# I have strong negative emotions toward the music of Elvis Costello **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 25, 2013, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-strong-negative-emotions-toward-the-music-of-elvis-costello/677128 "2013-12-25T04:57:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2013, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-strong-negative-emotions-toward-the-music-of-elvis-costello/677128/21 "2013-12-25T17:17:43Z")
He wrote “Almost Blue” for Chet Baker. For that I’ll always be grateful. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2013, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-strong-negative-emotions-toward-the-music-of-elvis-costello/677128/22 "2013-12-25T17:26:08Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > As for his voice - well, it’s kind of like Sting’s - distinct sounding with a weird timbre, but in a rock/pop (I.e not opera) context, it’s well trained. Great vibrato, ease hitting the notes. It took me a few years to really listen to his vocal mechanics be he’s actually a very good singer - but I get why folks may still not want to listen to it. I actually agree! He has an unusual voice, but he’s a very good singer technically. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2013, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-strong-negative-emotions-toward-the-music-of-elvis-costello/677128/23 "2013-12-25T17:28:51Z")
> [@LC\_Strawhouse](#): > > In my experience, Elvis Costello = music for dudes with goatees who gather in coffeeshops and exchange smug know-it-all conspiracy theories about the world. > (like Frank Zappa, but even more so) Good lord, how wrong-headed. Again - just listen to Pump it Up - I found this video: [http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xr22b\_elvis-costello-pump-it-up\_music](http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xr22b_elvis-costello-pump-it-up_music) Simple, 3-minute, exuberant pop song that happens to have great lyrics. How is that hipster, pretentious, or Zappa-complex? Please :rolleyes: ---
**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:** [December 25, 2013, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-strong-negative-emotions-toward-the-music-of-elvis-costello/677128/24 "2013-12-25T17:29:59Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Oops…heh…forgot these: > > 1983 Punch the Clock > 1984 Goodbye Cruel World > > Which in my universe were never issued. Hey, I like _Punch the Clock_. It was my first Elvis album; and I still enjoy it more than _King of America_ or _Get Happy!!_ and think it’s one of his most underrated. I enjoy the sound of that album (the piano-heavy, Langer-Winstanley production). Once you get past his earlier albums that you listed, I really _admire_ Elvis’s attempt at variety and experimentation with different styles, and some of the results were really good, but he wasn’t as consistently listenable. ---
**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:** [December 25, 2013, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-strong-negative-emotions-toward-the-music-of-elvis-costello/677128/25 "2013-12-25T17:40:06Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Good lord, how wrong-headed. Again - just listen to Pump it Up - I found this video: > > [http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xr22b\_elvis-costello-pump-it-up\_music](http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xr22b_elvis-costello-pump-it-up_music) > > Simple, 3-minute, exuberant pop song that happens to have great lyrics. How is that hipster, pretentious, or Zappa-complex? > > Please :rolleyes: Of course, he could be a _difficult_ young man on occasion, like his ‘fuck you’ to Lorne Michaels: [http://videos.mediaite.com/video/Elvis-Costello-Radio-Radio-1977](http://videos.mediaite.com/video/Elvis-Costello-Radio-Radio-1977) But talk about another fantastic 3-minute pop song. 🙂 ---
**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:** [December 25, 2013, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-strong-negative-emotions-toward-the-music-of-elvis-costello/677128/26 "2013-12-25T17:45:58Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Hey, I like _Punch the Clock_. It was my first Elvis album; and I still enjoy it more than _King of America_ or _Get Happy!!