69: Armed Forces (with Nick Miller) (Patreon)

Brooklyn-based musician Nick Miller joins the program for a deep dive into the immortal 1979 Elvis Costello and the Attractions album Armed Forces.

Costello and his band recorded Armed Forces after relentlessly touring This Year’s Model in America, absorbing the influences of the only music they listened to on the road (ABBA, Bowie, Kraftwerk and Cheap Trick) for a dark, complex, funny and furious power pop record that regularly equated doomed social and romantic relationships with the rise of Neo-Nazism and racism in Britain, an album that was originally titled Emotional Fascism.

We discuss every track on the UK release of Armed Forces, Costello’s self-destructive response to his sudden success that led to an incident that damaged and nearly derailed his career, why he’s not playing “Oliver’s Army” in concert anymore, and how Costello somehow managed not to become an accidental hero to incels.

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Music video for Accidents Will Happen - Elvis Costello and the Attractions (Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton, 1979)

Senior Service - Elvis Costello and the Attractions on TopPop, (Dutch TV), 1979

“Why a 41-Year-Old Record About Fascism Matters Now” by David A. Graham on Armed Forces, for The Atlantic, November 30, 2020