# Elvis Costello memoir out **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 9, 2015, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-costello-memoir-out/734027 "2015-10-09T13:55:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-costello-memoir-out/734027/1 "2015-10-09T13:55:37Z")
Hmm, I missed the previous press about this. Here it is on Amazon: [http://www.amazon.com/Unfaithful-Music-Disappearing-Elvis-Costello/dp/0399167250](http://www.amazon.com/Unfaithful-Music-Disappearing-Elvis-Costello/dp/0399167250) The one review I read behind the NYTimes paywall was very complimentary saying it was one of the best-written out there. And long. Cool; I will check it out, probably before Chrissie Hynde’s which has been getting tepid reviews at best. I will also look for Patti Smith’s but am not feeling rushed about it. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-costello-memoir-out/734027/2 "2015-10-09T14:09:10Z")
Wow! I’m psyched for this! Among many other things, I’ll be interested to read what he has to say about Bruce Thomas, and I’m sure Thomas will have something to say about the book as well. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-costello-memoir-out/734027/3 "2015-10-09T14:20:35Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > And long. 688 pages! Yep, Elvis does do words. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-costello-memoir-out/734027/4 "2015-10-09T19:24:39Z")
I just noticed that he’s also releasing a compilation of B-sides to go with the book… None of them look particularly unfamiliar, so I’m not sure I’ll be getting that. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-costello-memoir-out/734027/5 "2015-10-09T19:38:39Z")
…then again, some do look \*slightly \*unfamiliar, so maybe I will. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-costello-memoir-out/734027/6 "2015-10-09T20:18:44Z")
Man, Stiff Records and Elvis were the the foundation of the soundtrack of my college years (during part of which my roommate and I had some 5000 records and over 225 watts in our 10X10 dorm room!) My eldest daughter is (misspelt) Allison. Gonna have to read this. I used to be disgusted, now I try to be amused! ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-costello-memoir-out/734027/7 "2015-10-09T21:14:19Z")
Thanks for the heads up, I had no idea. Elvis has never been far from my playlist ever since I first saw him on SNL way back in '77. mmm ETA: I’m not all that excited about the CD ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-costello-memoir-out/734027/8 "2015-10-09T21:30:09Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > I will also look for Patti Smith’s but am not feeling rushed about it. I haven’t seen **M Train** but I listened to the audiobook of **Just Kids** while driving interstate last year. Although I was no great fan of Smith’s I really loved it. ---
**Author:** ![Enter\_the\_Flagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Enter\_the\_Flagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enter_the_Flagon)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-costello-memoir-out/734027/9 "2015-10-10T17:44:52Z")
Oh, thank you. I’m not the least bit surprised that the book reads well - I mean, we already knew that Elvis writes well. Just looking at the lyrics to High Fidelity, for example, I see a tiny throwaway masterpiece that works on about 20 levels that I interpret, and probably about 100 more that I can’t. Definitely putting this book on my bucket list. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-costello-memoir-out/734027/10 "2015-10-10T18:18:01Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Man, Stiff Records and Elvis were the the foundation of the soundtrack of my college years … If it ain’t Stiff it ain’t worth a fuck. Brilliant days! ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-costello-memoir-out/734027/11 "2015-10-10T21:03:13Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Man, Stiff Records and Elvis were the the foundation of the soundtrack of my college years (during part of which my roommate and I had some 5000 records and over 225 watts in our 10X10 dorm room!) My eldest daughter is (misspelt) Allison. Gonna have to read this. > > I used to be disgusted, now I try to be amused! > [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > If it ain’t Stiff it ain’t worth a fuck. > > Brilliant days! Oh, now you boys have gone and done it, I had to get out a Wreckless Eric album and stare at it wistfully because I don’t have a turntable anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-costello-memoir-out/734027/12 "2015-10-10T23:05:01Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Oh, now you boys have gone and done it, I had to get out a Wreckless Eric album and stare at it wistfully because I don’t have a turntable anymore. I recently randomly came across **Ian Dury** ’s _Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick_, haven’t heard it in a decade or two. I was happy. Then I immediately realized that Dury had died. ☹ mm ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-costello-memoir-out/734027/13 "2015-10-11T00:11:40Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I recently randomly came across **Ian Dury** ’s _Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick_, haven’t heard it in a decade or two. I was happy. Then I immediately realized that Dury had died. ☹ Yeah, I know. Listen to “Billericay Dickie” and get happy again. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-costello-memoir-out/734027/14 "2015-10-11T00:16:16Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > My eldest daughter is (misspelt) Allison. Does she file her nails while they’re draggin’ the lake? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-costello-memoir-out/734027/15 "2015-10-11T00:47:05Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2015, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-costello-memoir-out/734027/16 "2015-10-12T10:24:35Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Oh, now you boys have gone and done it, I had to get out a Wreckless Eric album and stare at it wistfully because I don’t have a turntable anymore. 🙂 Have a good day: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1d6iRjYy7mI/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-BIAC4AOKAgwIABABGGwgbChsMA8=&rs=AOn4CLACcmFY_uf5edhT5IGI6BFATeqV6Q "Wreckless Eric - Whole Wide World (single 1977)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1d6iRjYy7mI) ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2015, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-costello-memoir-out/734027/17 "2015-10-12T12:40:37Z")
In regards to Costello’s memoir: Not to be a troll or anything, I like Elvis Costello as both a performer and personality, but does his book include an infamous incident I read about ages ago where he was drunk in a bar in Texas and referred to the US as a, _“Fucked country”_ and was subsequently beaten up by a woman? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2015, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-costello-memoir-out/734027/18 "2015-10-12T13:20:15Z")
Haven’t read it yet, but I do believe he discusses the incident which didn’t play out how you describe. I believe he referred to Ray Charles as a n\*\*\*\*\* while he (Elvis) was drunk and trying to provoke a fight, which he got when Delaney Bramlett punched him. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-costello-memoir-out/734027/19 "2015-10-27T10:25:31Z")
Update: finished it. If you are a big fan of Elvis Costello, you will likely really enjoy it. If you have read the reviews, it is not a strictly linear autobiography at all. It bops around, so he can move from story to story as they play out. So you will read about his dad, an early Attractions gig, and then something that happened more recently, all in a single flow over the course of a few pages. It is frustrating in that he doesn’t focus on specific pivotal events - e.g., getting big, the Attractions breaking up, his marriages (e.g., how he met Diana Krall or much about his second marriage at all). You hear about them, but sometimes only tangentially within the context of another story. Cool discussions about songwriting with McCartney, talking with Dylan and Jerry Lee Lewis, working with TBone Burnett. The more familiar you are with Elvis’ work and history, the better the stories fill in for you. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-costello-memoir-out/734027/20 "2015-10-27T13:18:16Z")
Thanks for the recommendation. I’m pretty sure I’ll get around to reading it eventually, just don’t know when. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elvis-costello-memoir-out/734027.md?page=2)