My 100 Favorite Charted Pop Songs: Everyday I Write the Book

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Just 22 days into this massive countdown the mismatches have already been so frequent and downright odd I just shrug. I’m sure that you do, too. This probably sounds odd next to any country song, but hey, what can I say. Here it is. Everyday I Write the Book - Elvis Costello and the Attractions It’s not as odd as you think, because Elvis Costello actually did a “country” album of sorts (1981’s Almost Blue), which a friend of mine described as “the punk era version of Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music.” Pretty accurate, because Costello singing “A Good Year for the Roses” was probably a lot of folks’ introduction to that great George Jones tune. Costello has a brilliant knack of reinventing himself more times than David Bowie did. He’s done the country album and an album with Burt Bacharach, all while maintaining his reputation as the poet laureate of the punk/new wave era. Here he has an almost R&B song about dysfunctional romance (and this song came out in 1983, so you can make what you will of the Charles and Di lookalikes in the video ) compared to a novel. There’s only one “real” Elvis, but this one is pretty darn good, too. Everyday I Write the Book Written by Elvis Costello Recorded by Elvis Costello and the Attractions From Punch the Clock, 1983 Peak chart position: #36 Today’s country song: “The Country Hall of Fame” I’d still own the film rights: