All This Useless Beauty

When I Was Cruel No. 2

Following the release of My Aim Is True, Elvis Costello received the print version of a coming out party with the help of writer Nick Kent in the August 27, 1977 edition of New Musical Express. In the feature, Costello said the following: “The only two things that matter to me, the only motivation pointsContinue reading “When I Was Cruel No. 2”

My Dark Life

In fall 1995, Elvis Costello was on a break recording music with his soon-to-be-broken-up backing band The Attractions for the eventual album All This Useless Beauty. As detailed in these two previous posts on Recliner Notes, the songs on All This Useless Beauty are filled with darkness, seeped in self-reflection considering the function of artContinue reading “My Dark Life”

Poor Fractured Atlas

In the beginning of D’Aulaires Book of Greek Myths, there is an account of how Zeus became “lord of the universe” by defeating the Titans who revolted against him and Zeus’s claim of dominion over them. In the wake of Zeus’s triumph, he punished various Titans for their participation in the insurgency. One sentence wasContinue reading “Poor Fractured Atlas”

In 1891, Oscar Wilde published the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray after a novella-length version was distributed as part of Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine. The novel included a preface by Wilde responding to the criticism the work had received when printed as part of the periodical. Wilde’s preface ends with the following lines: We canContinue reading “All This Useless Beauty”

The Lovers That Never Were: The Paul McCartney & Elvis Costello Demos

In 1987, Paul McCartney invited Elvis Costello to write songs together. Over a series of sessions, they created a body of work from which both artists pulled selections for various albums over the years. The songs written by this partnership were used to augment their own individual work, filling in cracks when either member neededContinue reading “The Lovers That Never Were: The Paul McCartney & Elvis Costello Demos”