Elvis is King. That’s the message he inserted oh-so-cleverly over and over on the cover of his first album. Of course, there was that other Elvis too, but Costello burst on the music scene full of himself and full of potential. His uber-catchy songs and stunning way with lyrics made him famous and infamous overnight and his fame took off despite his occasional efforts to derail that train. This book details his early years and rise to fame as well as many of the things that he did to mystify and sometimes alienate his listeners from then on, as well as his loves and likes along the way.

He is one of the most talented singer-songwriters ever. There, I said it. He’s made a few mistakes in his life and in his music choices, but overall the depth and breadth of his amazing career is matched by very few. This book tackles both the life and the music chronologically, and unfortunately ends too soon in the early 00′s with the somewhat forgetable North album. But each album from My Aim Is True up through North is discussed and matched with the corresponding events in his personal life (along with his bands and backup musicians). Sometimes the life part goes a little light but there is still insight into the personality and into the music.

In short, not a perfect book for EC fanatics but still a very good one and well worth reading.

From the amazon.com review:

Elvis Costello is undoubtedly one of the most important and challenging musicians of the last thirty years. Complicated Shadows paints a detailed portrait of an intensely private, complex, and creatively restless individual. It draws on a wealth of new research, including exclusive interviews with people from all stages of Costello’s life and career: classmates, friends, members of his early bands, former lovers, members of the Attractions, producers, and various collaborators. Complicated Shadows unearths many previously unknown details about Costello’s childhood in London and Liverpool and his early years as a struggling musician, as well as his turbulent personal life. It also reveals the circumstances surrounding his marriages to ex-Pogues bassist Cait O’Riordan and jazz singer Diana Krall, and the bitter breakup of his longtime backing band, the Attractions. Complicated Shadows contains a full examination and analysis of the entirety of Costello’s vast and varied musical output, both in the studio and on the stage.

And from Publisher’s Weekly:

The progeny of a trumpet player grandfather and a big band vocalist father, Costello was destined to be a star musician by osmosis, if not genetics. Born Declan Patrick MacManus in 1954, the future Buddy Holly clone was raised by a West London family understandably supportive of his early rock leanings. Though “gawky and comically knock-kneed,” the young Brit was performing in Liverpool clubs by 18, honing his anti-establishment persona by 22 and on the verge of conquering America by 25-a lightning fast rise deftly recorded by freelance journalist Thomson. A knowledgeable critic, Thomson skillfully interweaves articulate criticism of Costello’s musical evolution into his biographical narrative, and unsentimentally details the thrice-married lyricist’s dips into infidelity, drug use and egomania (including the artist’s infamous song switcheroo on Saturday Night Live in 1977 and his unceremonious firing of his back-up band, the Attractions, in 1987). And while Thomson assumes that readers will have a certain familiarity with the composer’s oeuvre and influences, he also writes clearly enough for Costello novices. And he’s not without a sense of humor; while discussing the heyday of glam rock, he explains that Elvis wasn’t a believer because he had “neither the physique nor the eyelashes for that.” In all, this is an engrossing and lively account of an equally animated personality.

Have you read it? Do you have an opinion? Are you Elvis’ gardener? Leave a comment below.

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Concrete Blonde at Ace of Spades “True”

The second video is after the “read more”. See you on the other side…

Concrete Blonde at Ace of Spades “When I Was A Fool” – apologies for the sound quality in the second half of the song. Better than nothing, right?

What do you think? Where you there? Feel free to leave me a comment below.

Shop: Concrete Blonde | Johnette Napolitano

This is the twenty-third in a series of posts about the music we own. We sort-of collect items by certain artists, as you may notice (Tom Waits!). And yes, we are both still obsessed with music!

Artists are listed as last name, comma, first name. If it is a band then it is just the band name. Anyway, check it out and see what you think. Leave me a comment below the list!

Name – Title – Format – Size – Country – Comments

Wagner, Jack – All I Need vinl 7 US

Wainwright III, Loudon – Unrequited vinl 12 US Promo.

Wainwright III, Loudon – Attempted Mustache vinl 12 US

Wainwright III, Loudon – Album III vinl 12 US

Waitresses, The – Wasn’t Tomorrow Wonderful? vinl 12 US

Waits, Tom – Beautiful Maladies CD 5 US

Waits, Tom – Nighthawks At The Diner CD 5 US

Waits, Tom – Blue Valentine vinl 12 US

Waits, Tom – Heartattack And Vine vinl 12 US

Waits, Tom – Blue Skies vinl 7 US Promo.

Waits, Tom – Bone Machine cd 5 US

Waits, Tom – Small Change vinl 12 US

Waits, Tom – Anthology Of vinl 12 US

Waits, Tom – The Black Rider cd 5 US

Waits, Tom – Spare Change CD 5 Unk Bootleg.

