Editing This Year's Model (section)

==Music and lyrics==
{{quote box|quote=''This Year's Model'' is a collection of songs that focused as much on Costello's recent success as on his by now patented emotional self-lacerations. Musically it seethed with tension, and this fitted the obsessive elements of the majority of the songs.{{nbsp}}... Through the music, twitching and stuttering in a series of drum bursts, rents of organ and guitar arcs, the songs breathed as if through a gas mask – tight, controlled, afraid to splutter, claustrophobic, yet with a clear view of what was happening.{{sfn|Clayton-Lea|1999|loc=chap. 2}}|source=—Tony Clayton-Lea, ''Elvis Costello: A Biography''|width=30%|align=right|style=padding:8px;}}
In the 2002 liner notes, Costello mentioned [[the Rolling Stones]]' ''[[Aftermath (Rolling Stones album)|Aftermath]]'' (1966) as a major influence on ''This Year's Model''.{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}}<ref name="2002 liner notes" /> Musically, the album embraces several styles, including [[New wave music|new wave]],<ref name="punknews.org" /><ref name="PasteBestof">{{Cite web |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/09/the-best-new-wave-albums.html |title=The 50 Best New Wave Albums |last1=Jackson |first1=Josh |last2=Martin |first2=Garrett |date=8 September 2016 |website=[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]] |access-date=27 December 2017 |archive-date=1 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171001214341/https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/09/the-best-new-wave-albums.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Sexton |first=Paul |title='This Year's Model': New Wave 1978-Style From Elvis Costello |url=https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/elvis-costello-this-years-model-album/ |website=uDiscoverMusic |access-date=1 March 2022 |date=17 March 2021 |archive-date=24 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224000707/https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/elvis-costello-this-years-model-album/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[power pop]],{{sfn|Borack|2007|p=190}} [[punk rock]],{{sfn|Bonomo|Marcus|Whitman Prenshaw|2012|p=85}} [[garage rock]],<ref name="Segretto 2022">{{cite book|title=33 1/3 Revolutions Per Minute - A Critical Trip Through the Rock LP Era, 1955–1999|first=Mike|last=Segretto|date=2022|chapter= 1979|page= 364|publisher=Backbeat|isbn=9781493064601|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jtNtEAAAQBAJ}}</ref> and [[pop rock]];<ref name="Bray CoS" /> St. Michael also recognised references to [[Merseybeat]] and [[Glam rock|glam]].{{sfn|St. Michael|1986|loc=chap. 3}} According to biographer Tony Clayton-Lea, rather than reusing the [[rockabilly]] and [[Country music|country]] sounds of ''My Aim Is True'', ''This Year's Model'' opts for straightforward [[Pop music|pop]] music "as influenced by punk rock".{{sfn|Clayton-Lea|1999|loc=chap. 2}} [[AllMusic]] editor [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]], on the other hand, defines the album as pure punk, with music that is "nervous, amphetamine-fueled, [and] nearly paranoid".<ref name="AllMusic" />

In a contemporary interview with ''[[Creem]]'' magazine, Costello said the record contained less humour than its predecessor: "It's more vicious overall but far less personal, though."{{sfn|Clayton-Lea|1999|loc=chap. 2}} Referencing technologies of mass control, from corporate logos to night rallies, Hinton writes that the lyrics are "strongly visual, as befits the voyeurism which fuels many of the songs".{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}} References to objects such as cameras, films and telephones are present throughout many tracks, in both positive and negative lights, which the author David Gouldstone argues creates a disillusioned world where greed and revenge are dominant. Like the cover artwork itself, the mechanical imagery emphasises observation rather than participation. Themes of uncertainty between reality and artifice previously emerged on "Watching the Detectives", and appear throughout ''This Year's Model'' on tracks such as "Pump It Up", "[[This Year's Girl (song)|This Year's Girl]]" and "Living In Paradise".{{sfn|Gouldstone|1989|loc=chap. 3}} The author James E. Perone interprets songs like "[[Lipstick Vogue]]", "(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea" and "This Year's Girl" as relating to Costello's former job working at cosmetics and perfume company [[Elizabeth Arden, Inc.|Elizabeth Arden]].{{sfn|Perone|2015|p=6}}

