My Sunday Song – “Elegantly Wasted” by INXS

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic

For My Sunday Song #244, we are going to discuss the song “Elegantly Wasted” by the band INXS. The song is the title track to the 1997 album of the same same. The album and song were produced by the great Bruce Fairbairn and was written by Michael Hutchence and Andrew Farriss. The song was the first single off the album but the song did not chart on the Billboard Top 40.

It is believe the song was inspired by a night out that Michael had with Bono from the band U2. And from the lyrics it sounds like they had a good time. It sounds like Bono lives the good life and they saw a lot of things that weren’t actually morally decent. Michael realizes that it really isn’t the good life. I don’t know if it is really about Bono or just Michael blasting the media for the trashy coverage he received from the tabloids. Either way, it is a fun song to play when on the dance floor.

An interesting story I have read about the song, apparently Michael went back in to the studio after the song was finished and added another line to the chorus after an altercation he had with the Gallagher brothers from Oasis at the 1996 Brit Awards. When accepting an award presented to him by Michael, Noel made the following statement…”Has-beens should not be presenting awards to gonna-be’s.” This pissed off Michael and he went and added the line “I’m Better than Oasis” to the song. Now, I don’t know if I believe it or not as it is really hard to tell.

The song itself is a brilliant pop/dance track. The band seemed to be trying to capture some of the magic from their album ‘Kick’ as this song has that vibe and really takes you back. Michael is an incredible singer and lays down another perfect vocal track. Musically, the band layer in guitars, keyboards and a great drum beat and bass line that make the song groove and move to get you moving on the dance floor.

Give the song a listen and let me know what you think. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a Happy Sunday!

“Elegantly Wasted”

Look at all that shines
Baby’s down on the world and she knows it
If your spirit’s running
Why don’t me make it rain like we used to
We run
We hide
We wait and we want
The good life
Aw sure
You’re right
This ain’t, the good life

Ah, Elegantly wasted
Ah, Elegantly wasted

Look at all the crimes
Baby’s down on the world cause she owns it
Making up her life
Nothing more, nothing less makes it Voodoo
We run
We hide
We wait and we want
The good life
Aw sure
You’re right
This ain’t, the good life

Ah, Elegantly wasted
Ah, Elegantly wasted

We look at all that shines
Baby’s down on the world and she knows it
If your spirit’s fine
Why don’t we make it rain like we used to
We run
We hide
We want
The good life
Aw sure
You’re right
This ain’t, the good life

Ah, Elegantly wasted
(you could be right, you could be certain, you could be right)
Ah, Elegantly wasted
Ah, Elegantly wasted
(you could be right, you could be certain, you could be right)
Ah, Elegantly wasted (feels like, feels like)
Elegantly wasted – you could be right
Elegantly wasted – you could be certain
Elegantly wasted – you could be right
Feels right, feels right

Written by Andrew Farriss and Michael Hutchence

27 thoughts on “My Sunday Song – “Elegantly Wasted” by INXS”

  6. ”Has-beens should not be presenting awards to gonna-be’s.” Oh how I remember that. You know, I guess in hindsight, Noel really was as much of a jerk as Liam! It got them the attention in the press they craved but when people lost interest in Oasis, it was all over.

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      1. Such jerks that the two brothers don’t even speak! Too bad since I enjoyed the music. But it made me cringe every time you’d see them live on TV. I remember watching the MTV awards in 96 and they did Champagne Supernova, and Liam sang it as “Champagne Supernova up your bum.” And I was like, “Ah jesus why???”

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  10. This the album that brought INXS to my attention, sadly i didnt know any other fans and didnt go to any of the UK tour dates, that was 1997 and we all know how the year ended. Still the biggest regret ive got, would say i listen to them at least once a month. There is a bootleg of the final ever concert in america out there, audio only and is a cathartic listen for anyone interested that also needs to close the door on missed chances. I am glad to see the various members putting out new music at the moment, its all very different. Rest in peace Michael.

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