Less Than Zero - cover by Ted

[Blooby]

Great performance, especially from the BR (Truly). Elvis is one of those people I have on my list to further investigate, and this song added to that interest. Oddly wonderful.

Now that I've arrived at the end, I am rattled at how good this is...and on a BR to top it off.  Bloody good post.

Blooby

[Ted]

Elvis is one of those people I have on my list to further investigate

Elvis Costello is kind of like Joni Mitchell, in the sense that most people have (or know of) one or two albums from early in his career and don't really have any sense of the rich, varied, and sometimes weird catalog that came afterwards. Like, none of his first three albums even rank in my top three favorite albums from his career. But those are the three that most people know.

[Zoltan]

Aargh, This is a great song and a cover version! But you can't believe how many times i've been fooled to think that you'd done a cover of this song:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPGHUbJO41g

It's almost like my mind refuses to learn.

It's from the Less Than Zero movie soundtrack and it's also known as Less Than Zero.

[TPB]

Well I am glad this got bumped today as I missed it the first time it was birthday week the vocal are great and really stand out in the mix a lot of people will bury their vocal behind the music as they are more confident on the playing over the singing this one is perfect
Bravo
Tim

[StephenM]

revisiting this beauty.  This time it hit me like a brick... If someone told me this was Jay Ferguson doing this (mind you, not the polished studio version of Jay) I would totally believe it... I think that guy had two famous songs but they were so dang good...

From my music ramblings I gather that EC actually may have been better known as a song writer.  Don't get me wrong, I understand he had a massive following, but sort of a cult following sort of like the Dead had (totally different kind of following however)...
he influenced tons on musicians and singers....
The major reason I became acquainted with EC ( I doubt I heard 5 of his recordings) was Linda Ronstadt recorded a number of his songs on her "Mad Love" album.... apparently EC hated them.  However I did not.  I loved that entire album (there wasn't much she recorded I didn't like).... I already loved Linda but this was a totally new direction that I thought was so good...here is a quote about it from Rolling Stone mag
"It would be silly for me to dye my hair pink and start pogoing," Linda told Rolling Stone at the time. But she was leaving her Seventies image behind. "If everybody's eating granola this year, then everybody's going to be eating syntho-food next year." She was tired of playing America's hippie sweetheart, all bare feet and Cub Scout shirts. She wanted to dance to the beat of a different drum. Most of all, she wanted to sing a bunch of Elvis Costello songs. Many people were horrified. Elvis was one of them. "They are like sheer torture," he declared when he heard Mad Love. "Dreadful. A total waste of vinyl."
I suppose that main stream US could not dig that radical a change from an iconic star...but folks like me don't give a damn about such things... I just know if I like the artist and the music or not.. for me it was a change for the better... Elvis may have hated them but I am glad she recorded them because then as far as I am concerned she did it just for me (ha!)... there is also a Neil Young song on that album.. and the band she used on that album just flat out rocked their collective butts off..
anyway... sorry about all this rambling... Elvis should be glad that I listened to his songs because of Linda...otherwise I could care less...and vice versa!

I suppose now he can be happy that I was introduced yet again to another song of his by TED.... wonder what he might think of this?  (doesn't matter to me btw)

[Ted]

Elvis may have hated them but I am glad she recorded them because then as far as I am concerned she did it just for me (ha!)... there is also a Neil Young song on that album.. and the band she used on that album just flat out rocked their collective butts off..

My relationship with Elvis's music goes all the way back. I also know that he was quite an abrasive asshole back in the day, and his unkind words about Ronstadt's covers of his song don't surprise me. (And they aren't the most problematic comments he ever uttered – not by a long shot.)

Nowadays a kinder, gentler Elvis is something of respectable elder statesman of his generation of musicians. It made me wonder if he ever apologized. I found this article from 2019 on his official website.

This version of "Party Girl" is a clip from a performance around the release of "Mad Love" – a memento of my less generous youth in so many ways but I urge you to see this wonderful documentary, whether or not you regard yourself a fan of the singer or her musical choices. Perhaps there are human qualities that endure beyond the fashionable poses we may have once affected.

With much respect. Elvis Costello.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFW4pP-L_yM

Thanks for the kind words about my cover.

[StephenM]

You said: "My relationship with Elvis's music goes all the way back. I also know that he was quite an abrasive asshole back in the day, and his unkind words about Ronstadt's covers of his song don't surprise me. (And they aren't the most problematic comments he ever uttered – not by a long shot.)

Nowadays a kinder, gentler Elvis is something of respectable elder statesman of his generation of musicians. It made me wonder if he ever apologized. I found this article from 2019 on his official website."

thanks for finding this Ted.  Humans can and do grow over time.  Obviously he felt strongly about his view of the music at the time.  I remember Sammy Hagar making a bit of fun of Rik Springfield's music until one day in the early 80's Rik gave him a check for 50 grand from the proceeds he received for covering Sammy's song "I've Done Everything For You."  He became a fan thereafter...lol... I suppose that for many it would be hard to like a cover of their songs or that someone would even want to do that.  Bruce Springsteen still can't believe that "Blinded by the Light" that Mannfred Mann did was a smash hit and his original (he wrote it) never got heard... when you hear both it's obvious to me why...
At least for me I know Elvis Costello much better now that Linda Ronstadt did a few of his songs.... a very large compliment in my book...anyway... good subject.

[des0free]

Back for another listen; not sure if I commented before.  I had not heard this song before, and I often find Costello songs hard to get into (with some exceptions), but what you've done here with this one I like very much. Everything sounds perfect to me: guitar playing(precise and great tone!), singing, and the production too (still amazed what people can do with the "tiny magic silver box"). Some day I will dig mine out of a drawer and bring it on a trip and see what I can do...

[Oldrottenhead]

How the hell did i miss this! Braw Bro!

[Zoltan]

Ooh... Great bump!