Elvis Costello & the Attractions :: Beyond Belief
No decent person admits to the lists of songs in their head, but some indecent people have them. My problem is, I only have four lists:
- Songs That, At Some Point, I Listened To, Compulsively
- Songs That Break My Heart
- Songs From the Car
- Jamz That Move My Ass
This is one of the first songs I literally could not stop listening to: Beyond Belief by Elvis Costello & the Attractions, from Imperial Bedroom, an album that should be studied for all eternity, owing to its mix of awesome transcendence, and horrible, horrible crap. Lots of songwriters try to make you feel things but Elvis Costello doesn’t care how you feel: he sings glossy words in a bottomlessly detached voice and suddenly you’re an American spy in Saigon trading sex for secrets, secrets for lies, with a rose in your filthy hair and money where your heart once was. Wait. I’ve said too much.
Beyond Belief
Elvis Costello (homepage)
Pulp musta listened to a bunch of Elvis Costello as teens…
The production on his voice is so kooky on this — like they used different mics for different verses or something. Sounds cool though.