Elvis Costello, the British punk who’s never been one to hold his tongue, has launched a new initiative called 50 Songs For 50 Days. The playlist will see the pub rocker add one of his songs to a playlist each day leading up to the United States Presidential Election on November 3rd.
This latest initiative comes as Costello is preparing for the release of his 31st album, Hey Clockface, on October 30th. Costello has already shared four singles, including “No Flag“, “We’re All Cowards Now”, “Phonographic Memory“, and “Hey Clockface/How Can You Face Me?”.
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The series began on Tuesday and was announced via a post on the new wave artist’s Facebook page, where he quoted the lyrics from a song he wrote for a musical adaption of Budd Schulberg‘s story, “A Face In The Crowd”. The musical was supposed to hit the stage recently, but has been permanently delayed due to the pandemic. The story was made into a film back in 1957 starring Andy Griffith, and tells the tale of a radio personality turn politician who runs on a populist platform.
“If you’re tired of the lies of politicians and of preachers/You can place your trust in me, help me be your brother’s keeper/If you pay too many taxes, think salvation should be cheaper/Just say ‘Blood and Hot Sauce’,” Costello wrote on Facebook.
In addition to an accompanying Spotify playlist, the 50 Songs For 50 Days initiative will also see Costello posting various lyrics on website. Costello noted that most of the lyrics come from 1977–2020 and most of them were written by him, some of which have never been released. So far, the series has included “…This Town…” from 1989’s Spike, “Waiting For The End Of The World” from his 1977 debut My Aim Is True, and Thursday’s “Why Can’t A Man Stand Alone” from the 1996 album All This Useless Beauty.
Today’s lyrics read, “Must he be burdened by all that he’s taught to consider his own?/His skin and his station, his kin and his crown, his flag and his nation/They just weigh him down.”
Follow the 50 Songs For 50 Days playlist from Elvis Costello, and keep up on the lyrics via his website.
Elvis Costello – 50 Songs For 50 Days (Playlist)
[H/T Brooklyn Vegan]
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