_ and think it’s one of his most underrated. I enjoy the sound of that album (the piano-heavy, Langer-Winstanley production). > > Once you get past his earlier albums that you listed, I really _admire_ Elvis’s attempt at variety and experimentation with different styles, and some of the results were really good, but he wasn’t as consistently listenable. Hmmm, may have to relisten. I’ll add that the guy puts on a fantastic show; here’s the set list from one of my favorites: [http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Concert\_1982-07-29\_Austin](http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Concert_1982-07-29_Austin) 1. Accidents Will Happen 2. Green Shirt 3. Pidgin English 4. Hand In Hand 5. Shabby Doll 6. Watch Your Step 7. Back Stabbers / King Horse 8. …And In Every Home 9. Watching The Detectives 10. The Long Honeymoon 11. Kid About It 12. Temptation 13. From Head To Toe 14. You Belong To Me 15. New Lace Sleeves 16. Alison 17. Beyond Belief 18. Clubland 19. Imperial Bedroom 20. (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes 21. Two Steps From The Blues 22. Mystery Dance 23. Why Don’t You Love Me (Like You Used To Do)? 24. All These Things 25. Pump It Up 26. Tears Before Bedtime 27. Shipbuilding 28. (What’s So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding? 29. Radio, Radio 30. Big Sister’s Clothes ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2013, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-strong-negative-emotions-toward-the-music-of-elvis-costello/677128/27 "2013-12-25T18:00:50Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Of course, he could be a _difficult_ young man on occasion, like his ‘fuck you’ to Lorne Michaels: > > [http://videos.mediaite.com/video/Elvis-Costello-Radio-Radio-1977](http://videos.mediaite.com/video/Elvis-Costello-Radio-Radio-1977) > > But talk about another fantastic 3-minute pop song. 🙂 Yep; a classic moment that SNL still mines for notoriety. I go back to Sting - great 3-min pop-craftsman who reached back to his jazz-fusion douchebag roots and add lute playing douchiness to his repertoire (ftr, I love good lute playing - just having Sting do it rubs me wrong). On the Sting scale, Elvis Costello is not nearly as bad… ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2013, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-strong-negative-emotions-toward-the-music-of-elvis-costello/677128/28 "2013-12-25T18:11:40Z")
No one has to like Elvis Costello, of course. “I just don’t like his music” is an irrefutable argument. But the whole “Oh he’s just a darling of critics and intellectuals” thing is the worst sort of bullshit and reverse snobbery. First of all it isn’t based on anything but the vague impressions of someone who doesn’t like the music in the first place. IOW, the kind of argument that gets eviscerated all the time on this board, as it should. Secondly, even if it was true, so what? Are you saying that being a smart person, even (gasp!) an intellectual, means your musical tastes are invalid? Or that someone who has listened to an incredibly large amount of music, made a study at it, shouldn’t be listened to? Not only is that dumb in itself, I think you’ll find real music heads like a lot of low brow stuff. Johnny Cash certainly isn’t some huge intellectual, but his resurgence was due in part to hipsters and music buffs. (And Rick Rubin.) So don’t like Elvis Costello. That’s fine. I tried to like Jazz for a long time, and finally realized it was never going to click for me. Even with EC I only really like his first three albums. But don’t try to pile on a lot of reverse snobbery on top of that perfectly fine, perfectly valid subjective opinion. Thanks, and Merry Christmas. ---
**Author:** ![Capt\_Kirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@Capt\_Kirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_Kirk)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2013, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-strong-negative-emotions-toward-the-music-of-elvis-costello/677128/29 "2013-12-25T18:20:21Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Of course, he could be a _difficult_ young man on occasion, like his ‘fuck you’ to Lorne Michaels: > > [http://videos.mediaite.com/video/Elvis-Costello-Radio-Radio-1977](http://videos.mediaite.com/video/Elvis-Costello-Radio-Radio-1977) > > But talk about another fantastic 3-minute pop song. 🙂 I must be dense. Just watched the linked video and I don’t see the FU to Lorne. Please explain, slowly and using small words. I did notice he called an “audible”. **Capt** ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2013, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-strong-negative-emotions-toward-the-music-of-elvis-costello/677128/30 "2013-12-25T18:26:08Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Good lord, how wrong-headed. Again - just listen to Pump it Up - I found this video: > > [http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xr22b\_elvis-costello-pump-it-up\_music](http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xr22b_elvis-costello-pump-it-up_music) > > Simple, 3-minute, exuberant pop song that happens to have great lyrics. How is that hipster, pretentious, or Zappa-complex? > > Please :rolleyes: I agree that a lot of his stuff including that one is not pretentious (and I am a fan.) But to be fair, another band with a lot of straight ahead pop output, Sloan, was also known for a long time as a hipster favorite. