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"Less Than Zero" is the eighth track on Elvis Costello's debut album ''My Aim Is True'', and the first Costello single that Stiff Records released. The song expressed Costello's anger after seeing former British Union of Fascists leader Oswald Mosley interviewed on television attempting to deny his racist past.〔 In the liner notes to the Rhino edition of the album, Costello writes: The song therefore fits in with a number of others on early Costello albums that deal with themes of fascism and totalitarianism, which also include "Night Rally" from ''This Year's Model'' and "Goon Squad" from ''Armed Forces''. In this case, a racist and totalitarian movement is seen in terms of sub rosa teenage sex: "Turn up the TV... Even your mother won't detect it/So your father won't know." Allmusic critic Mark Deming describes the melody as "slow, slinky () sinister." Deming also suggests that the melody shows some reggae influences, even though the rhythm does not incorporate reggae syncopations.〔 Deming describes the song as "controversial, audacious, and highly effective" as well as "a truly remarkable debut."〔 On his first visit to the United States, Costello substantially rewrote the lyrics to refer to Lee Harvey Oswald. This was a reference to the common misconception among American fans that this was the "Mr. Oswald" referred to in the original lyrics. This version is usually referred to as the "Dallas version" and is available as a bonus track on the ''My Aim is True'' reissue, and a live version can be found on ''Live at the El Mocambo''. The song later provided US author Bret Easton Ellis with the title of his debut novel. The song was also involved in Costello's infamous performance on ''Saturday Night Live'' on 17 December 1977. Following pressure from his record company to play the song on the show, Costello began to play the song, but he stopped after only a few bars, saying that "there's no reason to do this song here." He then launched into an unannounced performance of "Radio Radio", a song he had promised not to play. As a result, he was banned from the show until 1989. "Less Than Zero" appears on the first Stiff Records compilation; ''A Bunch of Stiff Records'', whilst the B-side, "Radio Sweetheart", appears on their second; ''Hits Greatest Stiffs''. ==References== 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Less Than Zero (song)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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