Today's slow drag is with "This Sad Burlesque," from "The Juliet Letters," released in 1993. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello's birth name.

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Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Twitter: @slowdragremedy

Email: [email protected]

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, "This Sad Burlesque": http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/This_Sad_Burlesque

"This Sad Burlesque": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7erFv3Z0SI

Letters of Heartbreak Find Some Love in Verona, Italy: https://www.npr.org/2013/04/16/177027206/letters-of-heartbreak-find-some-love-in-verona-italy?t=1593189184122

From "Comedy Writing," The K sound is just funnier:

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=giFjDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT75&lpg=PT75&dq=k+sound+is+a+funnier+sound+mel+brooks&source=bl&ots=b6Ot6lAJfA&sig=ACfU3U1VwErAvAuGgOJ9np-8b-njMCJdmg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi5uK6n95_qAhWQVRUIHU5NDVAQ6AEwBHoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=k%20sound%20is%20a%20funnier%20sound%20mel%20brooks&f=false

Victorian Burlesque Dancers, musical theater of the exotic: https://mashable.com/2014/11/11/victorian-burlesque-dancers/

Burlesque Timeline: https://alibi.com/feature/18609/Burlesque-Timeline.html

The History of Burlesque Dancing: https://burlexe.com/burlesque/burlesque-history/the-history-of-burlesque-dancing/

"This Sad Burlesque" Lyrics

I write in hope by the time you get this letter We may live to see a change for the better Or are we so devoted to these wretched selfish motives? When the cold facts and figures all add up They cannot contradict this sad burlesque This sad burlesque With miserable failures making entertainment of our fate Laughter cannot dignify or elevate this sad burlesque Now can they recall being young and idealistic Before wading knee-deep in hogwash and arithmetic? The pitying smirk The argument that runs like clockwork Will run down eventually and splutter to a stop P.S. Well, by now you know the worst of it And we've heard all the alibis that they've rehearsed The smug predictions If it's not a contradiction Please have faith in human nature And have mercy on the creatures in this sad burlesque This sad burlesque With miserable failures making entertainment of our fate Laughter cannot dignify or elevate this sad burlesque

Today's slow drag is with "Possession," from "Get Happy!!," released in 1980. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

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Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Twitter: @slowdragremedy

Email: [email protected]

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, "Possession": http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Possession

"Possession": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm2bcKRbMZI

What is Morphology, a quick glance: https://ielanguages.com/morphology.html

"Possession"

If there's anything that you want If there's anything that you need There's no need to be evasive Money talks and it's persuasive Possession Now you're sending me your best wishes Signed with love and vicious kisses You lack lust, you're so lackluster Is that all the strength you can muster? Possession Even when we are out of touch Now I know that I've seen too much Seen too much So I see us lying back to back My case is closed, my case is packed I'll get out before the violence Or the tears or the silence Possession

Today's slow drag is with "My Science Fiction Twin," from "Brutal Youth," released in 1993. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello's birth name.

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Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Twitter: @slowdragremedy

Email: [email protected]

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, "My Science Fiction Twin": http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/My_Science_Fiction_Twin

"My Science Fiction Twin": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aymF6j4Si8

"Science Fiction Twin" Lyrics:

My science fiction twin Is doing better than expected He captured a little blonde trophy wife Who's really very well connected And when he calls home with his alibi She says "Is this really necessary?" But she knows that a man can't be a man Unless he's punishing his secretary He sips in the glow of a '61 vintage Just as the day is dimming With every intention of surrendering To fifty-foot women Who put the fascination back into my science fiction twin My science fiction twin Decided to become invisible He has my eyes, my face, my voice But he's only happy when I'm miserable The words flew from his mouth And they were gently gathered by reporters Trying to frame his once infamous flame With tattered pictures of her daughter "Her hair is all made out of porcupine Her figure is fantastic" But as you know, they corrupted her So they're being sarcastic To put the fascination back into my science fiction twin He'll scream and shout Everything is working out just as he predicted Pride and position in the gallery of attempted people Oh and the pain is so sweet That he'll stamp his little feet And you'll even have time to pity me How can you feel content? You'll wonder where this fellow went My science fiction twin Escorted by his lovely nieces Filled up his purse dictating verse While painting masterpieces His almost universal excellence Is starting to disturb me They asked how in the world he does all these things And he answered "Superbly" He's trapped in his own parallel dimension That's why I'm so forgiving But how could I possibly forget to mention Those fifty-foot women Who put the fascination back into my science fiction twin