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2013, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-strong-negative-emotions-toward-the-music-of-elvis-costello/677128/31 "2013-12-25T18:58:26Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > I agree that a lot of his stuff including that one is not pretentious (and I am a fan.) > > But to be fair, another band with a lot of straight ahead pop output, Sloan, was also known for a long time as a hipster favorite. Dude -all true; just to say that Power Pop has been the refuge of hipsters for decades. I’m not hipster material, but bands like Big Star, Jellyfish, and yeah, Sloan are examples of that… Oh, and nice post, **Larry Borgia** … ---
**Author:** ![Rex\_Goliath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bcef8e/32.png) [@Rex\_Goliath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rex_Goliath)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2013, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-strong-negative-emotions-toward-the-music-of-elvis-costello/677128/32 "2013-12-25T19:21:49Z")
> [@Capt\_Kirk](#): > > I must be dense. Just watched the linked video and I don’t see the FU to Lorne. Please explain, slowly and using small words. I did notice he called an “audible”. > > **Capt** > **[The Stunt That Got Elvis Costello Banned From Saturday Night Live (1977)](https://www.openculture.com/2013/09/the-stunt-that-got-elvis-costello-banned-from-saturday-night-live.html)** > > One of the defining moments in Elvis Costello's career happened on December 17, 1977, when he appeared on Saturday Night Live. Costello was 23 years old. His debut album, My Aim Is True, had just come out in America a month earlier. More of a middle finger to NBC, really. > [@](#): > > They were supposed to play his single “Less Than Zero,” a catchy tune about a loathsome politician in England. But only a few bars into the song, Costello put a stop to it. “I’m sorry, ladies and gentlemen,” he said, “but there’s no reason to do this song here.” At that point he and the band launched into “Radio Radio,” a song that takes a jab at corporate-controlled broadcasting. Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels was furious. According to some reports, he raised his middle finger at Costello and kept it up until the unapproved song was over. Costello was banned from the show for nearly 12 years. ---
**Author:** ![Capt\_Kirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@Capt\_Kirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_Kirk)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2013, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-strong-negative-emotions-toward-the-music-of-elvis-costello/677128/33 "2013-12-25T19:33:56Z")
> [@Rex\_Goliath](#): > > [The Stunt That Got Elvis Costello Banned From Saturday Night Live (1977) | Open Culture](http://www.openculture.com/2013/09/the-stunt-that-got-elvis-costello-banned-from-saturday-night-live.html) > > More of a middle finger to NBC, really. Thank you, I knew it had something to do with the “audible”. Cheers **Capt** ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2013, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-strong-negative-emotions-toward-the-music-of-elvis-costello/677128/34 "2013-12-25T22:51:37Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Good lord, how wrong-headed. Again - just listen to Pump it Up - I found this video: > > [http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xr22b\_elvis-costello-pump-it-up\_music](http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xr22b_elvis-costello-pump-it-up_music) > > Simple, 3-minute, exuberant pop song that happens to have great lyrics. How is that hipster, pretentious, or Zappa-complex? > > Please :rolleyes: I took a watch/listen. First, this is unwatchable. His dancing, body language, and facial expressions are just intolerable. Hate hate hate. I think it would be a better song without him singing it. I get that high-ego “oh listen to me be clever!” feeling that I get from 99.9% of his songs. Revulsion is the feeling. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2013, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-strong-negative-emotions-toward-the-music-of-elvis-costello/677128/35 "2013-12-25T23:06:19Z")
