CostelloNews.com

The Ann Arbor News reports -

Baez said she still believes music has the power to fuel change, but singing has to be backed up with action. "I made a documentary once called 'Music Alone is Not Enough.' But I wouldn't want to be part of social change that didn't have music,'' she said. The problem is, no one has written an anthem people can rally 'round.

"You fill in as well as you can until that happens. If I thought I could do that, I would do it.''

Steve Earle, whose "Christmas in Washington'' and "Jerusalem'' are on her new disc, takes powerful steps in the right direction, she added, as does Elvis Costello with "Scarlet Tide,'' which she's in the process of learning. "The words are pretty amazing: 'I thought I heard a black bell toll, up in the highest dome ... admit you're wrong, just bring the boys back home.'

"It's beautiful,'' she said.

Continue reading "Joan Baez covers The Scarlet Tide" »

Posted by at 02:20 PM | Permalink

The New Republic reports -
( extract)

It was almost midnight at the Manhattan ( Sept. 15th) sushi hotspot Nobu Fifty Seven, and Bill Clinton was briefing Elvis Costello on the future of New Orleans. "First you've got to flush the lake. Just flush it," Clinton explained. Between the low thrum of club music and the starstruck admirers jockeying for position, it was impossible to hear much more, but one thing was clear: Clinton was really enjoying himself. As several celebrities--including Jeremy Piven of HBO's "Entourage," millionaire playboy Steve Bing, and the dapper Nobu himself--hovered on the margins, Clinton talked on ... and on ... and on. A few minutes earlier, Costello had looked starstruck himself. But now, his enthusiasm seemed to be waning. In fact, as Clinton droned on, I detected a certain glaze forming behind the smartly dressed rocker's famous black-rimmed glasses.

Posted by at 04:01 PM | Permalink

If I had a dollar (or $19.95) for every book I bought because of a single page or two of Costello content, I'd have a huge pile of money instead of the massive bookshelf sitting in front of me. But now Google Print lets me just read these pages (print them even) front dozens or hundreds of books with Elvis inside. Check it out.

Posted by at 04:55 PM | Permalink

Before his tour resumes in Wales this Sunday Elvis has been seen out and about in the U.S.. On Tuesday May 17th he performed at the Riverkeeper benefit in New York. On Wednes. May 18th he attended a U2 show in New Jersey. Bono and co. acknowledged their old friend by including Pump It Up in a medley with their song Vertigo. On Thurs. May 19th he and Diana Krall were seen at a Bruce Springsteen show at the same location.

Posted by at 06:58 PM | Permalink

The Mix get all techie about Elvis' shows in New York last summer -

Extract - For the Costello run, Meschter and Nathan chose EAW KF730 small line array modules (SLAM). Eight EAW KF730s per side were hung above the lighting truss in Avery Fisher Hall for all three performances. “We needed a sound system that was small, light, sounded good and could throw a reasonable distance,” said Nathan. “The KF730s fit the bill.”

“We also wanted a system that can be important in all three of the shows and is versatile enough to be matched with additional cabinets,” said Meschter. “The KF730s worked out very well with the Elvis Costello shows. With the Metropole, the program was mostly amplified and reinforced, with electronics worked into the orchestra. For that, we used the KF730s and four EAW SB1000 subwoofers. With The Imposters, we added eight EAW KF750s and six EAW SB1000s to the KF730s for added punch. And with the Philharmonic, only the second half of the show was amplified voice. For that, we stripped the system down and just used the KF730s for Elvis’ vocals.”

The KF730s also fit the criteria of a clean sightline, an especially passionate topic for traditional philharmonic patrons and players. According to Nathan, he hasn’t received any complaints on sightlines to date.

“Once we had decided on a line array, we began looking for the smallest line array system possible since classical players do not want to see speakers,” added Meschter. “The KF730s have served this space better than any system we’ve brought in here before. There is even coverage from the tiers down to the floor.”

Continue reading "The KF730s fit the bill" »

Posted by at 03:19 PM | Permalink

A fan writes -

Saw Dylan last night at the Pantages. Costello was in the crowd, and
chatted with people as they walked up to him and even posed for a
couple of pictures. I usually don't like to bother celebrities in public, but
he seemed so approachable that after the show I told him his show was one of the only things that could stop me from going to all five Dylan shows, and I'd see him Saturday. He thanked me, smiled and shook my hand.

Posted by at 05:00 PM | Permalink

The Casper Star Tribune reports -

Extract -

A fan buys a ticket to see an artist they like live. A fanatic, fearing that artist may cancel his show, spends about $2,000 on dozens of tickets and gives them away.

When it comes to all things Elvis Costello, Casper man Thomas French falls into the latter category, as the 67 tickets he bought and gave away for Costello's April 13 show at the Casper Events Center prove.

"A couple of weeks ago, I heard there were rumors that there were problems up there, like they weren't selling enough tickets and stuff like that," French said. "And maybe there was going to be problems and maybe they were going to have to cancel.

"And I just decided that I could not let that happen."

"I thought about it for a couple of days," French continued. "And I just decided that I was just going to buy all these tickets and give them to pretty much the coolest people I could find and tell them they don't owe me anything for the tickets, just tell everybody that it is going to be a cool show and you should go and check it out."

It took about two hours to give the tickets away, he said.

According to Casper Leisure Services Director Max Torbert, there is no truth to rumors that Costello's show in jeopardy of being cancelled.

Because the show is well over a month away, ticket sales for the concert have not been great, he said. But as April 13 approaches, Torbert said sales should pick up as they always tend to as the show date approaches.

In order to buy the 67 tickets he gave away, French, who works as a driver for a gas company, said he had to increase the amount of a loan he had planned on taking out for other reasons.

"I'll have it paid off in six months," he said.

Continue reading "Thomas French - we salute you!" »

Posted by at 04:20 PM | Permalink

This is from the No Rock&Roll Fun blog, in references to Elvis' signing on as part of a moronic call to stop P2P networks. It's enough to make you want to puke on EC's little silver slippers.

