Sometimes, the writing process can seem so serious, sacred, and devoid of joy, let alone levity or fun. Whenever I waver, whenever I feel bogged down by the big picture, I think of famed beat writer and poet, Jack Kerouac. For him, it was jazz, bebop, and of course, Benzedrine that made him seem so happy about the writing process itself. All I have to do is think about a long roll of “On the Road,” and a short, short silly poem to remind me to stop taking myself so seriously. Just write and have fun, even if the topic is somber or less than cheerful. Sometimes, we all need a good distraction. “I’d Rather Be Thin than Famous” Jack Kerouac I'd rather be thin than famous, I dont wanta be fat, And a woman throws me outa bed Callin me Gordo, & everytime I bend to pickup my suspenders from the davenport floor I explode loud huge grunt-o and disgust every one in the familio I'd rather be thin than famous But I'm fat Paste that in your Broadway show. Today’s slow drag is with “Chemistry Class,” from “Armed Forces” released in 1979. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello. It’s a clever little piece that is less about rhyme and more about rhythm and wordplay. It reads like a study of how to distract yourself from obsessing over a new infatuation. It starts with a flirt and goes on to get tangential and clever for clever’s sake. She throws back her hair and she shows you her mouth The breath that I waste trying to ruin your life Beauty's on a budget but you take it on the chin 'Cause you have to do your duty taking orders from the kingpin “The breath that I waste trying to ruin your life” could be construed as the reaction to a rebuff. Rejection, as well as acceptance, isn’t something we tend to take lightly. She wasn’t that pretty anyway? What starts with an objectively sensual movement, leads to realizations, observations, and a suspicion. Kingpin suggests a transaction in the offing. You've got a chemistry class, I want a piece of your mind You don't know what you started when you mixed it up with mine Are you ready for the final solution? This provocative chorus flows through this piece three times. What seems somewhat inflammatory at the end, I truly believe is a witty response, a play on the words “chemistry” and “solution,” wrapped in a familiar heated expression. Less of an outcome, and more of a disinfectant to equalize an unrequited chemical reaction. The second line, perhaps, is more autobiography than just a clever turn of phrase or familiar rhyme with the first line. His “compliments and cutting remarks,” if you will, are legendary. They chopped you up in butcher's school Threw you out of the academy of garbage You'll be a joker all your life A student at the comedy college People pleasing people pleasing people like you You've been around so long but you still don't know what to do What great word play. Chopped up in Butcher’s school, thrown out of a garbage academy, and a life long student, a life long joker, at a comedy college. With just a couple of end rhymes, “you” and “do,” what this verse accomplishes is the charming execution of the distraction I mentioned. Clever wordplay is deployed in order to effectively expend the breath that, admittedly, is trying to ruin a life. Then, of course, the lilting sound of “People pleasing people pleasing people like you” continues this emotional arithmetic. The distraction, the continued short sharp jabs that precede the knock out punch, “you’ve been around so long but you still don’t know what to do.” Sparks are flying from electrical pylons Snakes and ladders running up and down her nylons Ready to experiment, you're ready to be burned If it wasn't for some accidents then some would never ever learn This places us back at the instant after she throws back her hair; a split second after impressive mental resistance, sparks do, indeed, fly. We’re also back to solid end rhymes: pylons/nylons, burned/learn. No more distractions. Time for action. In addition to evoking “accidents will happen,” from this very album, this last line about how if it weren’t for accidents, “some would never ever learn,” emphatically, never ever. History is littered with great accidental inventions, yet somehow I think what is learned in this dynamite piece is that initial attraction might be less chemistry and more transactional. -- Dig it Again, this has been a slow drag with “Chemistry Class” from 1979’s “Armed Forces.” It’s a clever piece with an intentionally provocative chorus that probably angered the uninitiated. Truly, many didn’t know what they were starting when mixing it up with Mr. Costello. Over the years, I’ve watched as he’s cut people to ribbons without so much as clenching his teeth or breaking stride. They can’t all be bundles of tangled allusion and metaphor for our amusement. Sometimes a little is still so much. Still so entertaining. Show Notes: ---------------------- Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA Twitter: https://twitter.com/slowdragremedy Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slow_drag_with_remedy/ Email: [email protected] Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag ---------------------- References: Elvis Costello Wiki Resource: http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Chemistry_Class “Chemistry Class”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6QABOVXkFk Companion Blog: https://slowdragwithremedy.home.blog/2019/11/25/episode-19-the-breath-that-i-waste/ “I’d Rather Be Thin than Famous”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKhqBejt0NA So, until next time, Adieu, my little ballyhoo Comments are closed.
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AboutSlow Drag with Remedy is an Elvis Costello podcast appreciation. It's an exploration of linguistics, language, poetry, and clever wordplay as framed by the peerless poetry of the modern-day master, Elvis Costello. Slow Drag by Song
Poor Napoleon Alibi Church Underground The Big Light Georgie and Her Rival Joe Porterhouse No Hiding Place 20% Amnesia All This Useless Beauty Let Him Dangle King of Thieves Damnation's Cellar Stripping Paper Pidgin English Riot Act Bedlam The Quickening Art Luxembourg Chemistry Class Living in Paradise My Mood Swings Waiting for the End of the World Little Atoms Two Little Hitlers Crimes of Paris You Tripped at Every Step Needle Time Men Called Uncle Peace in Our Time The Loved Ones I Almost Had a Weakness Our Little Angel Invasion Hit Parade Turpentine Miracle Man A Voice in the Dark The Greatest Thing Satellite Hand in Hand Clubland Tart Glitter Gulch Stations of the Cross Science Fiction Twin Possession This Sad Burlesque Flutter and Wow Soul for Hire After the Fall Blue Chair Monkey to Man Mouth Almighty Watch Your Step ...This Town... Distorted Angel Worthless Thing No Dancing Miss Macbeth Charm School Poor Fractured Atlas Brilliant Mistake My Little Blue Window Suspect My Tears Coal Train Robberies Fish 'n' Chip Papers I Hope You're Happy Now Man Out of Time 13 Steps Lead Down Go Away Sweet Pear The Name of This Thing is Not Love Jimmie Standing in the Rain The Deportees Club The Birds Will Still Be Singing Starting to Come to Me Pay It Back Five Small Words Pretty Words Radio Silence Human Hands Night Rally I'll Wear It Proudly Motel Matches Drum and Bone Harpies Bizarre Nothing Clings Like Ivy Why Won't Heaven Help Me Next Time 'Round The River in Reverse A Room with No Number Clown Strike The Invisible Man My Most Beautiful Mistake All the Rage The Town Where Time Stood Still Episode of Blonde e of Blonde No Flag A Slow Drag with Josephine That Bridge I Burned Sour Milk Cow Blues You Little Fool Spooky Girlfriend Suit of Lights There's a Story in Your Voice Dishonor The Stars The Other Side of Summer Mischievous Ghost They're Not Laughing at Me Now White Knuckles Honey, Are You Straight or Are You Blind? Black and White World The World and His Wife
God's Comic The First to Leave Green Shirt The Man You Love to Hate Lip Service American Gangster Time Blame It on Cain The Spell That You Cast Lipstick Vogue The Difference Stella Hurt Tears before Bedtime |