The 500 - #168 - My Aim Is True - Elvis Costello

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #168
Album Title: My Aim Is True

Artist: Elvis Costello

Genre: New Wave, Punk Rock, Pop Rock, Pub Rock, Power Pop

Recorded: Pathways Studios, London, England

Released: July, 1977

My age at release: 12
How familiar was I with it before this week: Fairly

Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, at #430, dropping 262 spots
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Less Than Zero

My Aim Is True, the 1977 debut release from Elvis Costello (born, Declan Patrick MacManus) is a marvelous collection of short songs inspired by multiple genres, including doo-wop, R&B, rockabilly, power pop, punk rock, blues, jazz and even honky-tonk country. At the time of its release, it would be categorized as part of the burgeoning New Wave genre -- an umbrella term for the synth-pop and alternative dance music that came out of the post-punk in the late ‘70s. However, that term doesn't do justice to the rich musical history that Costello brought his first record.

Born and raised in Twickenham, West London, England, in 1954 to a record shop worker and jazz musician --his father was acclaimed musician, singer and trumpet player Ross MacManus -- young Declan was surrounded by music. In many interviews, Costello said watching his father work gave him "an innate sense of how to be a musician but also an understanding that a career in music was a job like any other, requiring discipline and hard work".

Costello's father, Ross MacManus (1968)

Costello was writing songs on his guitar by age 14 and testing them in front of audiences at unpaid "open mic" events throughout London in the early ‘70s. On the eve of the release of My Aim Is True, he told a reporter that he had written "hundreds of songs". Given his background and work ethic, it isn't surprising that his inaugural record would be a hit critically and commercially. It made it to #14 on the U.K. charts, but went on to become (at the time) the biggest selling import album in U.S. history. In fact, when it was finally released into U.S. markets, Columbia records put up a promotional billboard on the famed Sunset Strip -- a spot typically reserved for bigger, more established acts.

Promotional billboard on Sunset Strip for My Aim Is True (1977)

This is the second of four appearances by Elvis Costello on The 500 list. In June, 2019, I wrote about his third record, Armed Forces (#475). As I mentioned in that post, I was aware of Costello's music and considered purchasing this record in 1980. However, my developing tastes took me in a different direction and, despite knowing many of his songs, I didn't buy his catalogue. However, I have taken the opportunity as an adult to delve into his work and come to appreciate this talented singer, songwriter, producer and author.

Costello's memoir - Unfaithful Music &
Disappearing Ink. (2015).

He even became a television personality. From 2008-2010 he hosted a series I loved called Spectacle: Elvis Costello with... which featured interviews with  an eclectic list of musicians, including many who appear on The 500 (Elton John, Lou Reed, The Police and Bruce Springsteen, to name a few). The interviews were punctuated with performances by Costello and his guests -- separately and together.

Spectacle: Elvis Costello with... was a 20 episode
television program that aired 2008 - 2010.

My favourite discovery on Less Than Zero was learning that Costello penned the reggae-influenced protest song after seeing  British fascist Oswald Mosley being interviewed on television. In the liner notes to the record, Costello wrote:

"Less Than Zero was a song I had written after seeing the despicable Oswald Mosley being interviewed on BBC television. The former leader of the British Union of Fascists seemed unrepentant about his poisonous actions of the 1930s. The song was more of a slandering fantasy than a reasoned argument."

The chorus served as a warning to British youth who, at the time, were being influenced by far right, white nationalist types like Mosely through the media. I can't help but draw comparisons to the resurgence of white nationalism, fascism and toxic masculinity among young men that, fueled by social media, we are witnessing today. It is something that educators have been recognizing for some time. There is a crisis brewing for young men in our culture and we need to address it soon. However, that is a discussion for a future blog. Perhaps when we return to Mr. Costello in a couple of weeks with Imperial Bedroom (1982), which appears at #166 on The 500 list.

White Nationalist protestors at the Charlottesville, Virgina
"Unite The Right" rally, August, 2017.