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Suggest pagesPump It Up (Elvis Costello song)
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This article relies largely or entirely upon a single source. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources. Discussion about the problems with the sole source used may be found on the talk page. (October 2011) |
| "Pump It Up" | ||||
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| Single by Elvis Costello | ||||
| from the album This Year's Model | ||||
| Released | 1978 | |||
| Genre | New Wave, Power pop | |||
| Length | 3:17 | |||
| Writer(s) | Elvis Costello | |||
| Elvis Costello singles chronology | ||||
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"Pump It Up" is a rock song by Elvis Costello. It originally appeared on Costello's second album This Year's Model, which was the first he recorded with the backing group The Attractions.
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[edit] Lyrics
Costello frequently uses double entendres in his songs and "Pump It Up" is a good example of this, with the lyric "Pump it up" being used to mean both turning up the volume on the music as well as masturbation. The story in the song is about the narrator's sexual frustration at the hands of a femme fatale who's described in the lyrics as being "a bad girl" and "like a narcotic."
"Pump It Up" was written in reaction to the excesses of the Stiffs Live Tour. [1]
[edit] Cover versions
It has been covered by various artists, including The Hot Rats, Code Anchor, Exodus, Kills for Thrills, Mudhoney, Trixter, Buckcherry, Elastic No-No Band, Automatic, Danko Jones, Maldroid, Status Quo, The Wildhearts, Checkerboard Floors, Richard Madeley, and Starpool. Lifehouse has covered the song at various concert venues. The guitar riff was sampled in Rogue Traders' 2005 single "Voodoo Child".
[edit] In popular culture
- The song was featured on the first episode of Never Mind the Buzzcocks in 1996 during the Indecipherable Lyrics round.
- The Beastie Boys sampled "Pump It Up" in their song "Egg Man" on the Paul's Boutique album. Costello later performed "Radio Radio" on Saturday Night Live in 1999 with the Beastie Boys as his backing band.
- The song is playable in the music video game Rock Band 2.
- The song was featured in Malcolm in the Middle episode, "Emancipation".*
- The song is also featured in the movie 200 Cigarettes in the bar scene.
[edit] References
- ^ "The spirit of Stiff Records lives on - Features, Music". London: The Independent. 2008-01-25. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/the-spirit-of-stiff-records-lives-on-773546.html. Retrieved 2010-02-04.
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