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
If you remove the word “Elegantly” then the title describes many nights in my early 20s.
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I am sure it was elegant!!
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This got a lot of airplay in NZ – I thought it was pretty solid, and I’m not a huge INXS fan.
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It is a fun groove song. Michaels vocal phrasing is pretty unique
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I would agree with that.
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Solid track, John!
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Hahaha…Noel what a troublemaker back then.
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Back Then?? Has he changed? I think once a dick, always a dick.
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does anyone still care ?
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No not at all.
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”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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What the cocky bastards forget is that every band crashes so no need to be cocky. And yes, they were both massive egotistical jerks.
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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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Ha! Oh they were special boys.
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That’s certainly one word! I think on an objective level, INXS were indeed better than Oasis.
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I think I like INXS better than Oasis, I could agree with that. I did enjoy Oasis though.
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They lost me on the fourth album. But I have the full-on deluxes of the first three and I like them all. I think Be Here Now is underrated even though you can tell it’s 50% cocaine.
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Sometimes being drugged out makes great music and sometimes not. It is really hit or miss isn’t it.
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Yep just ask Motley Crue!
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Great choice…. this has always been one of my favourites, though the album is a bit sketchy.
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It has its moments.
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Definitely. When it’s good it’s very good!
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Yup this is a goodie.
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What a great groove. This is the sound that I dig from them.
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It was a fun song for me.
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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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I like a good bootleg. Me, I seem to always throw Kick on. I also hate I never got to see them live. He was a great frontman.
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