HEROES BECOME WEAK: A few years back - the first year that Michael Eavis decided to allow the cops in to watch the goings-on in the Glastonbury - we were at Elvis Costello's Liverpool Royal Court show when someone called out "We don't need the police at Glastonbury do we, Elvis?" For a second or two, Costello had that look of fear; the sense of not knowing what to do - like when you're a teenager out shopping with your parents when you run into a gang of mates and don't know which of the two distinct social roles you should be playing. He then mumbled something inaudible and moved on. But it was clear: he did think the police should be patrolling Pilton, but he didn't want to be seen as endorsing such a scheme.

He's more at ease with the establishment these days, though: lending his support to an industry-lead call for an overturn of a Court of Appeal judgement that p2p networks aren't responsible for copyright breaches through their systems.

Joining Elvis in his bid to strangle peer-to-peer networking are some names you'd expect: the Eagles, Jimmy Buffett, Gavin Rossdale, Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt, the Dixie Chicks, Stevie Nicks, Reba McEntire, Avril Lavigne, Dido, Tom Jones, Diana Krall, Brian Wilson and members of Barenaked Ladies. It's especially furstrating that these chaps seem not to have thought through their position - presumably their managers did that for them - in that they're insisting that p2p networks know what people are using them for; it's absurd, and akin to suing a manufacturer of tape cassette because of what people could do with it.
If the RIAA wants to pursue individuals who make copyrighted material available online, then let them go down that route; but just because that's difficult, expensive, and politically embarrassing, you can't go for an easier target.

All those artists should be ashamed at doing their bosses' bidding; but Elvis "radio is in the hand of such a lot of fools trying to anesthetise the way that you feel" Costello? Maybe you should think about retiring.

Posted by at 11:31 AM | Permalink

..... in Hilo , Hawaii , where our hero was spotted holidaying this past week.

The Anchorage Daily News

STAR SIGHTINGS . . . On the other Big Island full of Alaskans. Dennis and Stephanie McMillian called in from the First Friday shindig in Hilo to report sitting a few tables away from superstar Elvis Costello and his wife, jazz singer Diana Krall, at a Waimea restaurant.

Continue reading "Aloha from Elvis...." »

Posted by at 11:47 AM | Permalink

Four-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald performed God Give Me Strength as part of her American Songbook shows in New York this week.

Continue reading "Audra McDonald covers Elvis" »

Posted by at 11:41 AM | Permalink

.....well, sort of ! Elvis' album with the Brodsky Quartet , The Juliet Letters , was inspired by a story about people sending letters to the imaginary Shakespeare character. It seems that some are still sending them....

Continue reading "The Juliet Letters destroy a house!" »

Posted by at 01:54 PM | Permalink

From Parishioner Christian O'Connell:

"Big-name rockers, like the rest of us, can't refuse a freebie. I was lucky enough to share my XFM studio with the great Elvis Costello the other day. Great guest and supremely talented being. However as we were saying goodbyes he noticed something poking out of my bag. Now this was something I had put in my bag to take home and relish over the weekend: it was an advance copy of Bob Dylan's Chronicles Volume One, not out in the shops for a few days but for yours truly to pour over before mere mortals. Anyway Elvis spies said tome and is duly impressed. 'Blimey, that's not out yet, can't wait to read it!'. Now at this point I could have said nothing. But no, rather too quickly and excitedly I said 'Hey, have it'. He wouldn't! He couldn't! He DID. No protestations, simply helped himself and said his thanks. I thought he'd at least do the old 'No it's OK I'll get one elsewhere, I couldn't take yours.' But no, my planned weekend reading in tatters. At least the bespectacled one had something to read on his flight to LA."

Ed Note: Chronicles is an amazing book. Hard to imagine Dylan fan, music lover, or thinking person not enjoying the hell of out it, and being amazed by Dylan yet again.

Posted by Jake at 10:54 PM | Permalink

Rhino Records redesigned their site and now let you check out promo
videos for a few of the artists they deal with. And, of course, a few
Elvis clips are included .

( Submitted by Michael Hernandez)

Posted by at 08:10 AM | Permalink

.....is featured on a new album by a group called Vinyl Skyway.The album is a pleasant , rootsy , country tinged affair. I kept thinking of Tim Easton and Matthew Sweet. There's lots of nice acoustic guitar and lap steel.....and Annie The Dog is credited for ' Bark Sounds on Elvis Costello'.

The 'E.C.' song lyric seems to feature Elvis in that his recordings are playing while the character reflects on time spent with a person who has betrayed him/her....I think.

Continue reading "A song called Elvis Costello" »

Posted by at 03:50 PM | Permalink

Costello fans visiting Glasgow for the show on Wednesday might like to visit the 13th Note (50 - 60 King Street ,Glasgow ) , where fans from all over , including yours truly , hope to meet-up - 6PM onwards - and exchange war stories before the Barrowlands show. Dress code is casual , but smart.

Posted by at 03:25 PM | Permalink

The fine folks over at FOXnews are disappointed that EC didn't sell a lot of copies of TDM this week. How can they have such fine taste in music and such lousy taste in politicians?

Elvis Costello Doesn't Deliver

I am perplexed and heartbroken: Elvis Costello's new album, "The Delivery Man," sold a paltry 20,000 copies in its debut week according to hitsdailydouble.com.

Widely praised here and elsewhere, "The Delivery Man" should have sold at least 100,000 copies in its first week and made some kind of impact among young people, baby boomers, anyone interested in great popular music.

I mean, Ashlee Simpson sold 75,000 albums last week and she's a joke, frankly.

Costello's album is full of gorgeous ballads, complex rock songs, achingly beautiful vocals by guests Lucinda Williams and Emmylou Harris and Costello's usual biting, incisive, comical, smart lyrics.

I could listen to "Monkey to the Man" or "There's a Story in Your Voice" over and over. "The Delivery Man" is the great album of 2004. Give it a listen. You won't regret it.

BTW: The official sales number is 21,399

Posted by Jake at 06:15 PM | Permalink

THE CD THAT BRINGS OUT THE STALKER IN ME

Elvis Costello, My Aim is True - Columbia, 1977
“This might be my favorite album, though I have an affinity for the first album I hear from someone, so right up there is Punch the Clock. We’ve been trying to get Elvis Costello for the show, but he’s been very difficult. I heard that he didn’t like The Man Show and that’s why, but I can’t imagine Elvis Costello even seeing The Man Show.”

