There’s a certain respect and admiration I have for anyone who can successfully look at something from another person’s point of view, despite not having lived the same experience, especially without consciously or unconsciously inserting themselves into the narrative.
It’s a rare ability to channel the inner thoughts of someone else, and nail it. Furthermore, I think it’s nearly unheard of, therefore, I find it utterly sublime when it’s detected in the wild. In addition to self-professed guilt and revenge, the cunning vitriol (my words, not his) that many of Elvis Costello’s songs are laced with, another through line is unbiased character development and portrayal, especially as it pertains to the characterization of women. You’ve probably heard of the Bechdel Test; with respect to films, it’s a triad of events that need to be present in order to “pass” the test: it has to have at least two women in it, they have to speak to each other, and what they speak about has to be about something other then men. It’s based on Alison Bechdel’s 1985 comic strip about her movie-going rules. Based on the comic strip, the last film Alison was able to see was “Alien.” So, it got me wondering if there’s a similar matrix or a rubric for song lyrics. According to one article I read, the triad to pass the song lyric version of the test is: it has to be a female-identifying performer who looks like a woman, involves other women, and isn’t singing about a man. The article cites five songs, conceding how difficult it was to find that many. The link to the article is in the show notes. My name’s Remedy, and I’ve had a 30-year love affair with the poetry of Elvis Costello. This podcast has no lofty ambition. It’s merely an appreciation of a peerless poet and modern day master. --- Dig it Today’s slow drag is with “All This Useless Beauty,” from album of the same name, released in 1996. The songwriting credit of this stunning song goes to Mr. Elvis Costello. Going from the specific to the general, weaving in certain details and expressions, “All This Useless Beauty” might not meet the Bechdel Test, but what it might do is create a category of its own: truisms from many perspectives, not constrained by pronouns or thoughts that are meant to be forbidden. Because I love the words so much, I rarely think about the person behind the pen. In my mind, like a dandelion, these words have scattered into the world of their own accord. These words, these particular words in “All This Useless Beauty,” however, are clearly from a keen observer of life, love, and relationships. But, I think I need to stop gushing and just get on with it. It's at times such as this she'd be tempted to spit If she wasn't so ladylike This statement alone makes me want to proclaim that this is a “very special episode of Slow Drag with Remedy.” She imagines how she might have lived back when legends and history collide So she looks to her prince finding since he's so charmingly slumped at her side Those days are recalled on the gallery wall And she's waiting for passion or humor to strike Ok, welcome to a very special episode. One verse in and we see an entire world: a couple in a museum. We are braced for the double meaning of “all this useless beauty.” Oh, and the consonance: “So she looks to her prince finding since he’s so charmingly slumped at her side.” Said slowly or too quickly, it nearly creates a hissing sound, like one you might hear directed toward a villain as they enter the stage. Passion or humor. Either one would be a welcome relief right about now. What shall we do, what shall we do with all this useless beauty? All this useless beauty Both shall and will are modal verbs that are pretty much interchangeable these days, but prescriptively shall is often connected with the first person plural, as in what shall we do. While I don’t think anyone would be inclined to correct, “what will we do,” the proper and inclusive shall is perfectly placed in this question. It’s a chorus that’s repeated three times in the piece. Good Friday arrived, the sky darkened on time 'Til he almost began to negotiate She held his head like a baby and said "It's okay if you cry" You don’t have to be religious to be familiar with the crucifixion of Jesus, the empty tomb, and the role both the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene played. Something about the Madonna and whore dichotomy. (Please forgive the dated nomenclature.) In a modern world, this sort of vulnerability and unconditional care is often rewarded with, well, contempt, and even a sense of ownership. Now he wants her to dress as if you couldn't guess He desires to impress his associates This proclamation snatches me back from the brink of cynicism, I hope. His vulnerability has turned into her subsequent subservience. But he's part ugly beast and Hellenic deceased So she finds that the mixture is hard to deny The Hellenistic Period of Ancient Greece started around 323 BCE with the death of Alexander, and ended in 31 BCE with the Roman conquest. Check my math, but I think the Hellenic is a culture found within the larger Hellenistic Period. Do I have that right? Either way, what it conjures for me a bit of a jerk who is nevertheless a Greek God chiseled out of finest marble. We’ve all seen the type. My mistaken version of a Greek God was named Robert. It’s ok to use his name, since there’s been four of them and they’ll all think I’m referring to him. I have a thing for men named Robert. Oh, and for jerks. She won't practice the looks from the great tragic books That were later disgraced to face celluloid Why bother launching a thousand ships, since they’ll only change it post production? It won't even make sense but you can bet If she isn't a sweetheart or plaything or pet The film turns her into an unveiled threat It’s a man’s world, isn’t it? Sweetheart, plaything, pet, unveiled threat. Here he’s shading