"I'm happy.... the monolith that is U2 crushed us under their jackboot."
It was a calm, relaxed and, at times, barely audible Elvis Costello who took the stage Wednesday ( March 16 ) at the Austin Convention Center for a sit-down interview with journalist Bill Flanagan. Costello, on a U.S. tour to push his new disc, The Delivery Man, reminisced about meeting such giants as George Jones, Count Basie and Jerry Lee Lewis, and said that everything he's gone through over the last 30 years was in service of the music, conceding that the hostility he used to be known for was a mask for something deeper.
"When I started out, I was just impatient and intolerant. [The hostility] helped keep people away so I could do my job. ... [But] I've seen others eaten by their own masks," he said referring to Kurt Cobain.
But he still can rattle a few cages, as in when he explained why he doesn't attend the Grammys, even when he's nominated: "I'm happy to be in a [nightclub] while the monolith that is U2 crushed us under their jackboot."
He also says that he and his old group, The Attractions, almost became Texans at one point. "We were considering moving to Austin because we liked it so much," he said. "And San Francisco, for the same reason."
Later, rock legend Elvis Costello announces the imminent demise of bricks-and-mortar record stores, predicting that music soon will be obtained through the 21st century version of mail-order shopping.
"Internet downloads — that's just a quicker way of getting your mail," Costello quips. "I hate to say it, because I love record shops. But they have to adapt or die."
The Daily Camera
March 17 ' 05
With the music industry still in turmoil over downloading and CD burning, the mood at the convention center, like last year, is a bit glum.
Former Semisonic drummer Jacob Slichter, author of "So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star," opens the day's sessions by recounting the ways the industry stomped all over his band, a one-hit-wonder known for its late-'90s anthem "Closing Time."
Later, rock legend Elvis Costello announces the imminent demise of bricks-and-mortar record stores, predicting that music soon will be obtained through the 21st century version of mail-order shopping.
"Internet downloads — that's just a quicker way of getting your mail," Costello quips. "I hate to say it, because I love record shops. But they have to adapt or die."
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The Fort Worth Star-Telegram
March 17 '05
Costello reveals his mask
It was a calm, relaxed and, at times, barely audible Elvis Costello who took the stage Wednesday at the Austin Convention Center for a sit-down interview with journalist Bill Flanagan. Costello, on a U.S. tour to push his new disc, The Delivery Man, reminisced about meeting such giants as George Jones, Count Basie and Jerry Lee Lewis, and said that everything he's gone through over the last 30 years was in service of the music, conceding that the hostility he used to be known for was a mask for something deeper.
"When I started out, I was just impatient and intolerant. [The hostility] helped keep people away so I could do my job. ... [But] I've seen others eaten by their own masks," he said referring to Kurt Cobain.
But he still can rattle a few cages, as in when he explained why he doesn't attend the Grammys, even when he's nominated: "I'm happy to be in a [nightclub] while the monolith that is U2 crushed us under their jackboot."
He also says that he and his old group, The Attractions, almost became Texans at one point. "We were considering moving to Austin because we liked it so much," he said. "And San Francisco, for the same reason."