Posted by at 05:55 PM | Permalink

ImprimirEnviar
La pianista y cantante canadiense Diana Krall actuará hoy en el Palacio de Congresos de Madrid y el domingo en el Auditorio de Barcelona, en donde presentará su último trabajo The Girl in the Other Room, en el que debuta como compositora e interpreta canciones de su marido Elvis Costello, quien también ha llegado a Madrid para promocionar sus dos nuevos trabajos. EFE

Or for those of you who still prefer english:
The pianista and Canadian singer Krall Morning call will today act in the Palace of Congresses of Madrid and Sunday in the Audience of Barcelona, in where it will present/display his last work The Girl in the Other Room, in which it makes debut as composer and it interprets songs of his husband Elvis Costello, who also has arrived at Madrid to promote his two new works EFE

Posted by Jake at 11:58 PM | Permalink

"The Delivery Man" is plastered with obnoxious FBI anti-piracy warnings. Over these is this legend "THE ARTIST DOES NOT ENDORSE THE FOLLOWING WARNING. THE FBI DOESN'T HAVE HIS HOME PHONE NUMBER AND HE HOPES THAT THEY DON'T HAVE YOURS.

Posted by at 05:52 PM | Permalink

Vote for Elvis on this link to get him some BBC Radio airplay.

Posted by at 08:00 AM | Permalink

Penn from Penn & Teller in Ask.men

...the U.S. was built on the marketplace of ideas. As much as the population of the United States is blind, there is a very strong sense that we like to hear people out. I am an atheist, a very strong atheist, and yet I will go hear Garth Brooks even though he is Christian. I do see art by people with different political beliefs, and I do read books by people with different theological and political beliefs. I don't see hardcore hateful propaganda like The Passion of the Christ, but something that is thought out and not people-hating, I will go check out. I don't think the American ideal is a kind of safe, white bred mediocrity. You are supposed to hear from people you disagree with. That is the way we grow and get better. We often get people who say, "I think you are absolutely wrong about this, but I love the show." I have had that experience many times. I am a big fan of Bob Dylan and he went through a very Christian period, and I still listened to him. I don't have to want to sleep with Diana Krall to sleep with Elvis Costello.

ED: seems like this would make more sense if it ended 'listen to Elvis Costello' but maybe Penn made a freudian slip...

(via here)

Posted by Jake at 11:13 PM | Permalink

Source Unknown: Shortly before the release of his latest studio album, Elvis Costello will stage a pair of performances at an intimate Memphis club that will be the basis of the artist's first DVD release. The enigmatic performer will play two concerts Friday (Sept. 17) at the 250-capacity Hi-Tone Cafe.

The same venue hosted Costello and the Imposters for a quartet of shows prior to the recording of "The Delivery Man," due Sept. 21 via Lost Highway. It is unknown when the DVD will be released; an airdate for a suggested HD special stemming from the same performances has yet to be announced.

"The Delivery Man" was largely recorded less than two hours away from the Hi-Tone at Sweet Tea Studios in Oxford, Miss. (one track was recorded in Clarksdale, Miss.). Along with the Imposters -- Attractions drummer Pete Thomas and keyboardist Steve Nieve and former Cracker bassist Davey Farragher -- the set features appearances by Lucinda Williams and Emmylou Harris, and was produced by Costello and Dennis Herring (Modest Mouse, Throwing Muses).

Aside from the Memphis shows, Costello has only one other U.S. public appearance on his schedule: Sunday at Texas' Austin City Limits Music Festival. The next day, he will tape an episode of the PBS series on which the event is based.

A round of television appearances in support of "The Delivery Man"
begins Sept 22 with a visit to CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman," a show that Costello guest-hosted last year while Letterman recovered from an extended illness. The next day he'll appear on the syndicated daytime show "Live With Regis & Kelly," followed by a Sept. 24 performance on NBC's "Late Night With Conan O'Brien."

A lone U.K. show is scheduled for Oct. 6 in Glasgow, followed by an Australian visit that includes six dates on the A Day on the Green festival tour and a Japanese trek that will wrap in mid-December.

Sept. 21 will also see the release of. "Il Sogno," Costello's first full-length orchestral work, through Deutsche Grammophon.

Here are Costello's upcoming tour dates:

Sept. 17: Memphis (Hi-Tone CafÈ)
Sept. 19: Austin, Texas (Austin City Limits Music Festival) Oct. 6: Glasgow (Barrowlands) Nov. 20: Hunter Valley, Australia (Bimbadgen Estate, "A Day on the
Green")
Nov. 21: Canberra, Australia (Stage 88, "A Day on the Green") Nov. 22: Melbourne (Palais Theatre) Nov. 24-25: Sydney (State Theatre) Nov. 27: Yarra Valley, Australia (Rochfords Eyton, "A Day on the Green") Nov. 28: Tasmania, Australia (Moorilla Estate, "A Day on the Green") Dec. 1: Brisbane (Convention Centre) Dec. 2: Darwin, Australia (Darwin Big Top) Dec. 4: Barossa Valley, Australia (Peter Lehmann Wines, "A Day on the
Green")
Dec. 5: Perth (Kings Park, "A Day on the Green") Dec. 8-9: Tokyo (Kouseinenkin) Dec. 10: Osaka (Gran Cube) Dec. 12: Fukuoka, Japan (Zepp) Dec. 14: Tokyo (Kouseinenkin) Dec. 15: Nagoya, Japan (Kinrokaikan)

Posted by Jake at 06:24 PM | Permalink

There is a new Lost Highway version of www.elviscostello.com now live.

Posted by Jake at 09:49 PM | Permalink

Influential Internet rock critic Mark Prindle it holding a vote to decide which artists discography he will review in the coming months. You can vote for elvis. He currently (this minute) is in second place, 15 votes behind Bad Brains and 1 vote ahead of TMBGiants.

