Chicago Music Exchange | 4 years ago
The CME House Band pumps it up for Full Band Friday with this unmasked blast from the past, a Costello classic perfect for showing off a few of our favorite candy-coated offsets and psychedelic Satin Flame finish Gretsch drums. That’s that. We don’t want to chitter-chat. Let’s pump it up already!
The song was intended as a commentary on the Stiffs Live Tour, which Costello had participated in. The tour had been notable for its debauchery; Ian Dury's "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll" served as the setlist's official closing song. Costello later said of the lyrics, "It was a satire. If you listen to the lyrics, it kind of goes against the grain of hedonism". He later said, "Well, just how much can you f*ck, how many drugs can you do before you get so numb you can't really feel anything?"
Musically, the song was inspired by Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues"; in his 2015 autobiography Unfaithful Music and Disappearing Ink, Costello explained,
The song was recorded quickly; bassist Bruce Thomas recalled, "We literally did the best tracks on [This Year's Model]—"Pump It Up", "Chelsea"—in one afternoon. It was like Motown. We'd just go in, play them, and that was it". Costello later said of the track, "I think 'Pump It Up' is a pretty good rock & roll record, of that simple sort of thing, and it's good fun to play". The band had asked Mick Jones of the Clash to perform on the song, but rumors of Costello attempting to "poach" Jones to be a guitarist for the Attractions limited his involvement to the B-side of the single, "Big Tears".
Check out CME exclusive Jazzmasters here: https://bit.ly/318wxub
Check out more Fender here: https://bit.ly/3k89O9e
Featuring Nathaniel Murphy, Mike Hussa, Mike Larsen and Shelby Pollard.
More Chicago Music Exchange:
Instagram - https://bit.ly/3gdPSSV
Twiter - https://bit.ly/2RuYOci
Facebook - https://bit.ly/3e4FI4C
Pinterest - https://bit.ly/3ea3BHZ
Check out our Giveaways page to win gear! - https://www.chicagomusicexchange.com/pages/giveaways
#PumpItUp #ElvisCostello #ChicagoMusicExchange #FullBandCover #CoverBand #Guitar