in the lines between Madonna and whore. Are these the four archetypes that launched the Bechdel test? Nonsense prevails, modesty fails Grace and virtue turn into stupidity Maybe this is a point that needs to be gone over again. Maybe the prince wasn’t really the hissed at villain after all? Is it grace and virtue that become stupid, or does one abandon grace for more base desires? While the calendar fades almost all barricades to a pale compromise And our leaders have feasts on the backsides of beasts They still think they're the gods of antiquity To pale in compromise to a Greek God? Who wouldn’t? Then again, who doesn’t think of himself as a god, at least in passing? If something you missed didn't even exist It was just an ideal -- is it such a surprise? Arguably, all of the action within this stunning 4:37 song takes place in a split second, a fleeting thought evoked from the works of masters at a museum, perhaps. Nothing can compare with perfection, for perfection doesn’t exist. It’s all an ideation, a daydream. A flower blooms, a flower wilts. This is just one interpretation out of many I’ve toyed with since knowing this lovely song. What shall we do, what shall we do with all this useless beauty? All this useless beauty The gorgeous words in this piece, the imagery, the implications, the many flights of fancy that are possible to take. I’ve provided just one possibility. The gems abound in this piece. “If she wasn’t so ladylike,” the hissing sound from words strategically strung together, the power dynamic between need and want, the duality of personality, the precarious yet predictable way women are portrayed, the ambiguity of how or why “grace and virtue turn into stupidity,” and ultimately realizing, perhaps, it’s just a fleeting thought, an exercise in the feeling brought forth by the contrast of the mortal versus the immortal. There’s an emptiness that echoes throughout, lovely and comical at the same time. The characters, though unknown, vibrate with three-dimensional ethos. I could live in this song for days. --- Dig it Again, this has been a slow drag with “All This Useless Beauty” from the 1996 album of the same name. It’s a dazzling piece from top to bottom. I say it’s all about the words for me, and I mean it, but with this one I highly recommend hearing that angelic voice enunciate the words, listening to the instrumentation that fills the moments in between the action. It’s stunning. Simply stunning. “All This Useless Beauty” marks two milestones that are worth mentioning: a first and a last. It was the first proper title track to any of his 16 previous studio albums (Imperial Bedroom doesn’t count), and it was the last time a certain bass player was heard on any of Mr. Costello’s albums. The last he was heard from was at the 2003 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction of Elvis Costello and the Attractions. The induction speech was beautiful, of course, but it was also an exercise in awkwardness, with Bruce Thomas standing behind him on one side as Steve Nieve and Pete Thomas were showered with deserved praise on the other. (sound in episode) A bit haltering in his delivery, perhaps, but notice how deftly Elvis Costello moved from petty grievances to Joe Strummer, who’d recently passed, then quickly back to “the Attractions, the best band in the world,” without explicitly including Bruce. Davey Faragher, not Bruce Thomas, played bass on their induction performance of “What’s so Funny About Peace, Love, and Understanding,” underscoring that the Attractions were disbanded for good. Side note: Nick Lowe isn’t in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Elvis Costello’s first producer? He should be in for that alone. Second side note: after Elvis Costello finishes the song, he walks off stage, into the wings, and yes, leaves the building. Mischievous, cheeky, fearless. “In a certain light, he looked like Elvis. In a certain way he feels like Jesus.” Thank you so very much for finding this appreciation of Elvis Costello’s poetry, and for listening all the way to the end. This truly is a passion project that I am thrilled to share with you. I’ve really enjoyed this, and hope you have too. Funny, with the way I’ve gushed about “All this Useless Beauty,” you’d think it were my favorite song. We’re only getting started. If you like this, please subscribe and share. Get in contact with comments, suggestions, or stories of your own. I’d love to hear them, especially if I’ve cocked up a few expressions here and there. So, until next time, Adieu, my little ballyhoo.
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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: "All This Useless Beauty Wiki Reference: http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/All_This_Useless_Beauty_(song) “All This Useless Beauty”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrDC4EYmgYs “All This Useless Beauty” June Tabor version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gX1cnBPXT38 Bechdel Test Movie List: https://bechdeltest.com Bechdel Test Original comic strip:http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1gAF_bCo_4Y/TexG3UuxAMI/AAAAAAAAAsk/1RnUFtjHXOw/s1600/The+Bechdel+Test.jpg Bechdel Test for music: https://urge.org/the-bechdel-test-for-music/ Shall vs. Will: https://www.grammar-monster.com/easily_confused/shall_will.htm The Mystery of Mary Magdalene: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p016qd9z Quote about being a club member, Groucho Marx: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/groucho_marx_122546 The Hellenistic Period: https://www.ancient.eu/Hellenistic_Period/ Elvis Costello Rock and Roll Hall of Fame speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFObHCqccVk Madonna and Whore Dichotomy: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2018-04940-001 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 |