Elvis Costello’s debut album, My Aim Is True, is a recognized classic. Most people know several songs from it, but even after his long and remarkable career, I’m not sure he ever made a better album.
One of its most overlooked songs is “Less Than Zero,” Costello’s debut single. He wrote it after seeing British fascist Oswald Mosley interviewed on television and becoming furious as Mosley tried to distance himself from his racist past. The song turns that anger into something slow, catchy and quietly sinister.
Costello arrived during the punk wave and was treated as part of it. Maybe he was; maybe he wasn’t. But his 1977 Saturday Night Live appearance was pure punk attitude. He started “Less Than Zero,” stopped after a few seconds and switched without permission to “Radio Radio.”
I bought My Aim Is True the following day at Galaxy Records in Livermore. Ahh, good times at the record store.
If you listened closely in 1977, you may remember this one. If not, give it a listen.