And Handsome, Too

Although I’ve been listening to Elvis Costello so long that I LITERALLY used to be disgusted and now try to be amused, not everyone has devoted so much of their ear space to this brilliant artist. He’s one of my favorites, but why should you care? 

That’s what I’ll attempt to answer in this three-part series. You may know who Elvis Costello, when Elvis Costello, or where Elvis Costello…but I want to tell you…

Why Elvis Costello? 

I would like to crack open the door to Elvisland and invite you to join me there. Or if that makes you uncomfortable, I hope you’ll at least read, listen and enjoy. Whatever toasts your bread. 

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1. The Spite

After tracking down Spike and Elvis Costello’s debut, My Aim Is True, I happily exploited the Columbia House Record Club to build out a full library of Costello’s Rykodisc reissues of his entire catalog. By cleverly borrowing the “address” of my dormmates, I’d end up with his entire recorded output in the span of a few months. (And then I had to pay full price for shit I absolutely DID NOT WANT. Still worth it.) 

As I combed through this treasure trove of pop brilliance, it was Costello’s 1986 record Blood and Chocolate that sealed the deal. Again, part of it had to do with reading my own situation into one of the songs; "I Hope You're Happy Now" seemed written for a guy who had made my own life a living hell because he couldn't get over the fact that I'd started dating his ex-girlfriend. If there was anyone who I thrilled to imagine "like a matador with his pork sword while we all die of laughter," it was this guy.

Then I really stopped to listen to "I Want You," six minutes of seething desire burned onto plastic, and I could not believe my ears. Forget the invective in the lyrics themselves. Here was this guy who not only harbored all these sinister desires toward a woman who'd left him in the cold, but could also sustain this constant level of menace for a full six minutes, past any logical point of conclusion, and then let the song come to a gentle stop. Only it wasn't gentle at all, because you knew it was an ending with no resolution; the singer would simply build up his anger to the point where all this fury would just come bubbling out again. It made the "I Want You" songs by Dylan and the Beatles sound like frolicking musical postcards.

I've never been much of a rock evangelist, but I couldn't resist. I played "I Want You" for my girlfriend; she hated it. Some of my friends were confused and it made a few people uncomfortable. Still I raved on throughout the dorm, until one guy finally paid me some real attention.

"This is amazing," I said. "I can't believe this exists."

"What do you expect?" he replied. "It's Elvis Costello."

Next time: A voice in the darkness