"My Aim is True" Turns 40

22 July 1977 to 22 July 2017

"It was rather like recording in a telephone booth. Overdubs were barely an option. Everything is heard pretty much as it was played."

--Elvis Costello, via Twitter on July 22nd

L.I.N.K.S. (XVI): MAIT Turns 40

In this edition of L.I.N.K.S. (hyperlinks that Lure, Intrigue, Nurture, Kindle, or Stimulate), we focus on the 40th anniversary of the release of "My Aim Is True," Elvis Costello's debut album.

"Recorded in four six-hour late-night sessions in a London eight-track studio, My Aim Is True was the debut album by the audaciously named soon-to-be 22-year-old singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, née Declan Patrick McManus. Produced by Nick Lowe, former bassist for the pub-rock band Brinsley Schwarz and a labelmate on the cheeky upstart indie Stiff Records, it reportedly cost a mere £2,000 to make, and was released in the U.K. on July 22, 1977."

--Best Classic Bands

My favorite links:

1. Paste features Elvis saying he’s actually not angry as angrily as humanly possible

2. Billboard does the impossible and ranks the album's tracks

3. Trunkworthy pays homage to a track that didn't make the album

4. Treblezine focuses on the artist's professed motives of revenge and guilt

And finally,

5. Spill takes the story to a personal level, drawing from the recent Costello autobiography

“I’ve always told people that I wrote ‘Alison’ after seeing a beautiful checkout girl at the local supermarket,” writes Costello in Unfaithful Music on perhaps the most well-known song on My Aim is True; after all the album takes its name from a line in the song. 

“Now she was punching in the prices on cans of beans at a cash register and looking as if all the hopes and dreams of her youth were draining away. All that would be left would soon be squandered to a ruffian who told her convenient lies and trapped her still further.”

Happy PhilosFX Day!

Happy PhilosFX Day!

At midnight GMT (8 pm Eastern) between 6 and 7 Aug, we ended 7 years of blogging and started year 8. Thanks for coming along for the ride!

Word of the Day #2: Ultracrepidarian

By © Jorge Royan / http://www.royan.com.ar, CC BY-SA 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19101824

1. The Word of the Day is

Ultracrepidarian

[uhl-truh-krep-i-dair-ee-uhn]

2. Ultracrepidarian is defined as:

adjective: Giving opinions beyond one's area of expertise.

noun: One who gives opinions beyond one's area of expertise.

From Latin ultra (beyond) + crepidarius (shoemaker), from crepida (sandal).
The meaning of this word comes from a story in antiquity, in which the famed Greek painter Apelles one day heard a cobbler criticizing the way he, Apelles, had rendered a foot in a painting. Apelles then said that when it comes to feet, the shoemaker "shouldn’t render an opinion beyond the sole," or similar words to that same devastating effect.  Zing!

3. The reason I looked up today's word is:

There are times when we need a word, the perfect word, to describe and disarm a person who gets on our very last nerve.

"I dream of a world where we can sort out our differences by calling someone names instead of pulling out a gun and shooting." --Anu Garg

4. For more information:

Polite words for impolite people: https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/polite-words-for-impolite-people/ultracrepidarian

Shockingly precise insults: https://wordsmith.org/words/ultracrepidarian.html

Keep trying!

A close friend of mine recently shared the following observation.

Just re-watched the movie Ratatouille yesterday with the kiddos and was struck again at how profound this quote at the end is (from the food critic Anton Ego) and wanted to share it:

Anton Ego, voiced by Peter O'Toole in the Pixar movie, Ratatouille

"In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so."

Even if one is not familiar with the Oscar-winning movie, the droll and dreary character's comment strikes a certain nerve. In this scene, Anto Ego realizes that his power comes from passing judgement (often harshly) on the creative efforts of others. I believe he has something of an epiphany: 

Not everyone can be great, 

but greatness can come from anyone.   

Keep trying! The world is full of critics, and let's just agree that critics have their place in the world. But who are the critics, really, without the creators? Ask yourself this: do we need more critics, or more creators? 

When you go to a restaurant, a play, a concert, or a movie, you are a consumer. As a consumer, you should feel free to form your own opinion about the performance. There is no accounting for taste, so if you don't like the expensive wine, don't buy it.  

But what really matters in this world is not what you consume, nor what you or others think about the offered goods. What matters is what you produce! What are you good at doing? What can you offer? And here is where I must say, "Don't pay attention to the critics!" Pay attention to what you are here to do: Create. Produce. Add value. 

You will only hear the voices of critics if you are actually doing something. You will only get complaints if you are making a difference. Strive for the adulation of critics and the loyalty of customers, and learn from the reactions, good and bad. At the end of the day, the world needs more producers than consumers.  

Keep trying! 

That Moment When #7: Alarm Clock

That moment when your 5:30 alarm goes off and you get mad at yourself for even setting an alarm on Saturday and you go back to sleep and it's Tuesday.

Choir! Choir! Choir! Rufus Wainwright and 1500 singers sing Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah

I love everything about this music video: the song itself, the crowd, the production--everything. Please click HERE and enjoy immensely.

Word of the Day #1: Meretricious

The Word of the Day is:

Meretricious

adjective  mer·e·tri·cious \ˌmer-ə-ˈtri-shəs\

The definition of today's word is:

1. 1:  of or relating to a prostitute :  having the nature of prostitution meretricious relationships
2. 2a :  tawdrily and falsely attractivethe paradise they found was a piece of meretricious trash — Carolyn Seeb :  superficially (see superficial 2) significant :  pretentiousscholarly names to provide fig-leaves of respectability for meretricious but stylish books — The Times Literary Supplement (London)

And the reason we looked this word up today is:

The Mom Who Hosted Naked Twister Also Allegedly Took A ‘Multi-Party’ Bubble Bath With Teens

What is this WORLD coming to?