"Is she really going out with him" really not available for download anywhere!?
April 14, 2010 8:00 PM

Where can I download Elvis Costello's version of "Is She Really Going Out with Him?"

I am trying to make a mixed CD for a friend, and I can't find this song anywhere. It's not on itunes, and I can't find a website that is offering it. I will pay for it.
posted by thebrokenmuse to Media & Arts (18 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
Joe Jackson did the original. Are you looking for an Elvis Costello remake?
posted by Sweetie Darling at 8:03 PM on April 14, 2010


Yes, I need the Elvis Costello version.
posted by thebrokenmuse at 8:08 PM on April 14, 2010


Are you sure that such a thing exists? The covers project doesn't list him.
posted by axiom at 8:18 PM on April 14, 2010


MusicBrainz doesn't list it, but Last.fm thinks it was played 16000 times.
posted by k. at 8:28 PM on April 14, 2010


Not saying there's no Elvis Costello version, but Joe Jackson singing this song sounds a lot like Elvis Costello.
posted by zippy at 8:44 PM on April 14, 2010


I think Last.fm might be tracking improperly tagged mp3 files (ah, those wily Napster/Audiogalaxy days). I'm not familiar with a Costello version of that song.
posted by tremspeed at 9:01 PM on April 14, 2010


Here's a "complete" sessionography for Mr. Costello covering 1974-2006. It's not listed. Unless it was recorded in the last 4 years, or was a live bootleg, this is almost certainly a case of a mislabeled MP3.

Here's Joe Jackson for comparison.
posted by equalpants at 9:03 PM on April 14, 2010


I'm also not saying for 100% sure there's not an Elvis Costello version out there, but I spent a long time thinking the Joe Jackson version was Elvis Costello and was embarrassingly proven wrong after being really, really, really sure I was right.

Source: A fight I had once with a boy I once knew
posted by MCMikeNamara at 9:04 PM on April 14, 2010


Joe Jackson did several different versions on his Live 1980/86 album. Maybe it's one of them?
posted by kirkaracha at 9:43 PM on April 14, 2010


Not a single one of the Elvis Costello setlists notes this song. I believe you are mistaken.
posted by mykescipark at 11:24 PM on April 14, 2010


I too believe this exists. I've listened to both the Joe Jackson version and the Goldfinger version, and I *know* there is another version out there that sounds more like Elvis Costello.
posted by gjc at 5:56 AM on April 15, 2010


There are five or six Joe Jackson versions (most live, but very cleanly recorded.) There is no EC version.
posted by Dee Xtrovert at 9:02 AM on April 15, 2010


I think Last.fm might be tracking improperly tagged mp3 files (ah, those wily Napster/Audiogalaxy days).

Yes, finding an actual Elvis Costello version of Is She Really Going Out With Him? is going to be about as easy as finding a Neil Young version of A Horse With No Name.
posted by burnmp3s at 9:18 AM on April 15, 2010


Well now you have me looking for a Joe Jackson version of this song that he did live that involved a squeezebox or some other type of accordian from the mid-80's. I had it on a mixtape and haven't heard it since.
posted by msali at 9:43 AM on April 15, 2010


That's the acoustic version from Live 1980-1986 (Amazon page with audio samples; it's also on iTunes). Track 10 on disc 1 is a nice acoustic version.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:35 AM on April 15, 2010


Sorry, track 10, disc 1 is a nice a capella version. Track 3, disc 2 is the one you're looking for.

There are also two versions on last year's At the BBC. Given the wide variety of different versions by Joe Jackson, I'd bet one of them is the "Elvis Costello" version.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:39 AM on April 15, 2010


My money is on Last.fm tracking people who THINK the song is Elvis Costello. Having collected Elvis Costello b-sides and rarities for years, I am confident that no recording of him singing the song exists.
posted by Robot Johnny at 1:09 PM on April 15, 2010


Okay, kids. You're right, it's Joe Jackson, not Elvis Costello. Let's all just pretend this never happened.
posted by thebrokenmuse at 2:25 PM on April 18, 2010


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