Line #24 Music/MyAimIsTrue


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/9f1d438dce5fac3a8cf342cc170439b2.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:''"Oh, I used to be disgusted/And now I try to be amused..."'']]
3
4	''My Aim Is True'' is the debut album from Music/ElvisCostello, released in 1977. The album consisted mainly of songs that he had written while with his former band, Flip City, and brought to his audition at Stiff Records, along with some newly composed material. His backing band for the album was [[UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco the Bay Area's]] Clover, essentially Music/HueyLewisAndTheNews without Huey Lewis.
5
6	!!Tracklist
7
8	[[AC:Side One]]
9	# "Welcome To The Working Week" (1:22)
10	# "Miracle Man" (3:31)
11	# "No Dancing" (2:39)
12	# "Blame It On Cain" (2:49)
13	# "Alison" (2:54)
14	# "Sneaky Feelings" (2:09)
15
16	[[AC:Side Two]]
17	# "(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes" (2:47)
18	# "Less Than Zero" (3:15)
19	# "Mystery Dance" (1:38)
20	# "Pay It Back" (2:33)
21	# "I'm Not Angry" (2:57)
22	# "Waiting For The End Of The World" (3:22)
23
24	----
25	!! Bonus Track (from the original American release and all CD versions):
26	# "Watching the Detectives" (3:42)
27
28	!! ''Don't you think that I know that troping on water won't make me a miracle man?'':
29	* AlbumTitleDrop: "Alison":
30	-->''Alison, I know this world is killing you''\
31	''Alison, '''my aim is true'''.''
32	* AlliterativeTitle: "'''W'''elcome to the '''W'''orking '''W'''eek" and "'''M'''iracle '''M'''an".
33	* AltarTheSpeed: "Waiting For The End of the World":
34	-->"Hiding from a scandal in the national press\
35	They had been trying to get married since they stole the wedding dress"
36	* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: "Miracle Man":
37	-->''Why do you have to say that there's always someone who can do it better than I can?''\
38	''But don't you think that I know that walking on water''\
39	''Won't make me a miracle man?''
40	* ArgentinaIsNaziland: "Less Than Zero", a TakeThat at former British fascist leader Oswald Mosley:
41	-->''She says, "I hear that South America is coming into style."''
42	* AtLeastIAdmitIt: The chorus to "Alison" seems to translate to "I know the world will break your heart, but I'll be more forthright about it than the rest."
43	* BeYourself: From "Pay It Back":
44	-->"And I tried so hard just to be myself\
45	But I keep on fading away"
46	* BigWhy: "Welcome to the Working Week" has a repeated one:
47	--> ''All you gotta tell me now is why why why why''
48	* TheChikan: "Waiting for the End of the World":
49	-->''And then they shut down the power all along the line''\
50	''And we got stuck in the tunnel where no lights shine''\
51	''They got to touching all the girls who were too scared to call out''\
52	''Nobody was saying anything at all''
53	* DeliberatelyMonochrome: The cover photos.
54	* EarlyBirdCameo: The album was recorded before Elvis had formed the Attractions, but Attractions keyboardist Steve Nieve plays on "Watching the Detectives".
55	* FaceOnTheCover: Elvis featured central on the album cover, playing guitar.
56	* GenreRoulette: Costello shows stylistic versatility already. "No Dancing" has a Music/PhilSpector sound and is in fact one of many rock songs to use the slow, echoey drumbeat from the Ronettes' "Be My Baby". "I'm Not Angry" is punky hard rock. "Alison" is country-influenced. "Mystery Dance" is a rockabilly number that takes its cue from [[Music/ElvisPresley the other Elvis]]' "Jailhouse Rock".
57	* TheLoinsSleepTonight: Male sexual inadequacy, [[MostWritersAreMale for various reasons]], has never been a big topic in rock music, but it's all over this album.
58	* LyricalColdOpen: "Welcome to the Working Week" and "Mystery Dance".
59	* MinisculeRocking: "Welcome to the Working Week" and "Mystery Dance" are both well under two minutes.
60	* OneManSong: "Miracle Man".
61	* OneWomanSong: "Alison"
62	* PageThreeStunna: The line "your picture's in the paper being [[UnusualEuphemism rhythmically admired]]" from "Welcome to the Working Week".
63	* PoliceBrutality: "Watching the Detectives":
64	-->''They beat him up until the teardrops start''\
65	''But he can't be wounded cos he's got no heart.''
66	* RecordProducer: Music/NickLowe, Costello's usual producer in the early years.
67	* TheScapegoat: "Blame It on Cain" asserts "It's nobody's fault, but we need somebody to burn."
68	* ShoutOut:
69	** The squares on the cover bear the dual meaning declaration "Music/{{Elvis\| Presley}} is king!"
70	** Theatre/{{Romeo and Juliet}} appear in the first verse of "Mystery Dance".
71	* TakeThat: "Less Than Zero" was written as a scathing criticism of former British Union of Fascists leader Oswald Mosley, who Costello saw on TV attempting to deny that he was a racist. Because "Oswald" was more widely associated in America with UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy's assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, Costello wrote a second "Dallas version" for Stateside performances that similarly jabbed at him. In the liner notes to Creator/RhinoRecords' reissue of the album, Costello elaborated on the subject matter and his views on Mosley:
72	-->"Less Than Zero" was a song I had written after seeing the despicable Oswald Mosley being interviewed on BBC television. The former leader of the British Union of Fascists seemed unrepentant about his poisonous actions of the 1930s. The song was more of a slandering fantasy than a reasoned argument.

Context Music / MyAimIsTrue