Genre(s): Rock, Punk Rock, New Wave.Preamble: Deliberate accidents and the designers who love them.
Look: 1978, first copies of This Year’s Model were deliberately designed to appear misprinted. I thought I was the first person to ever consider something like this (there is nothing new under the sun, Aaron). Legendary graphic designer Colin Fulcher aka Barney Bubbles’ brilliant idea: the printers CMYK bar appears to be left behind shifting the album artwork left cutting off the first two letters of type, “E” and “T”. As serious as Costello looks, Bubbles’ deliberate mishap adds the personal touch of human error. Eventually the album was released with a normal sleeve. Ebay await$ for your original copy!
Listen: “I don’t want to be your lover/I just want to be your victim” Costello wails on “The Beat”, setting the emotional tempo for This Year’s Model. A precursor to synth pop, Costello and company employ radio friendly songs with an underground punk attitude. Punk? Yes. The late 70’s UK underground would’ve lumped Elvis Costello, and The Clash on to the same bill.
“Pump It Up’s” intro base line makes aspiring base players jealous. The addictive nature of this melody is nothing compared to its subject matter. Costello exclaims “She’s like a chemical/though you try to stop it/she’s like a narcotic”. Elvis is a man who appears to hate his love for being in love… tell it to the Long Island Scene, Paco!
Deploying a slur of insults at romantic entanglements, TYM takes us through one man’s revelation into his bad choice of women. “Little Triggers” paints a woman who’s mouth is as dangerous as a gun. “Lip Service” speaks of a girl who dies for compliments, a foible that our protagonist has grown tired of.
Continuing with Elvis' woes, let’s not forget the wonder of “Radio Radio”, venting about his love/hate relationship with the medium of radio: “I wanna bite the hand that feeds me/I wanna bite that hand so badly/I want to make them wish they’d never seen me”.
Speak: Costello, depicted in his trademark oversized glasses and fitted suit, is ready with camera in hand, the fashion photographer snapping shots of “This Year’s Model”. Pretty sraight forward. Not too literal but we’re bordering on such. Like its album, one can gloss over its simplicity without picking up on the little CMYK details.
