Created by Libby Cudmore “I drove home listening to Elvis Costello. It was a Brutal Youth kind of night." All rock stars end up in a plane crash of one kind or another. Sex. drugs. Rock’n’roll. Take your pick. Someone sad that once. In MARTIN WADE’s case, the crash was definitely the drugs (mostly heroin) … Continue reading Martin Wade
Tag: Rock’n'Roll
It’s Only Words: “Watching the Detectives” by Elvis Costello
(1977) Performed by Elvis Costello Words and music by Elvis Costello With its ominous (and immediately recognizable) bass line thumping like an implied threat, and the impressionistic snapshot lyrics swiped from a million private eye tales and films noir, the P.I. is finally here, to deal with the clients "who are ready to hear the … Continue reading It’s Only Words: “Watching the Detectives” by Elvis Costello
It’s Only Words: “The Long Drive” by Hamell on Trial
2000 Performed by Hamell Words and music by Hamell in Trial It’s difficult to pigeon-hole Ed Hamell, who performs as Hamell On Trial. Imagine the foul-mouthed love child of Billy Bragg and Lou Reed doing stand-up—with guitar, and you might come close. This noirish little nightmare, from his 2000 album Choochtown, is a shaggy dog … Continue reading It’s Only Words: “The Long Drive” by Hamell on Trial
It’s Only Words: “Private Investigations” by Dire Straits
1982 Performed by Dire Straits Words and Music by Dire Straits A pretty obvious choice. The unnamed gumshoe in Mark Knopler's bittersweet, downbeat blues from the 1982 album Love Over Gold seems to have had a few too many cases turn out like that of the detective in Ed Hamell’s "The Long Drive." He sits in his … Continue reading It’s Only Words: “Private Investigations” by Dire Straits
Crime Fiction… With GUITARS!
Steve Wynn's Riding Shotgun Review by Kevin Burton Smith Okay, Riding Shotgun by singer/songwriter Steve Wynn is NOT a CD loaded with songs about private eyes. That would be too easy. Still, with its pulpy artwork and the name-dropping of every hard-boiled crime writer from Dashiell Hammettto James Ellroy, you don't have to be a great detective … Continue reading Crime Fiction… With GUITARS!