National Ransom - November 2010

[woz]

The Los Angeles Times is also reporting the release of 4 songs on 78 rpm. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_b ... ansom.html

Elvis Costello’s forthcoming album, “National Ransom,” mines a century’s worth of pop music history in both the characters, scenarios and themes in his songs, and in the atmospheric sound that producer T Bone Burnett has given the record.

So it makes perfect sense that Costello, a voracious fan of music of all styles, would want to add a vintage touch of some kind in conjunction with the album’s release come Nov. 2.

Vinyl LP version? Everyone’s doing that nowadays, so Costello is going one step beyond: He’s releasing four songs on a pair of 78 rpm discs.

A whimsical announcement about the 78s has been posted on Costello’s website, sounding much like the fancifully stylized introductions he gives his musical guests on the Sundance Channel “Spectacle” show:

“Lupe-O-Tone -- Purveyors of fine flat phonograph records & cylinders since 1913. Our motto is ‘Ego sum satus infremo.’ Lupe-O-Tone present 78 rpm discs in full Lycanthropic Sound. …‘A Slow Dance With Josephine’ b/w ‘You Hung the Moon’ and ‘Jimmie Standing in the Rain’ b/w ‘A Voice in the Dark,’ by the Lupotonians with vocal refrain by Elvis Costello.”

The 78s will be pressed in limited editions of 25 copies, each signed by Costello. No price is mentioned, but the announcement promises more details to come.

-- Randy Lewis (L.A. Times)

[Ypsilanti]

Coming Soon: Part Three of “Elvis Costello in conversation with Odile W. Husband” in which they share “Five Small Words” on Leon Russell, Hoagy Carmichael, Tony Millionaire, Harry Lauder and solve the mystery of the “Radio Hat”

Weird coincidence...Today I was looking at images of pith helmets on Google for some artwork I'm doing and I unexpectedly came across this, which perhaps deepens the "mystery", rather than solves it...

radio-hat-cropped.jpg (31.84 KiB) Viewed 18051 times

[wordnat]

Coming Soon: Part Three of “Elvis Costello in conversation with Odile W. Husband” in which they share “Five Small Words” on Leon Russell, Hoagy Carmichael, Tony Millionaire, Harry Lauder and solve the mystery of the “Radio Hat”

Weird coincidence...Today I was looking at images of pith helmets on Google for some artwork I'm doing and I unexpectedly came across this, which perhaps deepens the "mystery", rather than solves it...

radio-hat-cropped.jpg

Radiohat peaked with OK COMPUTER, in my opinion....

[Ypsilanti]

Radiohat peaked with OK COMPUTER, in my opinion....

Hilarious!

[sweetest punch]

EC's Facebook ( http://www.facebook.com/ElvisCostellopage ) has this: "The Right Reverend Jimmy Quickly says, "It's a growler and I'm not telling porky pies. Just days now until these blessed 78rpm records go on sale. Keep checking http://www.lupe-o-tone.com/ to find out how to order. I'll be damned if I'm going to tell you.
www.lupe-o-tone.com

[Ypsilanti]

Jimmy Quickly...Odile Husband...Lupe-o-tone...Radio Hat...Porky Pie...etc...
Damn! This is so much fun!

OK, Long Time Veteran Fans, tell me...has Elvis ever done anything like this before in advance of a record release--participated so directly in the "marketing" or "pre-marketing" or whatever you want to call it? All these little mysteries and red herrings and so forth...I'm really enjoying it all. And he's actually interacting with all the current information delivery systems--EC.com, Facebook, even Twitter, God help us-- in ways that don't totally suck. Very nice, so far.

[thepopeofpop]

Jimmy Quickly...Odile Husband...Lupe-o-tone...Radio Hat...Porky Pie...etc...
Damn! This is so much fun!

OK, Long Time Veteran Fans, tell me...has Elvis ever done anything like this before in advance of a record release--participated so directly in the "marketing" or "pre-marketing" or whatever you want to call it?

Back in the early years - first with Stiff and then with Radar Records - Elvis was involved in the marketing, at least in the UK. Of course it wasn't just Elvis, but he was part of the team.

[Jack of All Parades]

As the Pope of Pop says most definitely in 'the early years'- probably the only way to get the product heard at that time. Now with slashed promo departments and budgets makes every sense to return to such self promotion and a hands on approach. Leavened with the humor and self deprecating self interviews it works for me. Not so certain it will motivate a wider buying response beyond the usual suspects- us EC acolytes. Trust the music will have to do that and I have not heard enough of the new material to have a feel as to whether it will have a broader appeal.

[And No Coffee Table]

Hear "I Lost You" at 45:20.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00trzkp

[johnfoyle]

Pete's drumming sounds surprisingly 80's - very Punch The Clock vibe from the track overall.