Today's slow drag is with "Stations of the Cross," from "National Ransom," released in 2010. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

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Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA/MFA

Twitter: @slowdragremedy

Email: [email protected]

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, "Stations of the Cross": http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Stations_Of_The_Cross

"Stations of the Cross": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJBEFmaRmug&pbjreload=10

"Elvis Costello on music, religion and the act of writing songs": https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/music/elvis-costello-on-music-religion-and-the-act-of-writing-songs/article1215986/

"Elvis Costello" Guardian Interview after the release of "National Ransom": https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/oct/17/elvis-costello-interview-tim-adams

The 14 Stations of the Cross: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Stations-of-the-Cross

"The Long Term Recovery of New Orleans' Population after Hurricane Katrina": https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4752119/

Slattern, definition: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slattern

"Stations of the Cross" Lyrics

The tempest blows up from a squall Past the Cape of Bad Conscience Into the Gulf of the Cauldron Roars over the coastline to batter and flatten Exposing the roots like the dyed hair of slattern Scrapper and mauler in a rope ring this small Outside the wind is punching There's no one to hear it No one hears the bell ring but the one who comes to fear it And they continue to brawl He's buying his way into heaven I suppose He weeps at the blows But down in a location that we cannot disclose He turns the dial slowly Through the Stations of the Cross Crowd done up dandy In diamonds and finery Baying and howling All bloodlusty calling Fists like pistons Faces like meat spoiling Haul, boys, haul, bully-boys haul Later in the evening Molly and her gunman Go down the stairs to a dive like a dungeon Meanwhile in the backroom there's a girl like a sponge Saying, "Bring him along as a constable's truncheon" The gunman wants Molly to kingdom come Then blows them all to the hereafter Who's scuttling away now and hidden from our view? Who tightened the tourniquet, turning her blue? They're hurling themselves into heaven I suppose Before the gates are closed But down in a location that we cannot disclose They'll turn the dial slowly through the Stations of the Cross The gale of hale laughter Scales up the ivory The black keys of her fine wine descend into the minor Die away breathless Diminishing behind her Haul boys haul, bully-boys haul The water came up to the eaves You'd think that someone had opened a valve It's too soon to stay now and too late to leave So spare your remorse all the way up to Calvary They're hurling themselves into heaven I suppose Before the gates are closed But down in a location that we cannot disclose They turn the dial slowly through the Stations of the Cross

Today's slow drag is with "Glitter Gulch," from "King of America," released in 1986. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello's birth name.

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Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA, MFA

Twitter: @slowdragremedy

Email: [email protected]

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, "Glitter Gulch": http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Glitter_Gulch

"Glitter Gulch": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7bZNShqoVQ

"Glitter Gulch" and Vegas Vic and Vickey: https://www.stripclubconcierge.com/glitter-gulch-las-vegas/

http://vegas4visitors.com/museum/downtown-las-vegas-the-heyday-of-glitter-gulch/

The dismantling of Vegas Vickie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnQDOd1FHBc

"Glitter Gulch" Lyrics

Enter Madam X painted in a shocking pink spangled dress Her teeth are perfect but her mouth is loose Rubbing their hands together she persuades them that it's better to confess Which unpleasant fate they'd like to choose Chorus:Every step might be your last Money signs are in your eyes, sucker You've been taken in this time You might just get out alive if you're lucky All the vultures tuning in to Glitter Gulch Are looking in on you / And they're hungry He stood five feet tall in his elevator shoes and stovepipe hat He was known by several different names Prompted by Madam X he answered all their questions And then after that he said I'm sick and tired of stupid games (Chorus) We've got prizes if you can afford Some small humiliation before you get your reward And I'd rather be an outlaw than an in law to you And to live my life in miserable poverty Than to have to grovel to have some dream home hovel So watch me while I get away with prime time robbery As he enters Madam X he thinks of red raged faces and the sweet greenbacks He climbed upon his honey and he covered her with money As they do their victory dance He thinks I hope they choke upon their laughter tracks We can all go straight to hell while we howl down the whole hotel

Today's slow drag is with "Tart," from "When I was Cruel," released in 2002. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

