cleverness for true intelligence and is generally an overwrought confessional about just how difficult it is to be Fall Out Boy, but I think that they're just good enough that there's value there.
And so, apparently, does Elvis Costello, because he loans his voice to "What A Catch, Donnie," one of the singles off of the band's new album Folie A Deux. The track features several other guest vocalists, whose names I don't pretend to know, from peer acts like Gym Class Heroes and Panic at the Disco. The gimmick of the song is that the verse are all lyrics from other FOB songs as sung by the guests. Elvis has a line from "Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bed Bet," another track on Folie that previously made the Internet rounds as "Does Your Husband Know?" The guest spot is about three lines long:
My initial reaction was that "Donnie" was a bit of an uneven mess, and it's still one of the weaker tracks on the album, but there is a method to its madness that I'm just starting to grok.
I will never end up like him
Behind my back, I already am
Keep a calendar, this way you will always know
Elvis's attempts to cover contemporary pop/indie pop are hit or miss, but I'd like to hear him try all of "Cooperstown." It's not a bad song, and has a hint of Costello's biting snark underlying it.
Check out the song below:
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6 comments:
I think it may be a mess lyrically, but I also think it's one of the best fits for Elvis's voice I've heard in a while, I must say...
I agree with you on both counts, Mark. I listened to it a few more times last night and it's still growing on me, but I'm never going to find myself singing along or putting it on a mix tape. But it's Elvis.
Yeah, that's an interesting track. I like EC's contribution, in that it's like his voice and the lyrics just kinda cut through the fog of the rest of the song.
I have a similar relationship with Fall Out Boy, although I've never gone so far as to track down any of their records; it's more an interest in the songs that end up on the radio. I thought "This Ain't A Scene" was a pretty interesting track to end up on top forty.
Please check out Billboard.com's coverage of Elvis Costello at Bonnaroo: http://billboard.blogs.com/festivals/2009/06/bonnaroo-photos-elvis-costello-day-3.html
Hey, I'm probably one of the few people to have met both Elvis AND the Fall Out Boy kids. (I'm in the music video business and worked on clips for both of them). I'm in my 40's, a HUGE Costello fan and had never heard of Fall Out Boy before I worked with them. I'm a full fledged fan now, for one reason. Patrick Stump. He's the singer, (the one with the hat, not the one who married Ashley Simpson), and with all due respect to the rest of the band, this kid is the engine for those guys. He's a huge music fan, knows his history and is really talented. (He plays drums, guitar and sings.) I'm not saying that I KNOW wether he actually does everything by himself in the studio for them, but if someone told me he did I wouldn't be surprised. Mark my words, after FOB's 15 minutes are over, Patrick Stump is gonna' be a musical force. Either as a producer or a solo artist. Really talented kid.
And yes to all of you guys who said Costello should try "Headfirst" as a cover. Great song. One of the best on Fall Out's new record.
So did you get tickets to the Costello show yet? I just got mine the other day, I'm so excited to be going. If you don't have yours yet, I would suggest getting them at ElvisCostelloTickets.org, they sell them for the least amount.
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