2368. “Pills and Soap” by Elvis Costello
Live:
While 1983’s Punch The Clock surely couldn’t be considered Costello’s worst album, its not my favorite. Indeed, while I own several songs from this album (notably his first American Top 40 hit, “Everyday I Write The Book”), I have never felt the need to own the whole thing.
There are a few outstanding songs on Punch The Clock, notably the aggresively anti-Thatcher “Pills and Soap.” Released “days before the British General Election in June 1983″ under the psuedonym The Imposter, “Pills and Soap” is a horrifying vision of a world where the children of the poor are killed to make luxury items for the wealthy. The fact that Costello sings it with something more akin to repressed outrage than out and out fury just makes it more powerful. He’s accompanied only by a drum machine and some fantastic piano work by Attraction pianist, Steve Nieve.
While we are aware that there is such a thing as class in the United States, we’re not always conscious of it the way that the English are. Lords and ladies, kings and queens are all romantic fantasies for us. Thus, I don’t think we in the U.S., as a culture, quite comprehend how different the social structure is in the U.K. This song, perhaps, gives a little bit of an insight into that.
Regardless, this is one of Costello’s more powerful tunes from the early 80’s and is worth a few moments of your time.