Image by Affendaddy via FlickrThis week's New Wave Fave is actually one of my favorite songs from the New Wave era, from Elvis Costello. "Veronica" is perhaps the only pop song ever to address Alzheimer's Disease and it happened at a time when no one was talking about it. It's sad and sweet and catchy and all the things I love about what pop music can be, if the artist puts in a little extra effort.Wikipedia has this to say:
"Veronica" is a single from Elvis Costello's 1989 album Spike, co-written by Costello with Paul McCartney. The song "Veronica" was co-produced by T-Bone Burnett and Kevin Killen, and features Paul McCartney on his iconic Höfner bass. In 2004, Entertainment Weekly voted it as one of Costello's top ten greatest tunes.[1]
The song focuses on an older woman who has experienced severe memory loss. Costello's inspiration for this song was his grandmother, who suffered from Alzheimer's. When talking about the song on a VH1 interview, Costello reminisced about his grandmother having "terrifying moments of lucidity" and how this was the inspiration for "Veronica".
"Veronica" was also Costello's highest-charting Top 40 hit in the United States, peaking at #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, #1 on its Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart, and #10 on its Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
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