Radio Radio
In 1977, Costello reworked the song to feature a more aggressive arrangement and more direct, sarcastic lyrics that criticised the commercialism of British radio.[7] He explained, When I was sitting at home in England in 1975, in the thrall of Bruce Springsteen, he sort of made it feel like a big dream in America where a radio was playing and it was always the perfect song.[6] When asked about the song's relevance in 2003, Costello stated: Oh, you might as well just admit now that radio has nothing to do with music anymore—it's in the advertising business.[13] The song was also added onto the American release of This Year's Model, replacing "(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea" and "Night Rally".Costello speculated that this was a reaction to the notoriety the song had achieved from its appearance on Saturday Night Live.Mark Deming of AllMusic described the song as "certainly among [Costello's] most anthemic", while Matt LeMay of Pitchfork Media called it as "easily one of the glowing highlights of the man's entire career".[19] Jim Beviglia of American Songwriter named it Costello's third best song, stating, "The song hit the nail on the head so hard that it drove that nail right through the homogenizing programming and thinly-veiled censorship that had already become standard practice at the time of the single's release in 1978".[24] A reference to Sex Pistols' manager Malcolm McLaren's inability to get his band visas was made by drummer Pete Thomas who, during the performance, wore a shirt with the words "Thanks Malc".[25] SNL music director Howard Shore noted that Costello sought to buck pressure from his label during the show.SNL producer Lorne Michaels was reportedly furious, giving Costello the finger throughout the duration of the performance.[31] Costello referenced the incident during SNL's 25th anniversary show in 1999, where he burst in on Beastie Boys during their performance of "Sabotage" and, after reprising his famous introduction of the song from the original performance, played "Radio Radio" with the Beastie Boys backing him.