[migdd]

I can definitely hear Jim Lauderdale's influence in this song. Sounds like a hit for Vince Gill!

[migdd]

National Ransom clocks in at just over an hour.

[Jeremy Dylan]

I can definitely hear Jim Lauderdale's influence in this song. Sounds like a hit for Vince Gill!

I heard Jim play it on a NPR session the other day - it sounds like more of a Buck Owenseque number when he takes the lead.

[cwr]

All this teasing over 25 copies each of two 78s! I wonder whether they're simply going to be super-expensive, or if it's just going to be a super-lucky, first-come/first-served kind of thing...

[charliestumpy]

... for a few days now, Playcom has been advertising CD for 2010-10-25 UK ...

http://www.play.com/Music/CD/4-/1641018 ... oduct.html

[Ypsilanti]

All this teasing over 25 copies each of two 78s! I wonder whether they're simply going to be super-expensive, or if it's just going to be a super-lucky, first-come/first-served kind of thing...

I'll be so disappointed if it's either of those things. I'm hoping for some kind of elaborate scavenger hunt or complicated riddle or something like that...

[Hawksmoor]

Any pointers yet on where's gonna be the best place to get hold of the Japanese version?

[John]

Hear "I Lost You" at 45:20.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00trzkp

Wow - Elvis in UK radio play shock. It might have been just before half past five on a Monday morning but it's better than nothing!

[Hawksmoor]

Hear "I Lost You" at 45:20.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00trzkp

Wow - Elvis in UK radio play shock. It might have been just before half past five on a Monday morning but it's better than nothing!

And it's described as 'his brand new single'? Interesting.

[sweetest punch]

There's a new entry on EC's official website: EXPOSE!!! ( http://www.elviscostello.com/#/news/EXPOSE!!!/76 )

[John]

Strange things happening on Elvis' website. The new album now only has 15 tracks with I Lost You missing!

[Lester Burnham]

Strange things happening on Elvis' website. The new album now only has 15 tracks with I Lost You missing!

Heh, there's a joke there somewhere...

[Ypsilanti]

There's a new entry on EC's official website: EXPOSE!!! ( http://www.elviscostello.com/#/news/EXPOSE!!!/76 )

Hmmm. That was quite a tale, but what do we make of it? Is Jimmy Quickly actually some kind of interloper? Someone only pretending to speak from within Elvis' camp? "While he enjoys fraudulent access to the service of apparently legitimate announcements about Moon Conway’s clientele, his dispatches should be treated with caution and suspicion, even as they raise a smile." Maybe there was an inaccuracy in that "Facebook" announcement about the '78s and this is just an elaborate retraction. Or is it a hoax within a hoax?

Well...this, posted yesterday...

EC's Facebook ( http://www.facebook.com/ElvisCostellopage ) has this: "The Right Reverend Jimmy Quickly says, "It's a growler and I'm not telling porky pies. Just days now until these blessed 78rpm records go on sale. Keep checking http://www.lupe-o-tone.com/ to find out how to order. I'll be damned if I'm going to tell you.

...leads to a bogus Facebook link. At least, when I click on it, I get "page not found".

It's funny...all that talk of false piety and "spouting incorrectly attributed passages of scripture and obscure philosophical tropes" makes me think of "How To Be Dumb".

And by the way..."I Lost You" isn't missing when I look on the website. It's right where it always was...or maybe it was missing and now it's back. Spooky.

Speaking of spookiness...is all this "Moon" and "Wolf" imagery leading up to some Halloween-related event?

[sheeptotheslaughter]

Hear "I Lost You" at 45:20.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00trzkp

Wow - Elvis in UK radio play shock. It might have been just before half past five on a Monday morning but it's better than nothing!

Elvis in getting played twice on UK radio shock. I heard it on the Iain Anderson show on Radio Scotland last night.

Alex Lester's show often plays songs under the 'Lester's Library' slot that go on to get lots of airplay on Radio 2 which is probably Elvis's natural home on UK radio. Radio 2 often play the 'classic' Elvis tracks. (well around 3 or 4 times a week)

[wardo68]

this, posted yesterday...
EC's Facebook ( http://www.facebook.com/ElvisCostellopage ) has this: "The Right Reverend Jimmy Quickly says, "It's a growler and I'm not telling porky pies. Just days now until these blessed 78rpm records go on sale. Keep checking http://www.lupe-o-tone.com/ to find out how to order. I'll be damned if I'm going to tell you.
...leads to a bogus Facebook link.

Speaking of spookiness...is all this "Moon" and "Wolf" imagery leading up to some Halloween-related event?

Whoever's doing the Facebook posts for the official site needs to work on their HTML tagging. Most of the links have had some kind of glitch in them. As for the spookiness, November 2 is only a two days from Halloween.