Some reviewers identified themes of [[misogyny]]. In 1978, the writer [[Jon Pareles]] found the album "so wrong-headed, so full of hatred, [and] so convinced of its moral superiority" in ''[[Crawdaddy (magazine)|Crawdaddy]]'' magazine.<ref name="Crawdaddy">{{cite magazine|last=Pareles|first=Jon|author-link=Jon Pareles|title=Below the Belt|magazine=[[Crawdaddy (magazine)|Crawdaddy]]|issue=85|date=June 1978|page=70}}</ref> Drawing comparisons to ''Aftermath''{{'s}} similar lyrical content,{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}} ''[[Sounds (magazine)|Sounds]]'' magazine's [[Jon Savage]] said that "at least on occasion Elvis has the grace to make clear that it's a two-way process and {{em|he's}} at fault. Just wanna be your victim{{nbsp}}...".<ref name="Sounds" /> Costello himself later wrote in the 2002 reissue's liner notes that he never understood the misogynistic accusations, believing they "clearly contained more sense of disappointment than disgust".<ref name="2002 liner notes" /> Costello's failure to succeed romantically is the focal point of most of the relationships described in the album.{{sfn|Clayton-Lea|1999|loc=chap. 2}} ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' writer [[Kit Rachlis]] agreed, stating that all romances on the album are over or are about to commence, including a situation where he is unsure of whether to answer the phone or not ("No Action") or coming to terms after rejecting all compromises ("Lipstick Vogue").<ref name="Rachlis RS" />

===Side one===
[[File:Rolling Stones 1967.jpg|thumb|alt=The Rolling Stones in 1967|Several tracks on ''This Year's Model'' are influenced by [[the Rolling Stones]] ''(pictured in 1967)''; Costello himself cited their album ''[[Aftermath (Rolling Stones album)|Aftermath]]'' (1966) as a major influence.]]
"No Action" begins with Costello's solo voice.{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}} The lyrics detail the regret of a failed relationship. Gouldstone said that the song is the first example of Costello's use of "thematic punning", meaning the incorporation of references that indirectly relate to the song's main subject; "No Action", in this case, uses a telephone as comparisons to the narrator's companion.{{sfn|Gouldstone|1989|loc=chap. 3}} According to Costello, "This Year's Girl" was written as an "answer song" to the Rolling Stones' "[[Stupid Girl (Rolling Stones song)|Stupid Girl]]" (1965).<ref name="2002 liner notes" />{{sfn|Costello|2015|pp=314–319}} Other influences included the mid-1960s works of [[the Beatles]].{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}}<ref name="Troper PM" />{{sfn|Thomson|2004|loc=chap. 5}} In his 2015 memoir, Costello wrote that the song discusses how men see women and what they desire from them.{{sfn|Costello|2015|pp=190–191}} The song's subject has achieved fame through fashion but it is only temporary, as by the next year, another girl will take her place. Once she realises it as time runs out, she feels cheated but by then it is too late.{{sfn|Gouldstone|1989|loc=chap. 3}} "The Beat" is primarily led by Nieve's keyboard and the rhythm section of Bruce and Pete Thomas.<ref>{{cite web |last=Maginnis |first=Tom |url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/the-beat-mt0002980530/ |title='The Beat' – Elvis Costello |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=4 March 2022 |archive-date=24 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924122858/http://www.allmusic.com/song/the-beat-mt0002980530 |url-status=live }}</ref> The song explores the uncertainties and pains of adolescence and early manhood,{{sfn|Gouldstone|1989|loc=chap. 3}} and Hinton regards it as the closest thing on the album to romantic love.{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}} It quotes [[Cliff Richard]]'s "[[Summer Holiday (song)|Summer Holiday]]" (1963) as a way to express enjoyment before the narrator is sought after by vigilantes.{{sfn|Gouldstone|1989|loc=chap. 3}}<ref name="Troper PM" />

