Four more songs (#72-69) are on there today, including one album-opener, one album-closer, and one that only could have come from the 80's. Check it out in the link.

http://countdownkid.wordpress.com/

[countdownkid]

I've added four more songs to the Elvis Costello Countdown (#68-65.) The latest batch includes a soulful song from Spike, a song written with Roy Orbison in mind (though not the one you might think,) and Hark! Is that the Juliet Letters I hear? Check it out in the link and leave your comments.

http://countdownkid.wordpress.com/

[Otis Westinghouse]

I like your style and the fact that you got an impressive number of comments on the higher reaches of the Dylan list is testament to your popularity. I want to read all the entries and play all the songs as I do.

It's all very neat and clear. Would be great if you could list the songs for all the artists in a clear place. Dylan has this, but not the others, it seems. Better still if you hyperlinked the list. I also wanted at times to know which album some of the songs were from (I found the other night I had c. 370 Dylan songs on my iPod, but this is with multiple versions of many, and there are a ton that I don't have or know). But these are minor thoughts.

My real question is who next? Tom Petty is almost completely unknown to me. Great to have Dylan, Costello and Springsteen. Would love to see Neil Young in there, tempted? Maybe Van The Man? And of course for me Bowie would be a must.

Bet you have fun doing it, but also spend some serious time.

Good on you. Can't remember The Days Take Care of Everything, must go and listen now.

[countdownkid]

I like your style and the fact that you got an impressive number of comments on the higher reaches of the Dylan list is testament to your popularity. I want to read all the entries and play all the songs as I do.

It's all very neat and clear. Would be great if you could list the songs for all the artists in a clear place. Dylan has this, but not the others, it seems. Better still if you hyperlinked the list. I also wanted at times to know which album some of the songs were from (I found the other night I had c. 370 Dylan songs on my iPod, but this is with multiple versions of many, and there are a ton that I don't have or know). But these are minor thoughts.

My real question is who next? Tom Petty is almost completely unknown to me. Great to have Dylan, Costello and Springsteen. Would love to see Neil Young in there, tempted? Maybe Van The Man? And of course for me Bowie would be a must.

Bet you have fun doing it, but also spend some serious time.

Good on you. Can't remember The Days Take Care of Everything, must go and listen now.

Thanks for the kind words, Otis. I should have lists of all the songs for every artist. I think I forgot to do this with the last couple. As for hyperlinks, my WordPress access doesn't allow them as far as I can see. I do try to list the name of the album within every post I do; with Dylan, I tried to stick to the original studio album version as the basis for my rankings, with a few exceptions. Same goes for Elvis, again with a few exceptions. The one rule is that all songs included have to have been officially released by the artist; hence no "Sign On The Cross" from Dylan or other stuff lurking on street corners and the bowels of the internet.

I have a feeling Radiohead will be next, only because I've done most of the work for it already and would just need to update. It does take a lot of time and I do have other writing stuff I do as well as my full-time job, but I love doing it so I find a way. David Bowie is definitely on my future wish list, as are The Stones, The Band, Pink Floyd, Paul Simon, Led Zeppelin, The Kinks, and maybe Neil Young too. Van might be tough because it's a songwriting list most of all, and I think of him as a great interpreter and singer first and foremost, even though he has written many great songs. I might be convinced at some point though.

Thanks for reading, and check out the next four in the list (#64-61) hot off the press: http://countdownkid.wordpress.com/

[Otis Westinghouse]

Thanks. Good idea to keep them official (though shame about some of the unreleased gems).

You must know an awful lot of songs! And also be pretty completist to know it's all going to be there.

Radiohead will be fabulous, will be interesting to see which phase you go for (increasingly In Rainbows is the one I turn to for my fix). Will P Simon be solo + S&G? I hope and assume so, that will also be great. The others too, though less so for me. I would argue for Van as a songwriting great, though with diminishing returns in general decade by decade. Was also wondering about Joni (as I await my 10 CD box-set and a huge re-immersion in her music). And with the ref to songwriters, two of my all-time faves are Ron Sexsmith and Lloyd Cole.

A worthwhile labour of love, for sure.

[countdownkid]

Happy Monday, everyone. Four more songs are on the Elvis Costello countdown (#60-57), and it's a typically diverse bunch, including one involving a law firm and another whose title is inspired by mythological creatures. Check out the link, and let me know what you think.

http://countdownkid.wordpress.com/

[Neil.]