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Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA, MFA

Twitter: @slowdragremedy

Email: [email protected]

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, "Tart": http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Tart

"Tart": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FnYK0Icf8E

"Do You Always Use a Lip Trill on a Trumpet?": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO6ed7GuQT4

Lip Trill on a Trumpet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tyd5XyFz--k

Trumpet in C – Trills, Vienna Symphonic Library: https://www.vsl.co.at/en/Playing_Techniques/Trumpet_in_C-Trills

"The Arab Seville": https://www.visitasevilla.es/en/route/arab-seville

"Orange Types: Sweet, Bitter, Mandarin": https://harvesttotable.com/oranges_the_basics_there_are/

"Moro Blood Oranges": https://www.froghollow.com/products/organic-moro-blood-oranges

"Ashfield" meaning: https://www.houseofnames.com/ashfield-family-crest

"Tart" Lyrics:

Hear silver trumpets will trill In the Arabic streets of Seville Oranges roll in the gutter And you pick them up And pull back the skin To the red fruit within But the flavor is... Tart And the flavor is...Tart Is it something you crave? And you say that you only feel bitterness When you know it's a lie, lie, lie... Wild with a blackberry bush There were blossoms of cherries to crush There, at the edge of the ashfield tempting fingertips You stain your hands, press too hard They'll color your lips… Chorus: But the flavour is... Tart And the flavour is... Tart Is it something you crave? 'Cos you say that you only feel bitterness Would it kill you to show us a little sweetness? Odd, where nothing else grows It was something like love that she chose Always a creature of habit When pity would do She wore down that heel with no feeling She kept on her shoes (Repeat Chorus) Tart And the flavour is... Tart And the flavour is... Tart And the flavour is... Tart Nylon was hung from a peg And a kohl black seam ran down her leg Fishermen look for their nets And send their regrets The bug lay there broken She spoke, "Is this some kind of joke?" (Repeat Chorus) Tart And the flavour is... / Tart And the flavour is... /Tart And the flavour is... /Tart

Today's slow drag is with "Clubland," from "Trust," released in 1981. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

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Appreciation written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA, MFA

Twitter: @slowdragremedy

Email: [email protected]

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, "Clubland": http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Clubland

"Clubland": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kZXYqc8IL4

How to Jerk | Club Dancing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2zA85C_d6I

"The Jerk" Dance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Owea_NH-6lE

"Clubland" Lyrics:

With a handful of backhanders and a bevy of beauty Going off limits / Going off duty / Going off the rails Going off with booty The telltales of fiction found on all the criminal types Lead to a higher-ranking man or a face with thin red stripes The boys next door The mums and dads New weds and nearly-deads Have you ever been had in Clubland? There's a piece in someone's pocket to do the dirty work You've come to shoot the pony They've come to do the jerk They leave him half way to paradise They leave you half way to bliss The ladies' invitation never seemed like this (Chorus) The long arm of the law slides up the outskirts of town Meanwhile in Clubland they are ready to pull them down Hey The right to work is traded in for the right to refuse admission Don't pass out now, there's no refund Did you find out what you were missing The crowd is taking forty winks minus ten percent You barely get required sleep to go lingering with contemptment Thursday to Saturday Money's gone already Some things come in common these days Your hands and work aren't steady (Chorus)

Today's slow drag is with "Hand in Hand," from "This Year's Model," released in 1978. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

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Written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson, MA, MFA

Twitter: @slowdragremedy

Email: [email protected]

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, "Hand in Hand": http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Hand_In_Hand

"Hand in Hand": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XKgrSY5Mi4

Guardian: Songs that start with the chorus: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/mar/22/readers-recommend-playlist-songs-that-start-with-the-chorus

Quora list of songs that start with the chorus: https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-examples-of-songs-that-begin-with-the-chorus

Bully Boy Idiom: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/bully-boy

"Darling Fascist Bully Boy" from "The Young Ones: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbOlJAU8llY

"Hand in Hand" Lyrics:

No, don't ask me to apologize. I won't ask you to forgive me. If I'm gonna go down, you're gonna come with me You say 'Why don't you be a man about it, like they do in the grown-up movies?' But when it comes to the other way around, you say you just wanna use me.