"Pump It Up" was based on the stylings of [[Bob Dylan]]'s "[[Subterranean Homesick Blues]]" (1965) and [[Chuck Berry]]'s "[[Too Much Monkey Business]]" (1956).{{sfn|Gouldstone|1989|loc=chap. 3}}{{sfn|Thomson|2004|loc=chap. 5}} An energetic attack on a female [[chic]] society's member, the song takes place in a nightclub, where its self-important members aspire to fit into high society, seeking purpose.{{sfn|Gouldstone|1989|loc=chap. 3}} The vocals are fuelled by obsessive sexual desire,{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}} while the rhythmic guitar riff is likened by Gouldstone to [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]].{{sfn|Gouldstone|1989|loc=chap. 3}} Writing for AllMusic, Mark Deming stated that the song "perfectly captures the giddy but terrifying feeling of a wild, adrenaline-fueled all-night party that's dangling on the verge of collapse."<ref>{{cite web |last=Deming |first=Mark |url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/pump-it-up-mt0004611550 |title='Pump It Up' – Elvis Costello |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=4 March 2022 |archive-date=22 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322012929/http://www.allmusic.com/song/pump-it-up-mt0004611550 |url-status=live }}</ref> A softer track changing from soft [[Soul music|soul]] to [[Burt Bacharach]],{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}} "Little Triggers" is about a failing relationship caused by the woman's indifference.{{sfn|Gouldstone|1989|loc=chap. 3}} The 'little triggers' refer to the small things that occur in the beginning of a relationship that make it meaningful, such as kissing, body-brushing and lip expressions.<ref name="Troper PM" /> ''[[Rock Australia Magazine]]''{{'s}} [[Anthony O'Grady]] called it "a hypnotic, frustrated, hurt love song that's almost the mirror image of '[[Alison (song)|Alison]]' [from ''My Aim Is True'']."<ref name="Kent NME" /><ref name="RAM" /> "You Belong to Me" is heavily in debt to the Rolling Stones,{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}}<ref name="Troper PM" /> using the same riff as "[[The Last Time (Rolling Stones song)|The Last Time]]" (1965).{{sfn|Thomson|2004|loc=chap. 5}}{{sfn|Perone|2015|pp=16–25}} Lyrically, it is a plea for sexual freedom and is full of resentment and anger.{{sfn|Gouldstone|1989|loc=chap. 3}} Musically, AllMusic's Stewart Mason likens it to 1960s [[garage rock]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Mason |first=Stewart |url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/you-belong-to-me-mt0000959447 |title='You Belong to Me' – Elvis Costello Song Review |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=4 March 2022 |archive-date=24 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924150158/http://www.allmusic.com/song/you-belong-to-me-mt0000959447 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Side two===
The track "Hand in Hand" opens with guitar [[Feedback (music)|feedback]] evoking the Beatles and [[Jimi Hendrix]]. Although the music provides a Merseybeat shuffle,{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}}<ref name="Troper PM" /> the dark and revenge-driven lyrics follow two lovers walking hand in hand straight to [[Hell]]. Like "No Action" and ''My Aim Is True''{{'s}} "I'm Not Angry", the narrator tries to deal with chaotic emotions by denying they ever occurred.{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}}{{sfn|Gouldstone|1989|loc=chap. 3}} "(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea" is a [[ska]]-infected rocker<ref>{{cite web |last=Maginnis |first=Tom |url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/i-dont-want-to-go-to-chelsea-mt0002198379 |title='(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea' – Elvis Costello |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=4 March 2022 |archive-date=30 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030170232/https://www.allmusic.com/song/i-dont-want-to-go-to-chelsea-mt0002198379 |url-status=live }}</ref> that was originally directly influenced by the works of the Who, before Bruce and Pete Thomas contributed new rhythms that made the track stand out on its own.<ref name="2002 liner notes" /><ref name="Troper PM" /> Lyrically, the song attacks fashionable society; the girl is described as 'last year's model', as she has suffered a fall from grace.{{sfn|Gouldstone|1989|loc=chap. 3}} According to Rachlis, "Chelsea represents Costello's nightmare world of success, where deceit is masked by propriety and last year's model is thrown out with yesterday's wash."<ref name="Rachlis RS" /> "Lip Service" represents a culmination of Beatles influences into a track that contains sexual innuendos, both in its lyrics and title. It is primarily led by Bruce Thomas's bassline, which Hinton compares to the sound of [[the Hollies]].{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}}<ref name="Troper PM" /> The partially vague lyrics express a narrator's sexual frustrations on a would-be lover and observations on insincerity around him.{{sfn|Perone|2015|pp=16–25}}

"Living in Paradise" was written in 1975 when Costello was a member of the [[Pub rock (United Kingdom)|pub rock]] band Flip City.{{sfn|St. Michael|1986|loc=chap. 3}} O'Grady calls it as "shuffling power-pop [[reggae]] detailing how dreams of soft-living actualise in soul-decaying corruption".<ref name="RAM" /> Morgan Troper of ''[[PopMatters]]'' maintained that it abandons the punk workings of the rest of the album for a ska-type rhythm.<ref name="Troper PM" /> According to Gouldstone the track has themes already present in the album's other songs,{{sfn|Gouldstone|1989|loc=chap. 3}} including misogynistic ideals.<ref name="Troper PM" /> "Lipstick Vogue" is described by AllMusic's Tom Maginnis as a showcase for the band's energy and skill.<ref>{{cite web |last=Maginnis |first=Tom |url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/lipstick-vogue-mt0000452070 |title='Lipstick Vogue' – Elvis Costello |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=4 March 2022 |archive-date=14 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190414180232/https://www.allmusic.com/song/lipstick-vogue-mt0000452070 |url-status=live }}</ref> It opens with a drum fill by Pete Thomas before Bruce Thomas and Nieve drive on bass and keyboards, respectively.<ref name="Troper PM" /> Reflecting themes of alienation,{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}} the song is about the perils of imperfect love.{{sfn|Gouldstone|1989|loc=chap. 3}} "Night Rally" provides commentary on the then-prevalent [[National Front (UK)|UK National Front]].<ref name="Kent NME" /><ref name="RAM" /> It presents, in Hinton's words, a "nightmare of state control and worse" that argues how [[totalitarianism]] infiltrates and affects society. Costello compares conglomerate corporations to these types of governments, in how they attempt to control the people.{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}}{{sfn|Gouldstone|1989|loc=chap. 3}} It cuts off abruptly, ending the album on, in St. Michael's words, "an explicit and disturbingly pessimistic note".{{sfn|Hinton|1999|loc=chap. 3}}{{sfn|St. Michael|1986|loc=chap. 3}}