# Your favorite Elvis Costello song **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 24, 2015, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-elvis-costello-song/735673 "2015-10-24T23:57:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-elvis-costello-song/735673/41 "2015-10-25T21:51:21Z")
God’s Comic comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-elvis-costello-song/735673/42 "2015-10-25T22:00:22Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > He didn’t write that. Good catch. Who wrote your user name? 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-elvis-costello-song/735673/43 "2015-10-25T23:11:53Z")
“Accidents Happen”. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-elvis-costello-song/735673/44 "2015-10-26T00:46:22Z")
I saw Elvis in Seattle a few months ago. He played pretty much every song mentioned above. Good show. BTW: Alison ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-elvis-costello-song/735673/45 "2015-10-26T05:48:03Z")
Sorry, I hope this isn’t threadshitting. But I couldn’t possibly pick a favorite Elvis Costello song. I don’t love \*all \*of them, but I love far too many of them to possibly pick a favorite. Hell, every single song on “Get Happy” alone would be battling it out for the top spot, along with many, many others. (Favorite album, I might be able to whittle it down, but it would still be tough) ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-elvis-costello-song/735673/46 "2015-10-26T10:25:11Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > No he didn’t, that would be to undervalue the wonderful writer I’m a songwriter. If Elvis Costello were to cover one of my songs, then someone were to say that that song was their favorite Elvis Costello song …I’d feel pretty damned highly valued. The OP didn’t ask for best songs written by Elvis Costello, so there’s no reason to remove covers from the selection. **What the … !!!** wasn’t even the first person in the Thread to name a cover song, **Baron Greenback** mentioned “She” in post #8. I’d imagine Nick Lowe is reasonably proud of Costello’s version of the song. Hell, not only did Lowe produce it but he originally released it with the artist credit as “Nick Lowe and His Sound”. The arrangement pretty much matches up with Lowe’s original version with Brinsley Schwarz. The fact that it stands out so much can certainly be credited to the personal flare of the performers. The same can be said of “I Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down”, “I Stand Accused”, and all of the _Almost Blue_ album and _Kojack Variety_. Hell, years ago I started a Thread here to see if anyone knew anything about Australian band Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons specifically because I so loved Elvis Costello’s cover of their song “So Young”. I would even count “So Young” among my favorite Elvis Costello songs despite the fact that he didn’t write it. I fucking love that recording of that song! ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-elvis-costello-song/735673/47 "2015-10-26T10:48:45Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I couldn’t possibly name just one. > > 30 or 40, perhaps, but not just one. > mmm > [@Frank](#): > > Well, sure. But there’s got to be one that when it pops up on the radio or on your playlist, that you sigh, “Ah, yes.” > > Doesn’t there? OK, OK, but I’m doing this under protest… Right now it would be **American without Tears** : > [@](#): > > Now I’m in America and running from you > Like my grandfather before me walked the streets of New York > And I think of all the women I pretend mean more than you > When I open my mouth and I can’t seem to talk mmm ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-elvis-costello-song/735673/48 "2015-10-26T10:52:18Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > I’d imagine Nick Lowe is reasonably proud of Costello’s version of the song. Hell, not only did Lowe produce it but he originally released it with the artist credit as “Nick Lowe and His Sound”. Well, Lowe and Costello have been best mates for 30 years, there were on the same label, same influences, etc. It’s not his song. The OP didn’t ask for best performance. Other than that, not worth arguing over. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-elvis-costello-song/735673/49 "2015-10-26T11:22:09Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > It’s not his song. The OP didn’t ask for best performance. One can say that about any singer who performs a song they didn’t write. Or that they only wrote the music or the lyrics for. I really think that’s pressing the point. Yes, in my opinion, Elvis’ covers of songs other people wrote and/or performed count as his songs. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-elvis-costello-song/735673/50 "2015-10-26T11:29:31Z")
I think I’ll continue to call those ‘covers’. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-elvis-costello-song/735673/51 "2015-10-26T12:02:34Z")
