< intro > That introduction is from 1999’s “Austin Powers 2,” where the pair performed a minute’s worth of Bacharach’s “I’ve Never Fall in Love Again.” He and Hal David wrote this charming song in 1969, right in the middle of an otherwise tumultuous and psychedelic time. An entire master class could be commissioned on Burt Bacharach, his work, and, importantly, his far-reaching influence on so many singers, songwriters, and arrangers. Talk about a person who, to this day, stays true to his own vision. Together, in 1996, Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello won the Grammy award for “best pop collaboration with vocals” with “Painted from Memory’s “I Still Have That Other Girl.” They were also nominated in the same category in 1991 for the haunting “God Give Me Strength” the song that first appeared in Alison Anders’ film, “Grace of My Heart.” It was the natural culmination of two cultural icons matching wits. My name is Remedy. And this is an appreciation. This is an exploration of linguists, language, and becoming a part of the popular cultural fabric as framed by the peerless poetry of the modern day master, Elvis Costello. --- Dig it Today’s slow drag is with “My Mood Swings,” found on 2012’s “In Motion Pictures,” but was first heard briefly at the 1:04:00 mark of “The Big Lebowski,” released in 1998. When I say briefly, I mean it was one chorus long, appearing for roughly 25 seconds in this wonderful fever dream of a movie. And while the songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello, it’s not strictly speaking, a solo credit. However, in “Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink,” Mr. Costello mentioned in passing how someone else “threw in a word or two” when he wrote the entire Wendy James’ 1993 album, “Now Ain’t the Time for Your Tears,” “for which” the person was given a “co-writing credit” (Costello, 2015, p. 574), so I’ll bend my solo writing credit rule just a bit for this one. “My Mood Swings” has 3 verses and a chorus that is repeated 4 times. And while the verses might be shorter when compared with many other Elvis Costello lyrics, they are packed with enough gunpowder to ignite a whole sky of dazzling fireworks. She was smitten from the first By a curious fellow Said I love the way you talk And with a flounce she announced it I love the way that you pronounced it Marshmallow Flounce, announce, pronounce. A curious fellow and the way he pronounces marshmallow. No wonder she was smitten. This compact verse with these low frequency words even fits in nice slant rhymes with first and fellow and smitten and it. It’s a ball of giddiness, a seeming non sequitur, regardless that there’s no logic it seems to have deviated from. Until I heard this, I hadn’t realized there is more than one way to say marshmallow. This quick verse is so charming and clever that it’s worth another pass: She was smitten from the first By a curious fellow Said I love the way you talk And with a flounce she announced it I love the way that you pronounced it Marshmallow Now, let’s find out more about this smitten woman: So she liked to sing along To her favorite song From the year that she was born See how mysterious her fate is (She had to get born in the eighties) There seems to be a bit of a dispute regarding these last lines. As you may know, I rely on the remarkable, extensive, and keenly attended to elviscostello.info wiki page for lyrics and other historical data. The posted last line on the site is “See how mysterious her fate is, she had to get born in the eighties,” yet it doesn’t seem to mesh with what is heard, which is closer to “she had mysterious affairs until she woke up in the eighties.” This last interpretation can be found in a Google search of the lyrics. As well, there are many other sites that present even more interpretations, so what are we left with? Either way, they both refer back nicely to her mysterious fate. Keeping with “The Big Lebowski” plot, however, “she had to get born in the eighties” is more fitting, yet the words heard in the song do seem to favor, “until she woke up in the eighties.” I suppose it comes down to which you prefer, really, in this spoken form at any rate. This maddening back and forth calls to mind the days before “Imperial Bedroom,” before Elvis Costello lyrics were printed on the liner notes, leaving one to only guess at many of the words that often came out fast and snarled. Famously, the printed lyrics on Imperial Bedroom’s liner notes were a continuous run of uppercase letters without punctuation or line breaks. There is so much more to be said this and about the cover art of “Imperial Bedroom” that will be addressed in future episodes. There’s so much to cover on the remarkable work from the talented yet tormented graphic artist, Barney Bubbles, who designed many of Elvis Costello’s album covers before “Punch the Clock” in 1983. Now we come to the chorus that all the fuss has been about. Here