Waits, Tom – Drunk on the Moon CD 5 None Bootleg

Waits, Tom – Cold Beer on a Hot Night CD 5 Italy Bootleg – Sidney 3/79

Waits, Tom – The Early Years cd 5 US

Waits, Tom – In The Neighborhood vinl 12 UNK

Waits, Tom – Used Songs CD 5 US

Waits, Tom – Hold On vinl 7 Europe

Waits, Tom – The Heart Of The Shaboo Night cd 5 Unk Bootleg.

Waits, Tom – Mule Variations CD 5 US

Waits, Tom – Swordfishtrombones cd 5 US

Waits, Tom – Closing Time CD 5 US

Waits, Tom – Blood Money CD 5 US CD-R

Waits, Tom – Small Change CD 5 US

Waits, Tom – Foreign Affairs vinl 12 US

Waits, Tom – Glitter And Doom Live CD 5 US “Disc 2 is “”Tom’s Tales”"”

Waits, Tom – Live From The Glitter And Doom Tour vinl 7 US

Waits, Tom – The Heart Of Saturday Night cd 5 US

Waits, Tom – Bone Machine: Operators Manual CD 5 US Promo. Interview & Music.

Waits, Tom – Foreign Affairs cd 5 US

Waits, Tom – Hold On cd 5 US

Waits, Tom – Orphans CD 5 US Limited Edition

Waits, Tom – Blue Valentine CD 5 US

Waits, Tom – Rain Dogs cd 5 US

Waits, Tom -Frank’s Wild Years cd 5 US

Waits, Tom – Real Gone CD 5 US CD-R

Waits, Tom – Bad As Me CD 5 US 2CD Ltd Edition

Waits, Tom – Closing Time vinl 12 US

Waits, Tom – The Early Years Vol. 2 cd 5 US

Waits, Tom & Gayle, Crystal – One From The Heart Soundtrack cd 5 US

Wall Of Voodoo – Seven Days In Sammys Town cass na US

Wall Of Voodoo – Mexican Radio vinl 12 US

Wall Of Voodoo – Wall Of Voodoo vinl 12 US

Wall Of Voodoo – Happy Planet cd 5 US

Wall Of Voodoo – Dark Continent vinl 12 US

Wall Of Voodoo – Call Of The West CD 5 US

Wallflowers, The – Rebel Sweetheart CD 5 US CD/DVD Dual Disc

Wallflowers, The – Red Letter Day CD 5 US

Wallflowers, The – The Wallflowers CD 5 US

Wallflowers, The – Heroes CD 5 US Promo.

Wallflowers, The – Bringing Down The House CD 5 US

Wallflowers, The – One Headlight CD 5 UK

Wallflowers, The – Breach CD 5 US

Warnes, Jennifer – Shot Through The Heart vinl 12 US

Warnes, Jennifer – Famous Blue Raincoat vinl 12 US

Warwick, Dionne – That’s What Friends Are For vinl 7 US

Was (Not Was) – What Up Dog? CD 5 US

Watts, Reggie – Simplfied CD 5 US

Weezer – Make Believe CD 5 US CD-R

Weezer – Hash Pipe. The Remixes. vinl 12 US Promo

Weezer – Weezer (Green Album) CD 5 US CD-R

Welch, Kevin – Beneath My Wheels CD 5 US

Wendy & Lisa – Interview vinl 12 UK Interview Picture Disc.

Wendy & Lisa – Are You My Baby vinl 12 US

Wendy & Lisa – Girl Bros CD 5 US

Wendy & Lisa – Fruit At The Bottom vinl 12 US

Wendy & Lisa – Are You My Baby? vinl 7 GER

Wendy & Lisa – Lolly Lolly remixes vinl 7 UK

Wendy & Lisa – Are You My Baby CD 5 US

Wendy And Lisa – Strung Out vinl 12 US

Wendy And Lisa – Wendy And Lisa cd 5 US

Wendy And Lisa – Fruit At The Bottom cd 5 US

Wendy And Lisa – Waterfall vinl 12 US Promo

Wendy And Lisa – Wendy And Lisa cass n/a US

Wendy And Lisa – Strung Out CD 5 UK

Wendy And Lisa – Rainbow Lake cd 5 UK

Wendy And Lisa – Waterfall vinl 7 US

Wendy And Lisa – Honeymoon Express vinl 12 US

Wendy And Lisa – Eroica cd 5 US

Wendy And Lisa – Wendy And Lisa vinl 12 US

Wendy And Lisa – Closing Of The Year CD 5 US With the musical cast of Toys. Promo.