(Submitted by JUSTIN TEDALDI)

Posted by Jake at 01:59 PM | Permalink

OK. It's really fucking idiot. Join the fucking idiot-squad. Show how cool you are by signing up to an automated, fabricated, anticeptic 'street team' where you can get used and abused by a major record label (or more specifically their outsourced marketing contractor) just like a rock star.****

**** don't worry, the whole thing will disappear within months and you'll never hear from them again. You may however, hear from the 17,456 other companies to whom they sell your email address.

Posted by Jake at 10:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Leave your personal birthday wishes in the comments!

FYI: These stars were all born Aug. 25:
Game show host Monty Hall is 83.
Actor Sean Connery is 74.
Talk-show host Regis Philbin is 73.
Actor Tom Skerritt is 71.
Jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter is 71.
Actor David Canary (All My Children, Bonanza) is 66.
Singer Walter Williams of The O'Jays is 62.
Actress Anne Archer is 57.
Actor John Savage is 55.
Bassist Gene Simmons of Kiss is 55.
Musician Elvis Costello is 50.
Director Tim Burton is 46.
Country singer Billy Ray Cyrus is 43.
Actor Blair Underwood is 40.
DJ Terminator X of Public Enemy is 38.
Country singer Jo Dee Messina is 34.
Actor Kel Mitchell (Kenan and Kel) is 26.
(list submitted by John Steffes)

Posted by Post Master at 10:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Nellie McKay, maker of the excellent Get Away From Me, knows her Elvis Costello.

A mention of Emerick's production of Elvis Costello's Imperial Bedroom prompts her musings on her own life as an artist. "It's interesting, because [Costello] has proven himself adept at getting publicity, and that's something that I hope to do. And he's gotten a good amount of critical praise, which I hope to sustain. Though I don't believe critics should be in the position that they are...And he has a certain amount of don't-push-me-around-ness about him, and I certainly think I have that. So I would like to have the artistic freedom and longevity he's had."

Continue reading "Nellie Mckay digs Elvis" »

Posted by at 06:31 PM | Permalink

In the September Atlantic Monthly, in an article on Ray Charles, Mark Steyn makes this comment about "crossover" music: "Even if the stuff doesn't make you vomit, a guy who does everything comes across like an opportunist (Ray Charles, old buddy Quincy Jones) or a poseur (Elvis Costello, who, after avant-garde string quartets and Burt Bacharach, now seems to be doing to the career of his wife, Diana Krall, what he did to his own)."
(Submitted by Chris Forhan)

Posted by Post Master at 07:50 PM | Permalink

The fine folks at Deutsche Gramaphone have put up a page for the upcoming Costello title. Some Excerpts:

Prepare yourselves for Elvis Costello's next musical adventure: Following the success of his intimate collection of love songs North, which remained at the top of Billboard Traditional Jazz charts for several weeks in 2003, Deutsche Grammophon is releasing Elvis Costello's first full-scale orchestral work. Il Sogno is compelling ballet music, successfully blending elements of impressionistic classical style à la Debussy with a bit of jazz.

". . . this former angry young man has grown into perhaps the most adventurous and accomplished musical polymath of our times . . . It is almost skittish in flavour, light and playful and entirely lacking in the kind of darkness that characterises Costello's songwriting. It is as if, liberated from his black lyrical sensibility, he has abandoned himself to the delightful possibilities of instrumental music . . . "Il Sogno" shifts its musical terrain from Debussy-like harmonies to Leonard Bernstein-flavoured jazz and swing, making references to Broadway musicals as much as to the classics . . . it abundantly displays the musical diversity that has become Costello's hallmark." Neil McCormick , Daily Telegraph, 20 July 2004

(submitted by Conner Ratliff)

Posted by Post Master at 09:57 AM | Permalink

Mr. Costello's PR folks wanted everybody to know...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - July 27, 2004
ELVIS COSTELLO’S THREE NIGHTS AT LINCOLN CENTER FESTIVAL A MAJOR SUCCESS

Elvis Costello delivered a trio of thrilling shows at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall July 13, 15 and 17, showcasing the breadth and scope of his diverse musical talents. The first show featured rearrangements of his songs performed with the Metropole Orkest, the 52-member jazz orchestra from the Netherlands. The latter two concerts served as previews of his twin September 21 releases, The Delivery Man (Lost Highway Records) with his band the Imposters and a classical work called “Il Sogno” (Deutsche Grammophon), performed on stage by the Brooklyn Philharmonic. Written and orchestrated entirely by Costello, the score exhibits yet another facet of his varied abilities.

Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrote in a review of the three shows, “Mr. Costello is ceaselessly curious about music. He is inquisitive enough not just to listen widely, but to learn the makings of every idiom that moves him, from lieder to New Orleans rhythm and blues.”

The Washington Post’s Terry Teachout reviewed “Il Sogno,” saying that “Costello has channeled his thematic material into simple, formal structures that he uses in the disciplined manner of a bona fide classical composer. Am I surprised? Totally. But if any rocker could pull off such an improbable feat, it's Elvis Costello, whose musical curiosity has always been boundless.”

Variety’s David Sprague stated of “Il Sogno,” “For the duration of the three-movement, 70-minute piece, the musicians kept up a vigorous dialogue, hemming and hawing, then breaking into lustful roars… [It is] a surprisingly profound concert experience.”

Bradley Bambarger of The Newark Star-Ledger compared Costello to Stravinsky and wrote, “’Il Sogno’ was also unflaggingly melodious, rhythmically vital and -- most impressive -- orchestrated with kaleidoscopic vividness. Reading music is one thing; orchestration is quite another (with most rockers who compose orchestral works ceding that all-important job to trained experts). Costello seems to have taken to this new art with as much panache as he did Americana, torch songs or other genre offshoots from his initial vein of combustible, if highly literate, rock 'n' roll.”

The New York Daily News reviewed both the Imposters show and “Il Sogno.” Rock critic Isaac Guzman dubbed Costello a “Renaissance Man” and lauded his “blistering set” while Classical critic Howard Kissel called Costello’s work “full of delights, sometimes sounding like vintage jazz, other times like vintage Hollywood. Its most notable feature may be Costello’s understanding of the riches of a symphony orchestra. One can only look forward to his explorations of this great resource.”