It’s interesting that Sting was mentioned, as he has the same flaw to me: smug, ego-driven, narcissistic vibe. He seems really into his own shit. For some reason, his work with the Police doesn’t bug me much up until around “Synchronicity.” His solo stuff is just unbearable, though. The funny thing to me is that artists who project the ego like this seem relatively rare. I think the vast majority of performers, even the very top ones like Elvis (the real one), Michael Jackson, and David Bowie, get into the characters of their songs, and the ego more or less melts away during the performance. I think that’s one of the reasons that they are successful to begin with. Even someone like Kanye’s music doesn’t hit me that way. So I don’t raise this as a generic complaint against a lot of artists. EC, Sting… I’m trying to think of any others. I can’t off the top of my head. It’s a pretty rare flaw. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2013, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-strong-negative-emotions-toward-the-music-of-elvis-costello/677128/36 "2013-12-25T23:48:11Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > It’s interesting that Sting was mentioned, as he has the same flaw to me: smug, ego-driven, narcissistic vibe. He seems really into his own shit. For some reason, his work with the Police doesn’t bug me much up until around “Synchronicity.” His solo stuff is just unbearable, though. > > The funny thing to me is that artists who project the ego like this seem relatively rare. I think the vast majority of performers, even the very top ones like Elvis (the real one), Michael Jackson, and David Bowie, get into the characters of their songs, and the ego more or less melts away during the performance. I think that’s one of the reasons that they are successful to begin with. Even someone like Kanye’s music doesn’t hit me that way. > > So I don’t raise this as a generic complaint against a lot of artists. EC, Sting… I’m trying to think of any others. I can’t off the top of my head. It’s a pretty rare flaw. I have no idea where to begin with this post or the one above it. Enjoy your point of view. And I have no idea what to do with your analysis of the prevalence of ego in artists - cuz, yep, it’s pretty much just Sting and Elvis Costello who have ego issues :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2013, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-strong-negative-emotions-toward-the-music-of-elvis-costello/677128/37 "2013-12-25T23:51:30Z")
My favorite story about Elvis Costello: Chrissie Hynde once beat him up in a bar! (because he was an asshole) I love his music, mostly the early stuff; but he was clearly an asshole, judging from his lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![BrokenBriton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@BrokenBriton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrokenBriton)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2013, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-strong-negative-emotions-toward-the-music-of-elvis-costello/677128/38 "2013-12-26T00:01:29Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > I took a watch/listen. > > First, this is unwatchable. His dancing, body language, and facial expressions are just intolerable. Hate hate hate. > > I think it would be a better song without him singing it. I get that high-ego “oh listen to me be clever!” feeling that I get from 99.9% of his songs. > > Revulsion is the feeling. ^ this is a response to watching the ‘Pump it Up’ video. Extraordinary. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2013, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-strong-negative-emotions-toward-the-music-of-elvis-costello/677128/39 "2013-12-26T00:41:55Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > First, this is unwatchable. His dancing, body language, and facial expressions are just intolerable. Hate hate hate. It’s okay man, I kinda get it. I’m that way about a couple of actors. For some reason Jan-Michael Vincent has always made my skin crawl - I have a visceral dislike of anything he is in. Of course in THIS case you are flat-out wrong :p. Elvis Costello is an uber-talented genius and an awesome performer. But I do understand having that sort of vibe as a general sort of thing ;). We can’t like everything. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2013, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-strong-negative-emotions-toward-the-music-of-elvis-costello/677128/40 "2013-12-26T01:02:57Z")
I too understand that reaction despite being a fan of both EC and Sing. Like Tamerlane, I get that vibe from a couple of actors, Val Kilmer especially. I still say I hate him no matter how many times I see him do really well in a movie I enjoy. I even agree that EC and Sing do give off that particular vibe, I just find their music likeable enough to more than overcome it, Sting’s lute playing and some of Elvis’s more crooning numbers both being notable exceptions. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-strong-negative-emotions-toward-the-music-of-elvis-costello/677128.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-strong-negative-emotions-toward-the-music-of-elvis-costello/677128.md?page=3)