Dancing To Architecture
The New York Times strains the old EC quote to introduce children's books:
"Writing about music is like dancing about architecture,'' Elvis Costello told an interviewer 20 years ago, when he was still angry. Capturing the essence of one medium in the other, he suggested, has its challenges. Actually, he was a little more blunt. ''It's a really stupid thing to want to do,'' he said.
Three of these books approach Costello's simile from its other end. They take an architectural approach to dancing. They are workmanlike, serious, even rigorous, which can be a good thing and does capture one aspect of ballet. But they do not get at its essence, and they pass up opportunities to make use of the many vivid ways illustrated books for children can tell stories."
Isn't there some debate about whether or not EC was the original author of this quote? I seem to recall a case being made for Frank Zappa having said it first.