Posted by Post Master at 12:34 AM | Permalink

If you make something that wouldn't otherwise exist, and get money for it from people who are happy to buy it, aren't you an entrepreneur? Not in the UK, you're a criminal.

This guy certainly put out some Elvis bootlegs, which is why I'm posting it here. God knows his 'Wanted Man' label put out tons of excellent Dylan material through the years. The BBC article includes this priceless quote:

"For at least 11 years he used illicit recordings made by sound engineers and concertgoers to create counterfeit CDs."

What makes these CDs 'counterfiet'? Weren't they CDs? (yes) Did they not include the concerts and artists they claimed? (yes) Did they pretend to be from any label or company other than the one that was putting them out? (no) Was this same material sold by the artists or their record labels in any other form? (no) So why in the world does anyone care?

Concerts are public events. People pay to go and listen. There is ZERO evidence that their availability on CD reduces the number of people who attend live events (witness the ticket-sales history of Dylan, Springsteen, Stones, Prince, and many other heavily bootlegged artists). So what's the problem? When Dylan finally put out officially several heavily bootlegged shows, they sold well - so the practice doesn't even limit the future revenue potential of anyone. When told of the initial success of 'The Basement Tapes' when issued by Columbia, Dylan was surprised and famously remarked "I thought everybody already had them" referring to the fact that copies had widely circulated for years.

More recently, Pearl Jam, The Who, Rickie Lee Jones, and others have started issuing their own 'instant bootlegs' and have done well with it. Other artists should either start doing this, or just let the free market take over. This guy deserves all the money he's made, and should be encouraged to grow his business - not to go sit in jail.

Posted by Post Master at 04:30 PM | Permalink

This SFGate writeup on the backround to De-Lovely has this surprising reference to a `pal` of Elvis -

Winkler then called Diana Krall, whom he'd cast in his 1999 film "At First Sight," to perform "Just One of Those Things." She told her husband-to- be, Elvis Costello, who sang "Let's Misbehave." Costello told his pal Robbie Williams, who crooned "It's De-Lovely." Sheryl Crowe vamped her way through "Begin the Beguine." Simply Red singer Mick Hucknall, unrecognizable as Nelson Eddy in a Canadian Mountie costume, crooned "I Love You," and young R&B singer Vivian Green gave a sultry "Love for Sale" reading.

Posted by Post Master at 11:00 PM | Permalink

The same New York Post Page Six gossip column has this -

CANADA can thank the Teamsters and the other movie unions for all the celebrities in Toronto these days. There's even a Canadian Walk of Fame now. Inducted the other night were Jim Carrey, Shirley Douglas (fiery former wife of Donald Sutherland and mother of Kiefer), John Kay (of "Born to be Wild" fame), director Denys Arcand, singer Diana Krall and hockey great Mario Lemieux. Krall almost forgot to thank her hubby, Elvis Costello, in her acceptance speech. "It's the first time in my life I can thank my husband, because I now have one," she said.

Posted by at 04:57 PM | Permalink

From Page 6 (not sure which paper)
"FINDING the right pop stars comfortable in period costumes to appear in "De-Lovely," the Cole Porter biopic, was a daunting challenge for director Irwin Winkler. But he was pleasantly surprised by the performances by such artists as Sheryl Crow, Diana Krall and Robbie Williams. It was Elvis Costello (above), however, who most impressed Winkler. "Elvis Costello had this image of a wild, woolly, different kind of guy," he told PAGE SIX's Lisa Marsh. "He came in wearing a white dinner jacket, and I just loved it. I never expected that."

Posted by Post Master at 12:09 PM | Permalink

Mastermind
BBC TV 2 , Mon 28 Jun, 9:00 pm - 9:30 pm 30mins

Hosted by John Humphreys, Britain's toughest quiz invites four of the country's cleverest brains to take the lonely walk to the black chair, where they will battle it out for the title of Mastermind 2004.

This programme's specialist subjects are the life and times of Emma Hamilton; the history of the European Cup Finals since 1970; the fiction novels of Michael Crichton; the music Of Elvis Costello.

Posted by at 04:11 PM | Permalink

Gawker.com reports -

Saw Elvis Costello and Diana Krall in Jefferson Market this Thursday ( June 10) afternoon, using the ATM. Costello looked goofy as if in costume but i suspect he always rocks the weirdo/oddly bright accessories and rumpled-tie thing. Krall looked exactly like a young Brett Butler (guttural-voiced real-life battered wife/alcoholic turned sitcom actress/90's survival signifier).

Posted by at 08:19 AM | Permalink

Elvis and his old flame Alison make the BBC's list of top 10 opening song lines. Warren Zevon wins.

Posted by Post Master at 01:42 PM | Permalink

Also, here's an article with interview (and EC content).

Posted by Post Master at 10:16 AM | Permalink

Season two of The Office on DVD features EC in the "Video Diary" section. Series co-creator Stephen Merchant films Ricky Gervais talking with Elvis Costello at some awards ceremony where the show naturally cleaned up.

Elvis says (I'm paraphrasing here) the show is dead-on in its depiction of office life. He was effusive in his praise. Ricky Gervais then excitedly says to the camera after our man walks off, "and this is Elvis Costello saying this!"

- Submitted by Mike Carter

Posted by Post Master at 09:49 AM | Permalink

Not sure when this great article first appeared - lots of talk about The Band and backstage stuff regarding The Last Waltz - and this bit about Elvis Costello:

"Back in the spring of this year, at The Stone Pony club in Asbury Park, New Jersey, Jimmy Vivino organized a benefit show for Hubert Sumlin and put a few of us together to serve as his backup band. Hubert had been very ill and incurred huge medical bills. By God's good graces and a miraculous recovery, Hubert played that night like the master he is. I can't express what a thrill it was to play Wolf's stuff with his guitarist and bandleader showing us the way. The only "big star" to participate in the celebration was Elvis Costello. He sent a check for five grand towards Hubert's doctor's bills."

Posted by Post Master at 04:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Not very big, not very grown up - just very funny !

