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In the latest in a recurring series on the albums of Elvis Costello, Scott Bunn, the author of the wonderful Recliner Notes blog, joins me from Asheville, North Carolina for an in-depth discussion of EC’s final album for Columbia Records before the breakup of his band The Attractions, Blood & Chocolate.

After a creative low point in the wake of the end of his first marriage, and with a dysfunctional band who were nearing their end, Costello roared back in 1986 with both King of America and Blood & Chocolate, the latter a strange, loud rock record about breakups, jealousy, infidelity and increasingly psychotic cuck fantasies, set against an apocalyptic world spinning off its axis.

We go track by track into the album; along the way we discuss the role his new partner Cait O’Riordan played in its creation and the various personae Costello inhabits on the record, including his alter-ego Napoleon Dynamite (yes, that name derives from this album, though unacknowledged by the film’s director).

Patrons of the Junk Filter podcast can access additional exclusive episodes every month: some of our notable previous guests include Jared Yates Sexton, David Roth, Bryan Quinby, Alex Shephard, and Jacob Bacharach. More to come! Sign up at https://www.patreon.com/junkfilter

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"I Want You" - Fiona Apple (live with Costello’s band), 2006