Great stuff, Countdown Kid! Everyone, you've gotto read his blog! Some of the best Elvis critiques out there!

(Chuffed that you love Next Time Round as much as I do!)

[countdownkid]

Thanks again to everyone for the kind words on the countdown. I had a feeling that a lot of Costello fans would enjoy this, because, like me, they feel like he doesn't get the appreciation he deserves. That's why this list has been so fun for me, because I can tell that there are a lot of people out there who feel as strongly as I do about his music. Anyway, there are four more songs currently on the list (#56-53), so check them out in the link.

http://countdownkid.wordpress.com/

[countdownkid]

Four more songs (#52-49) have been posted on the ongoing Elvis Costello Countdown. Included in this batch are a trio of Elvis collaborations: Two with Burt Bacharach and an unheralded track written with Paul McCartney. Check it out in the link.

http://countdownkid.wordpress.com/

[taramasalata]

Really great stuff to read, Countdown Kid, it gives me so much pleasure to read, why don't you write along to EVERY song of our hero?
The more as you really know what your are writing about, make the right song choices, put it clear-cut, precise yet entertaining and, most important, never being dogmatic about E.C., hence giving his songs the credit they deserve and including, to my great delight, surprisingly quite a few songs off albums some people have problems with: The Juliet Letters, Spike, Mighty like a rose or the much-maligned Goodbye Cruel World... Worthless Thing, The Great Unknown, Inch by Inch, even The Comedians in the GCW recorded version belong to my Costello's 100.
But that's the fascinating thing with his music: though it may not speak to masses, it does speak to many people in many different ways. And that's due to the variety of him, not just regarding his music stylistically but even more important regarding the complexity of expressions of human life by this incredible man.

So, once more Countdown Kid, GIVE US MORE!!!

[countdownkid]

Once again, thanks to everyone who has been reading along with the E.C. countdown, and thanks to those who have commented, both here and on my site, and have said such nice things. This list is a labor of love; I'm a fan like you all, first and foremost, so shining a spotlight on Costello's music is my privilege and pleasure. With that in mind, I have posted four more songs on the site (#48-45,) an interesting batch including songs from Imperial Bedroom, Blood & Chocolate, Brutal Youth, and Spike. Check it out in the link.

http://countdownkid.wordpress.com/

[Otis Westinghouse]

More good stuff. I'm wondering about your process. Do you work out the entire 100 and then write it up, or do you do it in batches? You'd have to work out the 100 first, no, to avoid missing anything that has to be in there. Then maybe the first and last 50, then maybe in 10s. I can imagine the process of writing it up might refine the order of some subsequent items.

You could create some very pleasurable books out of these, but that wouldn't capture the fun element indicated by your name, which is perfect for this medium. For anyone who grew up chart addicted (for many Brits it was the Sunday evening ritual of hearing the top 40 countdown and for many people writing it out as it happened), this is a comforting reminder of those earlier countdowns.

I'm already salivating at what your top 30/20/10 will look like, and am ready to rail at the unfair positions of certain songs.

[docinwestchester]

These are really excellent. Concise and insightful. Thanks so much!

[countdownkid]

More good stuff. I'm wondering about your process. Do you work out the entire 100 and then write it up, or do you do it in batches? You'd have to work out the 100 first, no, to avoid missing anything that has to be in there. Then maybe the first and last 50, then maybe in 10s. I can imagine the process of writing it up might refine the order of some subsequent items.

You could create some very pleasurable books out of these, but that wouldn't capture the fun element indicated by your name, which is perfect for this medium. For anyone who grew up chart addicted (for many Brits it was the Sunday evening ritual of hearing the top 40 countdown and for many people writing it out as it happened), this is a comforting reminder of those earlier countdowns.

I'm already salivating at what your top 30/20/10 will look like, and am ready to rail at the unfair positions of certain songs.

I do indeed work out the Top 100 first, ranking everything before writing it. I have missed songs in the past; when I first did my Beatles countdown on a now-defunct website, I forgot to include "I'll Be Back." The readers realized it before I did. Once I rank them, I stick to that order; otherwise I would second-guess myself all the way.