is how it is situated in the film itself. If you recall, it’s the scene in the doctor’s office, with the Dude on the examination table wearing a pair of headphones, bobbing his head in Dude fashion, after Maude implores him to get his jaw looked at. <clip> So speak to me, just like you should Then you can say those wicked things And if you want, we'll make it good Before my mood swings And that’s it, that’s the entire appearance of “My Mood Swings” in the film, “The Big Lebowski.” This repeated chorus is another highly visual and sensually charged passage in this quirky piece, with a clever twist at the end, with the collocation of “mood swings” sliding apart enough for the verb to do what comes nature to it as it describes what the mood is doing. The mood swings. Now it’s time to hear a bit more about the curious fellow who pronounces it “marshmallow.” Well he looked like one of those Who would take off his clothes Like you would peel a tangerine No one's been known to decline this Once I’ve found out what your sign is He looked like someone who would take off his clothes like he was peeling a tangerine. What do you suppose that sort of person looks like exactly? The mind is sent in five different directions. Marshmallows and tangerines: lovely oddball choices that add texture and aroma to the piece. The addition of a pick up line from days gone by, “what’s your sign,” helps to highlight the age gap between these characters who seem engaged in a silly lovers dance. Like so many of Elvis Costello’s stories, this one is an exploration of relationships that rarely openly mocks or makes a judgment past the mention of their overt eccentricity that they bring to the lines. “My Mood Swings,” for as fleeting as it is, is an icon of popular culture. It’s a gritty, sexy little 2:10 song that paints a picture of disparate people who create chemistry when they come into contact. It’s a song millions upon millions of people hear and re-hear each time they watch “The Big Lebowski.” It’s situated inside a collection of songs by Kenny Rogers, Bob Dylan, and Nina Simone. The Eagles can be heard as well, but we all know how that ended. -- Dig it Again, this has been a slow drag with “My Mood Swings” from 2012’s “In Motion Pictures,” originally found on “The Big Lebowski” soundtrack, appearing at the 1:04 minute mark and lasting all of 25 seconds, long enough to get the chorus out before the Dude is asked to take his shorts down. As mentioned in episode one of “Slow Drag with Remedy,” I have a penchant for naming my dogs after Elvis Costello songs. I’d named Napoleon, a gorgeous white and tan Pomeranian, with papers, after “Blood and Chocolate’s” “Poor Napoleon.” Our Napoleon was with us for 16 wonderful years. Goodnight little schoolboy. One week later we brought home a four-month-old curious fellow, the happiest little Pomeranian I’d ever met. I was immediately smitten. Compromising to a more dignified, “Marshall,” he nevertheless responds to “Marshmallow,” “Marshall Mellow Fellow,” or simply, “Mel.” He’s a very fluffy black and tan color, so yes, it does take a bit of explanation for why we call him “Marshmallow.” Thank you so very much for finding this is appreciation, this exploration of linguists, language, and becoming a part of the popular culture fabric as framed by the peerless poetry of the modern day master, Elvis Costello.
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: Companion Blog: https://slowdragwithremedy.home.blog/2019/12/07/episode-20-my-mood-swings/ “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” Austin Powers 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sbNQoGwXGg Elvis Costello Wiki Resource: http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/My_Mood_Swings Elvis Costello Grammy nominations and wins: https://www.grammy.com/grammys/artists/elvis-costello “God Give Me Strength” live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrcNnIV6FV8 “God Give Me Strength” Kristen Vigard version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJvKN7MS_9w Burt Bacharach in rehearsal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ON0moJR_JnE Cultural Icon Definition, a radical view: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VUZUGIWV5Q Marshmallow pronunciation: American and English: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/pronunciation/english/marshmallow “Imperial Bedroom” lyrics: http://www.elviscostello.info/disc/official/ib/ib_mini_inner_2.jpg “Barney Bubbles” https://nostalgiacentral.com/pop-culture/people/barney-bubbles/ https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2015/03/barney-bubbles-feature “In Search of Barney Bubbles” (available on BBC Sounds) https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b018wh7h http://www.eyemagazine.com/review/article/what-a-genius “The Big Lebowski” Soundtrack: https://open.spotify.com/album/7Hz6IKNVi0Rlqpa2PLdAG2 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 |