Posted by at 02:12 PM | Permalink

MusicPlasma

Posted by Post Master at 10:47 PM | Permalink

Today, March 23 2004, is the tenth anniversary of a tragic event that partly inspired a Costello song. On March 23 1994 Captain Yaroslav Kudrinsky, of
Aeroflot flight SU593 from Moscow to Hong Kong, let his children visit the cockpit , while the `plane was on autopilot. A cockpit tape-records his 13-year-old girl, Yana, saying “Daddy, can I turn this?” Then his 15-year old son El'dar took over at the controls, and a calamitous sequence happened. Eagerly swivelling the control column, the child disconnected the autopilot. The plane, still at full power, rolled over sideways and began to plummet at a dizzying 65 feet per second, while crew members shrieked instructions at the bewildered teenager and his father desperately tried to shift him out of the seat. Kudrinsky at last levelled out at 1300 feet, too late to stop the Airbus A310 shattering against a Siberian hillside, killing all 75 aboard.


Elvis first performed the song in August 1996. On what would turn out to be the final Attractions tour it was little more than an instrumental used to
conclude shows , with Elvis shouting the title line repeatedly in-between introducing group members. A completed lyric for the song was part of the Elvis and T-Bone Burnett’s proposal for a TV series in November 2000. The released song was first performed in the Vicar Street venue, Dublin as part of a charity show in February 2001.

Posted by at 01:46 AM | Permalink

If you really want the damn things -

Elvis Costello 45
Elvis Costello Alison
Elvis Costello Almost Blue
Elvis Costello I'll Never Fall In Love Again
Elvis Costello Oliver's Army
Elvis Costello Uncomplicated
Elvis Costello Watching the Detectives
Elvis Costello When I Was Cruel

.....I don`t need it `cos no one ever rings
my `phone...

Posted by at 07:53 AM | Permalink

Elvis Costello has signed with Macklam-Feldman Management, who will act as his worldwide management team. Costello’s career began in 1977 and flourished as he developed as a songwriter and composer. He has collaborated with a wide variety of artists including Paul McCartney, Burt Bacharach, the Brodsky Quartet and Annie Sofie von Otter. His most recent recording, NORTH, a collection of ballads with piano and orchestra, has received good reviews. Macklam-Feldman Management currently manages Joni Mitchell, Diana Krall, the Chieftains, Norah Jones, Susan Tedeschi and the Tragically Hip.

Posted by at 07:59 AM | Permalink

Mr. & Mrs. Costello make the hometown paper: "Nanaimo-born jazz singer Diana Krall gives husband Elvis Costello a peck on the ear during a news conference Thursday to talk about today's benefit concert to raise $350,000 for VGH's leukemia and bone-marrow transplantation program." - Vancouver Sun

Posted by Post Master at 08:04 PM | Permalink

Elvis was name-checked in a bit of fictional storytelling on NPR's 'Next Big Thing".

Rock Star in the Frozen Section
His name is Robert. He’s a retired musician in his late 40s, living in upstate New York, having chosen the simple life over rock’n’roll celebrity. Or so he thought. This work of fiction was written and performed by David Cale. The story involves meeting a rock star in the supermarket, and somehow the guy sings a song called 'The Girl Who Looks Like Elvis Costello' - It's available online for your listening pleasure.

(Submitted by Kathleen Connally)

Posted by Post Master at 01:49 PM | Permalink

Yahoo Launch are looking for votes for the Oscar songs . Vote early - vote often!

Posted by at 08:02 AM | Permalink

This British sunday paper profile of Randy Newman includes this -

I suspect that Newman's perfectionism and self-deprecation reveal a justified conviction that he will be remembered as one of the greats. He guards his back catalogue with a jealousy associated with classical composers. "I heard the record producer Hal Willner was planning a Randy Newman tribute night in Los Angeles," I tell him.

"Yeah, he did it, last month."
"Did you go?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"It was my son's birthday."
"Did they want you to go?"
"I don't know."
"Are you saying you think it would have been difficult
for you to listen to other people doing your songs?"

"Hey - I don't think that. I know it. I really appreciate Hal Willner doing that evening. But I worked hard on the opening chords of 'Sail Away', you know?" So, yes - what the fuck - I want to hear what I did. Anything is not great with a song like that, you know? Some musicians I would trust. Van Dyke Parks I
would trust. Elvis Costello I would trust. But you know what? I would be real careful if I did 'Watching the Detectives'."

Continue reading "`Elvis Costello I would trust ' says Randy Newman" »

Posted by at 01:55 AM | Permalink

On the DVD Extras to Lost In Translation, Bill Murray is shown goofing around doing a lip-sync dance to Alison. They played the clip on Letterman last night when Director Sofia Coppola was the guest. <Order From Amazon>

The movie also prominently features Elvis' version of PLU.

Posted by Post Master at 09:49 PM | Permalink

NON-FICTION Legendary sound engineer Geoff Emerick and veteran music
journalist Howard Massey's HERE, THERE, AND EVERYWHERE: A Legacy of
Sound, Music, and The Beatles, with a foreword by Elvis Costello, from
the man in charge of the recording of such seminal albums as
"Revolver," "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," and "Abbey Road,"
with stories of the groundbreaking recording techniques he pioneered to
give them their unique sound and his post-Beatles days (including
working Paul McCartney & Wings).

(Submitted by Nunki)

Posted by at 04:08 PM | Permalink

Celebrity Guess: Head Games
The Post-it note is apparently the new Kabbalah bracelet. All the celebrities are wearing them. On their foreheads, no less. Mike Myers and his wife, Robin Ruzan; Elvis Costello and his wife, Diana Krall; and Moby recently dined at Nobu with notes attached to their craniums in the midst of a rousing game of “Guess Which Celebrity Name I’ve Got Stuck to My Head” (technically called “I’m a Blah Blah.”) Moby guessed that he was Tom Cruise by asking, “Am I a super-hunk?” It took a little longer for Myers to ascertain that he was Jay Leno, and Costello was equally stumped that he was Cher. (Had they been wearing their own names, there might have been a collective existentialist meltdown.)

Posted by at 04:24 PM | Permalink

Elvis is mentioned at the bottom of this article on murder songs, and could possibly be mentioned on the show it's promoting.