Westerberg, Paul – Suicaine Gratification CD 5 US Promo

When In Rome – The Promise vinl 12 US

White Stripes, The – Get Behind Me Satan CD 5 US

White Stripes, The – Blue Orchid CD 5 US

White Stripes, The – Elephant CD 5 US

Who, The – Who Are You cass na US

Who, The – Squeeze Box vinl 7 US

Who, The – Face Dances vinl 12 US Includes poster.

Who, The – Summertime Blues vinl 7 US

Williams, Dar – End Of The Summer CD 5 US

Williams, Dar – The Green World CD 5 US

Williams, Dar – Out There Live! CD 5 US

Williams, Dar – The Beauty Of The Rain CD 5 US

Williams, Dar – My Better Self CD 5 US

Williams, Dar – The Honesty Room CD 5 US

Williams, Dar – Mortal City CD 5 US

Williams, Robbie – The Ego Has Landed CD 5 US Promo.

Williams, Robin – Reality – What A Concept cass na US

Willis, Bruce – The Return Of Bruno vinl 12 US

Willis, Wesley – Fabian Road Warrior CD 5 US

Wilson, Ann – Hope & Glory CD 5 US

Winchester, Jesse – Third Down, 110 To Go vinl 12 US

Winchester, Jesse – Learn To Love It vinl 12 US

Winehouse, Amy – Back To Black CD 5 US With bonus DVD

Winehouse, Amy – Rehab Remix vinl 12 US With Jay-Z

Wings – Silly Love Songs vinl 7 US

Wiwala Choir – Join The Song cass na US

Wonder, Stevie – Talking Book vinl 12 US

Wonder, Stevie – Songs In The Key Of Life vinl 12 US Includes large lyric book.

Wonder, Stevie – Saturn vinl 7 US Bonus four song EP.

Wonder, Stevie – Songs In The Key Of Life CD 5 US

Wonder, Stevie – Innervisions vinl 12 US

World Party – Goodbye Jumbo CD 5 US

Wright, Abdel – Abdel Wright CD 5 US Promo

Wright, Gary – Dream Weaver vinl 7 US

Wright, Michelle – Now & Then CD 5 US

Wynn, Steve – Kerosene Man vinl 12 US

What do you think? Why not leave me a comment…

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Another note: I had this posted at SacMusicBlog too.

Veteran rockers Concrete Blonde were at Sacramento’s Ace of Spades last night and brought down the house with an energetic and spirited show that had the audience cheering and yelling for more.

Singer-songwriter Jim Bianco opened up the show with an entertaining set of originals. One audience member called him “a young Tom Waits”, but that’s not exactly true. He does have an offbeat style in both performance and lyrics but is at least a little closer to the mainstream. And was that a nylon string classical guitar that he was playing the crazy heck out of?

Time for the headliners: Concrete Blonde have been together since the late 80s and have broken up and retired more than a couple times. But they are back again and haven’t lost a beat. The show had only a couple numbers that were not immediately recognizable (Rosalie, The Damage I’ve Done). Very early on they played a blazing cover of Beds Are Burning (the Midnight Oil protest song) which was a definite highlight. But most of the show was classic song after classic song. Joey, True, Mexican Moon (acoustic), Someday, Ghost of a Texas Ladies Man, Tomorrow Wendy, God is a Bullet, Caroline, 100 Games of Solitare, Everybody Knows (acoustic), and more. And of course, for the encore, Bloodletting (The Vampire Song).

Lead singer Johnette Napolitano (buy her solo album too) mentioned she was a little under the weather but it didn’t stop her from delivering a great show. Her expressive and powerful voice is still there after all this time and the band has their stuff down. The crowd was wanting more but after a close-to two hour set that was that. I hope you went to the show! If not (or if so) there are some pictures, click on the “read more”. The first two are Jim Bianco (Johnette joined him for his last number) and the rest are Concrete Blonde. Sure they are cell phone photos, but a lot better than nothing, right?

Rosalie
Beds Are Burning (Midnight Oil cover)
Joey
I Don’t Need a Hero
Days and Days
Lullabye
Scene of a Perfect Crime
God Is a Bullet
Damage I Have Done (formerly with The Heads)
Caroline
When I Was a Fool
100 Games of Solitaire
Ghost of a Texas Ladies Man
Someday
Take Me Home
Everybody Knows (Leonard Cohen cover)
True
Mexican Moon
Tomorrow, Wendy
Encore:
Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)

Were you there? What did YOU think?