As far as a book, stay tuned for news on that. And yes, the idea for this came from growing up listening to Casey Kasem count down the American Top 40 on Saturday mornings and writing down the songs.

As for seeing what's next, check out my next batch of four (#44-41) in the link, and make sure to check out the Top 40 starting on Monday.

http://countdownkid.wordpress.com/

[Otis Westinghouse]

Thanks. Good to know that, and that it's created with the same recollection of the magic of the weekly top 40 countdown that I and probably most people of my era grew up with.

40 may be too early, but I'm very tempted to write out what I think the top 40 or 30 songs should be, and then see if I can get the order close! (This is where the full listing as it evolves would be great!)

Fantastic account of the world's introduction to the Attractions on the No Action notes. I would have it and Lipstick Vogue higher, but see the sense in their close pairing. Nice contrast with Fallen!

[countdownkid]

We're into the Top 40 on the Elvis Costello countdown. The next four on the list (#40-37), which are currently on the site, include a B-side, another MacManus-Macca collaboration, and a song from Elvis' last album. The link is below; let me know what you think.

http://countdownkid.wordpress.com/

[Otis Westinghouse]

A pleasing quartet. Interesting to see All These Strangers there. I'd have several others from NR over it, but you make a good case. This is the fun of the list: what would we all pick. Having just reviewed 100-37, I'm thinking there are easily well over 36 sheer classics you haven't listed thus far, and several surprises that might not have made my top 200 further down. I very much like the fact, though, that it's taking me to some relatively obscure bonus disc numbers that I just don't know that well, e.g. Having It All and in particular The Days Take Care of Everything, which I didn't remember at all.

[countdownkid]

A pleasing quartet. Interesting to see All These Strangers there. I'd have several others from NR over it, but you make a good case. This is the fun of the list: what would we all pick. Having just reviewed 100-37, I'm thinking there are easily well over 36 sheer classics you haven't listed thus far, and several surprises that might not have made my top 200 further down. I very much like the fact, though, that it's taking me to some relatively obscure bonus disc numbers that I just don't know that well, e.g. Having It All and in particular The Days Take Care of Everything, which I didn't remember at all.

Otis, I can think of one song that a lot of fans, and Elvis himself, hold dear that did not make my top 100. I'll talk about it after the countdown is done and give my reasons. Short of that, I'm not sure there is one left out that would have a consensus behind it, but I could be wrong. When I did the Dylan list, I was startled to find that "Jokerman" was beloved by so many fans; I never even considered it for my Top 200. That's what makes these lists so much fun for me. Just as you guys get turned on to songs you might not have considered, the same happens for me when I read the comments of my readers.

Anyway, there are four more on the site for consideration. Nothing too shocking in this group (#36-33), I think. Just four more amazing songs. Check it out in the link.

http://countdownkid.wordpress.com/

[Otis Westinghouse]

I'd class National Ransom as pretty shocking! Would be way down my list for that album. Maybe round 150! Heard No Action being played on the radio earlier, on vinyl, no less, and thought 'how come it wasn't top 20?' God it sounded good. I loved your description, e.g. of P Thomas being so fired up at the end that he couldn't stop himself.

Wondering which song will be missing. As long as it ain't Sleep of the Just, or Hoover Factory, or So Like Candy, or ...

[Heats101]

A pleasing quartet. Interesting to see All These Strangers there. I'd have several others from NR over it, but you make a good case. This is the fun of the list: what would we all pick. Having just reviewed 100-37, I'm thinking there are easily well over 36 sheer classics you haven't listed thus far, and several surprises that might not have made my top 200 further down. I very much like the fact, though, that it's taking me to some relatively obscure bonus disc numbers that I just don't know that well, e.g. Having It All and in particular The Days Take Care of Everything, which I didn't remember at all.

I too have been "directed" to these(for me)forgotten rarities and have been in correspondence with Jim(the Countdown Kid) directly on this and other subjects, such as future candidates. I just have a feeling now that there are not enough remaining places to accomodate the songs that I think should feature ( but heh hoh its not my list and thats the beauty of this kind of exercise!)The regular release of songs has a child like excitement for me which no doubt will intensify as we approach the business end of proceedings.Does it have to end.Can we have 101 to 200 please ?The timing has been perfect as it has co incided with the Aussie tour which I had the privilege of partaking.