"In San Antonio, news of the tower shootings greatly affected Leon Payne. He was a blind songwriter and singer who had written the great country standards "Lost Highway" and "They'll Never Take Her Love From Me," recorded by Hank Williams. Payne's "Psycho" is unlike anything else he wrote and indeed is very much unlike most other country songs ever written. It's been recorded a few times, most effectively by Elvis Costello, who cut it live at Hollywood's Palomino Club and released it as the B-side of "Sweet Dreams" on a UK-release single. It also appears on his album Almost Blue.

The dark tale is told matter-of-factly -- which only accentuates the horror -- as the song's pace gets faster and faster, and Costello's voice grows darker and darker. It's the story of the frenzied Whitman of the night before his calm sniper spree. And it ends with the chilling line: You think I'm psycho, don't you Mamma/Mamma, why don't you get up?

"Psycho" remains the most chilling song I have ever heard. It can still make the hair on the back of my neck stand up. And that, my friend, is the indicator of a good and powerful song."

(Submitted by Micheal Hernandez)

Posted by Post Master at 11:44 AM | Permalink

Someone's trainspotting:
"We never get to celebritize!

We also never go to spots this nice, but tonight we got to rock the corpo plastic at Nobu, which deserves whatever retarded rep it has. Food was bananas. How did we get in? Apparently the Super Bowl happened today and nobody eats sushi when that's going on. Adorable.

So who's eating edamame at the table across from us? Elvis Costello , Diana Kralll, Moby and five other filler people. Fine. Here's the upgrade: For reasons unbeknownst to us audience members, Elvis, Diana and The Mobester decided to rock Post-Its on their foreheads for close to an hour. Don't know what was written on them but I am sure it was delightfully relevant to something. I did not send Elvis a drink, despite wanting to desperately. 1981: Palladium: me, turning 14, Elvis touring on Trust. Squeeze opened. G-g-g-g-gangsta!"

(Submitted by Robert Sabat)

Posted by Post Master at 08:24 AM | Permalink

No , not our hero this time. However the fact that Elvis has used this name in the past is being noted in a few accounts.

The Salt Lake Tribune

PARK CITY -- A Draper filmmaker's first feature drew
cheers, laughter and a standing ovation in its
premiere screening at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival.

"Napoleon Dynamite," by former Brigham Young
University student Jared Hess, is a comedy about a
dorky Idaho teen (played by Jon Heder) who triumphs
over stuck-up classmates, a nerdy brother (Aaron
Ruell) and an obnoxious uncle (Jon Gries) still trying
to recapture his '80s glory days.
------------------------------------------------------

Though Elvis Costello fans may recognize the name from
one of the singer's mid-'80s personas, Hess said
Napoleon Dynamite was the name of someone he met while
on his mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints in Chicago.

"He asked, 'How come you people are called elders?' "
Hess said. "We asked 'What's your name, sir?' He said,
'My name's Napoleon Dynamite.' I thought, 'That is the
freshest name I've ever heard.' "

Continue reading "'Napoleon Dynamite' debuts at Sundance with a bang" »

Posted by at 03:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Dusty Springfield's Dusty in Memphis by Warren Zanes

I've just finished reading this book, about one of Elvis`favourite albums. Nothing sensationally new in it but an interesting ,thoughtful effort all the same. Zanes has an interesting and amusing way of encapsulating things. Writing about Son Of A Preacher Man he writes -(P.7)

The story it told was suggestive , subversive , and cunningly so. I`d looked down enough blouses in church to know just how the sacred and the profane can meet at prayer time. Elsewhere he neatly sums up the bag of emotional strife that Dusty was with the following (P22) -

If Dusty had always stuck close to the general territory of the teenage unrequited love saga , which , it seems , always had an audience , with the Memphis record she slipped out the back door and went wandering in the night of it all. While he does bang on a bit about the myths of `The South` - and gives Alan Lomax a very hard time - this short book has given me a whole new perspective on this album. Incidentally , he has also read Elvis` sleeve note to the 2002 re-issue - he quotes the `simply one of the most knowingly adult records ever made ` line on p.9.

Excerpt:
The love that is the subject of Dusty in Memphis is different from the love of her earlier songs: it is a love that is all at once diffuse, dark, unpredictable, ecstatic, and a terrible deal. It is a love too big for the lyrical (and for that matter musical) framework of Dusty’s earlier pop productions, no matter the breadth of that work. Like Memphis itself, the love that is the subject of Dusty in Memphis is indeed bursting with the contrary: it happens not simply when you yearn for it, as in some adolescent dream, but when you’re not prepared for it; it reveals itself not simply under the star-filled skies where a moon hangs low--in fact, as the first and last tracks on side one attest, it might be at its best when the sun’s just arriving at work.

Posted by at 05:41 PM | Permalink

In response to a query about works based on Elvis Costello songs, consider D. Daniel Judson's books "The Poisoned Rose" and "The Bone Orchard," both involving the exploits of private investigator Declan "Mac" MacManus.

( submitted by eoconnell)

Posted by at 06:56 PM | Permalink

From houstonpress.com:

"Paddy Moloney has had a busy couple of weeks. The founder of the Chieftains, the world's best-known purveyors of traditional Irish music, spoke with us on the phone from Milan, Italy, where they've just played a series of Christmas shows in historic churches. They also gigged at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. And before that, they played at Elvis Costello and Diana Krall's wedding reception at Elton John's castle. "To see Paul McCartney dancing with our dancers, I couldn't believe it!" Moloney says. "And he's really good, too."

Continue reading "Elvis` wedding band" »

Posted by at 07:18 AM | Permalink

Helene Stapinski`s new memoir is titled after an Elvis `n Cait song.

Stapinski goes on to discover other twilights and intermissions and pains. She writes of her wedding as a flashback almost halfway through the book, and does it in a way that is utterly convincing and irresistibly moving. Her description of serving for a semester as an unpaid intern at Musician magazine - surrounded by misogynistic music geeks - is riotously funny, crisp, spare. She bangs on drums throughout the saga, and all around, but specifically the title of
the book comes from the title of a song that Elvis Costello and his then wife, Cait O'Riordan, had written and which was on Costello's record "Spike" when Stapinski met her husband-to-be, working on a daily newspaper.