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The Cars “Move Like This”

Death Cab For Cutie “Codes And Keys”

The Decemberists “The King Is Dead”

Eisley “The Valley”

Robbie Robertson “How To Be Clairvoyant”

Tom Waits “Bad As Me”

And also good…

Jack’s Mannequin “People And Things”

Adele “21″

Gavin DeGraw “Sweeter”

Jimi Hendrix “Winterland”

Jethro Tull “Aqualung” 2-CD reissue

Paul Simon “So Beautiful Or So What”

So what do you think? What did I miss? Leave me a comment.

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Read all the way to the end and then leave me a comment!

ARTIST – TITLE – FORMAT – SIZE – COUNTRY – COMMENTS

Waits, Tom – Bad As Me CD 5 US 2CD Ltd Edition

Bush, Kate – 50 Words For Snow CD 5 US

Jethro Tull – Aqualung CD 5 US Two CD 40th Anniversary Special Edition

Cars, The – Move Like This CD 5 US

Ra Ra Riot – The Rhumb Line CD 5 US

Concrete Blonde – Bloodletting CD 5 US 20th Anniversary Edition, six bonus tracks

Gabriel, Peter – Us CD 5 US

Heap, Imogen – Speak For Yourself CD 5 US

Young, Neil – International Harvesters – A Treasure CD 5 US

Cure, The – The Only One CD 5 US

Cure, The – The Perfect Boy CD 5 US

Durbin, James – Memories Of A Beautiful Disaster CD 5 US Autographed

Parker, Graham – Your Country CD 5 US

Nutini, Paolo – Jenny Don’t Be Hasty CD 5 US

Harding, John Wesley – New Deal – The New Edition CD 5 US Five bonus tracks

Harding, John Wesley – Misfortune CD 5 US aka Wesley Stace. Promo with spoken reading and songs

Jones, Sharon & The Dap-Kings – I Learned The Hard Way & 100 Days, 100 N CD 5 US CD-R

Belle & Sebastian – Dear Catastrophe Waitress CD 5 US

Belle & Sebastian – The Boy With The Arab Strap CD 5 US

Fine Frenzy, A – One Cell In The Sea CD 5 US

Fine Frenzy, A – One Cell In The Sea CD 5 US Different cover and booklet

Brooke, Jonatha – Steady Pull CD 5 US

Brooke, Jonatha – Plumb CD 5 US

Colvin, Shawn – Fat City CD 5 US

Ure, Midge – Pure + Breathe…plus CD 5 US Two albums plus 13 bonus tracks

Pretenders – Packed! CD 5 US

Broken Bells – Meyrin Fields EP CD 5 US

Heart – A Lovemongers Christmas CD 5 US

V/A – Happy Chanukah Songs CD 5 US

V/A – Alice Music 11 CD 5 US

V/A – Alice Music 10 CD 5 US

V/A – Alice Music 9 CD 5 US

V/A – Alice Music 8 CD 5 US

V/A – Alice Music 7 CD 5 US

V/A – Alice Music 6 CD 5 US

V/A – Alice Music 5 CD 5 US

V/A – Alice Music 4 CD 5 US

V/A – Alice Music 3 CD 5 US

V/A – Alice Music 2 CD 5 US

Phillips, Sam – Beyond Saturday Night cass n/a US Credited to Leslie Phillips

Chyp-Notic – Nothing Compares 2U vinl 12 Ger

V/A – Spin This vinl 12 US Includes Prince

V/A – Always & Forever Party Classics Volume 1 vinl 12 US Prince, Vanity 6, Human League, Depeche Mode, etc

What do you think? Leave me a comment!

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And a happy new year. Let’s hope it’s a good one, without any fear.

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Thirty one years ago today was a tragic day. We lost a great man and a great artist.

From Wikipedia:

John Lennon was an English musician who gained worldwide fame as one of the founders of The Beatles, for his subsequent solo career, and for his political activism and pacifism. He was shot by Mark David Chapman at the entrance of the building where he lived, The Dakota, in New York City, on Monday, 8 December 1980; Lennon had just returned from Record Plant Studio with his wife, Yoko Ono.

Lennon was pronounced dead on arrival at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center, where it was stated that nobody could have lived for more than a few minutes after sustaining such injuries. Shortly after local news stations reported Lennon’s death, crowds gathered at Roosevelt Hospital and in front of The Dakota.

And one more video. Let’s “continue”…

Miss you John. RIP.

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Here’s a clip from a very early movie, still funny over 40 years later…

What’s your favorite Woody Allen movie or scene?

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The second dinner is the one in the picture. Tofurkey roast with stuffing inside, mashed potatoes, different stuffing, creamed corn, salad with Seitan and faux blue cheese, homemade cranberry sauce, red wine (sangiovese), and a cranberry apple crisp for desert. All vegan. All tasty!

Hope you had some good dinners too

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