Don’t think it has been mentioned yet, but there was a long while that Radio Sweetheart was WAY up there in my pantheon of ALL songs. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-elvis-costello-song/735673/52 "2015-10-26T12:48:30Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Yes, in my opinion, Elvis’ covers of songs other people wrote and/or performed count as his songs. > [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > I think I’ll continue to call those ‘covers’. You’re just being dense on purpose. Nobody is saying they aren’t covers. _Nobody_ is saying they aren’t covers. Seriously. Would you rush into a “Your Favorite Frank Sinatra Song?” Thread just to say “Frank Sinatra song? What the hell is this Thread about? There is no such thing as a Frank Sinatra song! How can you people have a Thread about something that is completely nonexistent!?!?” Elvis Costello’s recording of “(What’s So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding” is an Elvis Costello recording …of a song. The recording is an Elvis Costello recording, the performance is an Elvis Costello performance _of a song_ thus, in casual conversation, an Elvis Costello song- in _exactly_ the same way that “My Way” is a Frank Sinatra song. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-elvis-costello-song/735673/53 "2015-10-26T13:02:43Z")
No, it’s not the same at all. Nick Lowe is an artist, previously in groups more recently as a soloist. Even if he’s not well known in your world he is in mine. He performs his own songs. His friend Elvis Costello covers one of Nick’s songs, just as Nick Lowe occasionally covers an Elvis song. By all means look at it another way, but preferably not by using Frank Sinatra. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-elvis-costello-song/735673/54 "2015-10-26T13:06:03Z")
To be fair, it’s possible to distinguish between a _song_, which is what songwriters write, and a _recording_ or _performance_ of a song. The Grammys make this distinction in awarding “Song of the Year” and “Record of the Year.” Since Elvis Costello is renowned both as a songwriter and as a recording artist, it’s possible to interpret the “favorite song” that the thread asks for in either of these ways. The OP didn’t specify which he had in mind, but his quoting of lyrics makes it reasonable to think he was looking for “songs written by EC.” ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-elvis-costello-song/735673/55 "2015-10-26T13:22:57Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > The OP didn’t specify which he had in mind He didn’t specify in the OP but he did clarify later in the Thread that any songs recorded suffice for the Thread. And, **up\_the\_junction** , why would you think that Nick Lowe isn’t known on this board? _Especially_ in a Thread about Elvis Costello!? I’d wager that at least 90% of the people in this Thread know who Nick Lowe is. Not only do I have his solo albums, I have all of the Brinsley Schwarz albums as well a wonderful cover of his song “Battlefield” by Nanci Griffith and the beautiful cover of “The Beast in Me” by Johnny Cash. Nick Lowe is doing pretty damned well for himself and I’m confused as to why you feel like he needs you White Knighting for him. ETA: Oh, and I forgot: I also have the Little Village album. Sometimes I forget about that one because it is surprisingly sucky given the immense heapings of musical talent that went into it. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-elvis-costello-song/735673/56 "2015-10-26T15:28:03Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > Nick Lowe is doing pretty damned well for himself and I’m confused as to why you feel like he needs you White Knighting for him. Yeah, I figger it is just a matter of time before Rockpile takes off! :rolleyes: (Maybe we should talk about favorite Dave Edmunds tune - tho I’m not sure how many of the would be considered “his”! ;)) ---
**Author:** ![strangecurrencies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@strangecurrencies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/strangecurrencies)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-elvis-costello-song/735673/57 "2015-10-26T16:26:47Z")
I like All this Useless Beauty. And his new memoir is really good by the way. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-elvis-costello-song/735673/58 "2015-10-26T16:55:55Z")
I’ll be diplomatic and choose _(What’s So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding_ as my favorite Elvis Costello _cover_ song, and _Radio, Radio_ as the favorite original. As **bienville** suggested, as a Costello fan I’m quite familiar with Nick Lowe’s work and love him as a songwriter, but the Brinsley Schwarz version doesn’t come close to Elvis’ turbocharged recording. Same with _Radio, Radio_, so much energy, and I especially like the way he really did bite the hand that fed him when he unexpectedly performed the song unannounced on SNL, which was very bold. ---
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-elvis-costello-song/735673/59 "2015-10-26T19:39:09Z")
By a smidgen, “High Fidelity” and “Party Girl”. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-elvis-costello-song/735673/60 "2015-10-26T22:16:06Z")
I’m going to offer up a half-cover, just to complicate things (as if that needs to happen … ). This is a staggering piece of work, really wonderfully assisted by The Attractions and Elvis. It’s a female interpretation of an Elvis composition that walks the line between obsession and plain mental illness. I encourage you to give it a go: I Want You: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiOmhOumh-w](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiOmhOumh-w) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-elvis-costello-song/735673.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-elvis-costello-song/735673.md?page=4)