Continue reading "Baby Plays Around: A Love Affair with Music, by Helene Stapinski" »

Posted by at 06:34 AM | Permalink

A review of Russell Andrews new book Aphrodite mentions that he refers to Elvis in it.

If there's anything of Gethers' personality that seeps into Westwood's character, it's a love of music. Throughout "Aphrodite," the author references songs by Nick Cave, Elvis Costello, Randy Newman, REM and Loudon Wainwright III.

Continue reading "Author Russell Andrews (aka.Peter Gethers) digs Elvis" »

Posted by at 06:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

One of EC's worst habits (just after telling the same damn story night after night for a year or two) is the fake encores. Today the Washington Post points this out:

"It all seems so unrock-and-roll, doesn't it? Yes, a concert is a type of showbiz, and the soul of showbiz is pageantry and artifice, but rock is supposed to have an aversion to fakery. At minimum, it should have a discomfort with fakery, and there's something pretty fraudulent about "ending" a show early so that a crowd can egg and re-egg you back to the stage for music you were planning to play anyway. At Elvis Costello's Wolf Trap stop last year, he feigned his first exit an hour into the night, turning the next 60 minutes into a series of bonus trips to the microphone that weren't bonuses at all."

There's also a picture of EC on the cover of the Style section. (We don't have a copy yet.) (Submitted by Mike Carter)

Posted by Post Master at 03:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The U.S. radio station KFOG have North as an option in their year end `best of`section.

Posted by at 07:05 PM | Permalink

In case you missed it, Elvis got married. The world did not miss it....

ELVIS Costello gets hitched
Reuters, UK
LONDON (Reuters) - Pop singer Elvis Costello has married Canadian jazz artist Diana Krall in a private ceremony, Costello's agent says. ...

ELVIS Costello weds jazz singer
The Australian, Australia
CANADIAN jazz singer Diana Krall and British music star Elvis Costello were married during the weekend in a private ceremony near London, according to a report ...

DIANA Krall, Elvis Costello reportedly wed
Canada.com, Canada
VICTORIA -- Diana Krall and Elvis Costello appear to have tied the knot this weekend in London, England. Rick Haug, a Nanaimo man ...

DIANA Krall marries Elvis Costello
CNN International, Asia
TORONTO, Ontario (AP) -- Jazz singer Diana Krall has tied the knot with her beau of one year, Elvis Costello, in a wedding near London, Costello's public ...

ELVIS Costello 'In Secret Wedding'
The Scotsman, UK
Elvis Costello has married Canadian jazz singer Diana Krall in a wedding outside London, according to reports. The couple married ...

Posted by Post Master at 11:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

There is going to be a show on A & E Dec 17 at 11 pm EST, about the music of "Cold Mountain". Don't know if this includes any of the concert held recently but EC is sureto be discussed if not interviewed and maybe Alison Krauss will sing the tune. It repeats at 3 am, and then again on Sunday at 10:30 am.

IN other TV news, Live By Request is being re-run on Biography Channelon New Years Eve, at 8 am and 2 pm. And Vh-1 is re-showing the Hall of Fame ceremony on Dec 24 at 6 am.

And Musicians is running Wed morning, 5 am (not sure the channel)
(Submitted by Dave Farr)

Posted by Post Master at 11:27 AM | Permalink

Krall and Costello marry in London . . .

"Nanaimo, B.C.'s jazz chanteuse Diana Krall tied the knot with her beau of one year, Elvis Costello, in a wedding held at Elton John's castle outside London on Saturday night. The approximately 150 guests, who included Paul McCartney and Canada's consul general to New York, Pamela Wallin, were sworn to secrecy.

Krall, 39, and Costello, 49, began dating last January after the Grammy Awards in New York. The two live in New York and on Vancouver Island. The marriage is the first for Krall. Costello's previous two marriages ended in divorce."

Posted by at 02:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Grammy`s

Field 27 — Production, Non-Classical
Category 88

Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
(An Engineer's Award. (Artists names appear in parenthesis.))

Elephunk
Dylan Dresdow, Jun Ishizeki, Chris Lord-Alge, Tony Maserati, Jason Villaroman, Will.i.am & Frank Wolf, engineers (The Black Eyed Peas)
[A&M Records]

Hail To The Thief
Nigel Godrich & Darrell Thorp, engineers (Radiohead)
[Capitol Records]

Natural Selection
Frank Filipetti, Nathaniel Kunkel, Andy Wallace & Josh Wilbur, engineers (Fuel)
[Epic Records]

Nature Boy - The Standards Album
Dave O'Donnell, Malcolm Pollack & Elliot Scheiner, engineers (Aaron Neville)
[Verve Records]

North
Kevin Killen & Bill Moss, engineers (Elvis Costello)
[Deutsche Grammophon]

Posted by at 04:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Vote for Elvis in this silly , pointless chart site. He`s at 78 at the moment - let`s fix that! Look for his albums under `E` for Elvis .

Posted by at 05:58 PM | Permalink

Tim Goodman , TV previewer of The San Francisco Chronicle is clearly a fan of Elvis. Previewing The Simple Life , a new Fox Tv series , he had this to say about the show`s star , Paris Hilton -

`As I watched "The Simple Life," I was reminded of some lyrics by Elvis Costello, from a song that cleverly took to task a pinup girl, using a popular cultural reference at the time of the album -- Madonna: "You're somebody's daughter, you know/ Or is that immaterial girl?"

OK, so the crimes of Paris (wink) are enough to make a father pray his daughter turns out, um, differently.`

Continue reading "The Crimes of Paris" »

Posted by at 07:25 AM | Permalink

The ever maddening Ryan Adams - after doing a particularly self indulgent turn in Dublin - tried to redeem himself in London , borrowing some moves from Elvis in the process.

`At first he doesn't talk, instead playing pumped-up rock while stumbling around on bandy legs borrowed from Elvises Presley and Costello, even his limbs in hock to the past.`

Continue reading "B