It's not my favourite unreleased track, but I like it a lot. And I am among those who think that 1999 would have improved had "Moonbeam Levels" taken the place of "Free".

I like it and would like a perfect copy but it's not the best unreleased song for me.

Javi said:

It's not my favourite unreleased track, but I like it a lot. And I am among those who think that 1999 would have improved had "Moonbeam Levels" taken the place of "Free".

Watching Elvis Costello perform it last night to a sold out crowd at Carnegie Hall emphasized a few things about it. It's an excellent song but it's not catchy and only diehards appreciate it. Also if you don't really know the lyrics then you don't get it at all.

SuperSoulFighter said:

I like it, although it never really made any sense to me. I've never been able to really make out the lyrics. What ARE Moonbeam Levels anyway?

The opposite of sun rays

SuperSoulFighter said:

I like it, although it never really made any sense to me. I've never been able to really make out the lyrics. What ARE Moonbeam Levels anyway?

That's the same question that people would been asking in 1982,if this song had been released "Free" has a simple message that's easier to to understand.

Sorry, I never liked this song. Wanted to, tried to, but there's just something unappealing about it for me. The melody is a bit too off-putting for my ears. It's all subjective!

SuperSoulFighter said:

I like it, although it never really made any sense to me. I've never been able to really make out the lyrics. What ARE Moonbeam Levels anyway?

Look at the full moon sometime on a night when there are some mid- to low-level clouds in the sky. Look at how the clouds filter the moonlight into individual shafts of light. The moonbeams look like they're at different levels - and their brightness makes them look concrete enough that you could actually walk to heaven on them.

That is what the song is about.

SuperSoulFighter said:

^Wow, that's beautiful. I don't know if you're a writer, but if you aren't, you should be one.

Thanks. And, yes - I am a writer. One who actually gets paid, too - which is nice.

SoulAlive said:

SuperSoulFighter said:

I like it, although it never really made any sense to me. I've never been able to really make out the lyrics. What ARE Moonbeam Levels anyway?

That's the same question that people would been asking in 1982,if this song had been released "Free" has a simple message that's easier to to understand.

The song is invoking the heavens above, (the Moon, rings of Saturn, the great mystery) in a world on the verge of nuclear destruction. The song asks where can we find hope when life as we know it can be destroyed in an instant. The boy's plea for heavenly intervention is poignant. He wants "Moonbeam Levels" of hope be sent to this world, that it might be a "better place to die" [and live]. When you look at it close, the song is a companion to 1999, it continues the conversation about a nuclear apocalypse.

Some of you are too young to remember, but I remember the fear of the atom bomb very clearly. We shouldn't forget that it is still possible, those bombs are still out there and multiplying.

I don't really agree with the commercial above, it's just wrong to prey on fears for a vote, but it does capture something of the public mentality at the time.

kenkamken said:

SoulAlive said:

That's the same question that people would been asking in 1982,if this song had been released "Free" has a simple message that's easier to to understand.

The song is invoking the heavens above, (the Moon, rings of Saturn, the great mystery) in a world on the verge of nuclear destruction. The song asks where can we find hope when life as we know it can be destroyed in an instant. The boy's plea for heavenly intervention is poignant. He wants "Moonbeam Levels" of hope be sent to this world, that it might be a "better place to die" [and live]. When you look at it close, the song is a companion to 1999, it continues the conversation about a nuclear apocalypse.

Some of you are too young to remember, but I remember the fear of the atom bomb very clearly. We shouldn't forget that it is still possible, those bombs are still out there and multiplying.

I don't really agree with the commercial above, it's just wrong to prey on fears for a vote, but it does capture something of the public mentality at the time.

I've put the relevant part in bold above...

I've always theorized that Moonbeam Levels was meant to come right after 1999 in the song sequence, if you consider the synth explosion it starts with sounds like the end of 1999 that segues into Little Red Corvette.

Not my favorite outtake, but I appreciate it more every time I hear it.

Great great great song, this should have made the cut "Yesterday I tried to write a novel, but i didn't know where 2 begin" is the great sign the rest of the song is going to be amazing.

Killer harmony "Please send all your Moonbeam levels 2 me, I'm lookin for a better place 2 die"

I can appreciate it all day long.

Such a great song. I would love to hear it crystal clear however DON'T want him to release it he is going to change it.

switters said:

Sorry, I never liked this song. Wanted to, tried to, but there's just something unappealing about it for me. The melody is a bit too off-putting for my ears. It's all subjective!