Oh, you sit and you wonder whether it's gonna be syndicated. You sit with your knees together. All the time your breath is baited. Hand in Hand. No, don't ask me to apologize. I won't ask you to forgive me. If I'm gonna go down, you're gonna come with me Don't you know I got the bully boys out changing someone's facial design, sitting with my toy room lout, polishing my precious china Don't you know I'm an animal? But don't you know I can't stand up steady? But you can't show me any kind of hell that I don't know already. Hand in Hand. No, don't ask me to apologize. I won't ask you to forgive me. If I'm gonna go down, you're gonna come with me Hand in hand, hand in hand, hand in hand...

Today's slow drag is with "Satellite," from "Spike," released in 1989. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello's birth name.

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Written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson Twitter: @slowdragremedy Email: [email protected] Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, "Satellite": http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Satellite

"Satellite": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCj1Fgj28i8

When the WWW opened to the public: https://thenextweb.com/insider/2011/08/06/20-years-ago-today-the-world-wide-web-opened-to-the-public/

Unmask Us: an explanation of Spike songs: https://www.unmask.us/songwriters-c-e/elvis-costello-p3/

1989 interview with Spin Magazine: https://www.spin.com/featured/elvis-costello-spike-may-1989-cover-story-the-man-who-would-be-king/

So, until next time, Adieu, my little ballyhoo

"Satellite" Lyrics

She looked like she learned to dance from a series of still pictures She's madly excited now, she throws her hands up like a tulip She looks like an illustration of a cocktail party Where cartoon bubbles burst in the air Champagne rolls off her tongue like a second language And it should have been her biggest night The satellite looks down on her as she begins to cry All over the world at the very same time, people sharing the same sorrow As the satellite looks down, her darkest hour is somebody's bright tomorrow He pulled on a cigarette, in the crook of his first finger Felt the static electric charge of her perfect hour-glass figure As he undressed her with his eyes, her weakness was his talent How could she know as she stepped through the lights That her dress would become transparent And with his face pressed to the screen, He muttered words he'd never dare to say if she could see him All over the world at the very same time, people sharing the same cheap sensation The thrill of watching somebody watching those forbidden things we never mention The satellite looks down right now and forever What it is pulled apart, let no man tether his own body to his dream, His dream is someone else Oh no, oh no. She went back to a pitiful compromise He'd go back to his family But for the matter of a thousand miles that separated them entirely In the hot unloving spotlight, with the secrets it arouses Now they both know what it's like inside a pornographer's trousers And in a funny way it's anonymous The satellite, it blesses us and makes these dreams come true All over the world at the very same time All over the world The satellite looks down right now and forever What it has pulled apart, let no man tether his own body to his dream, His dream is someone else Oh no, oh no Oh no, oh no

Today's slow drag is with "The Greatest Thing," from "Punch the Clock," released in 1983. The songwriting is credited to Elvis Costello.

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Written, produced, and narrated by Remedy Robinson

Twitter: @slowdragremedy

Email: [email protected]

Podcast music by https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

Rate this Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/slowdrag

References:

Elvis Costello Wiki Resource, "The Greatest Thing": http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/The_Greatest_Thing

"The Greatest Thing": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAizlY5yzd8

"The Greatest Thing" Lyrics:

Everyone stopped when she walked into the room Isn't this the greatest thing Everyone own up but nobody could touch her Isn't this the greatest thing Punch the clock, keep boxing clever You'll be young enough forever Isn't this the greatest Isn't this the greatest thing Isn't this the greatest thing The greatest thing I heard some new confection Said we can't afford to feel affection 'Cos it's the latest thing In and out of matrimony Never once removed the Sony 'Cos it's a status thing So girls like that above described Are not to be so easily bribed With a white frock and a ring Punch the clock and in time you'll get pulled apart When you're married on paper and not in your heart But I won't be told that life with the one you love is sordid Just because some authority says you can't afford it And it's the greatest thing, and it's the greatest thing And it's the greatest thing, and it's the greatest thing Oh, it's the greatest Isn't this the greatest thing Isn't this the greatest thing The greatest thing Since nights were long and days were olden Woman to man has been beholden But since then times have been changing She sends back his tribute of a rose And says this ring is better suited to the nose you're always fingering I punch the clock and it's OK I know a girl who takes my breath away And it's the greatest Isn't this the greatest thing Isn't this the greatest thing The greatest thing, the greatest thing...