Born in St Mary's Hospital, Paddington in London, Costello is the son of trumpeter, vocalist and band-leader Ronald (“Ross”) MacManus and record store manager Lillian Costello. His family had roots in Merseyside and he moved to Birkenhead at age 16, with his mother, when his parents separated. While he is better known as 'Elvis Costello', a stage name referring to the legendary Elvis Presley suggested by Stiff Records manager Jake Riviera, he has used many other aliases, including 'The Imposter' and 'Napoleon Dynamite'.
In the early 1970s Costello was a participant in London's pub rock scene with the group Flip City. Then in 1977 along with fellow Pub-Rockers Nick Lowe and Ian Dury he made his first releases on the independent label Stiff, tailoring his work towards the burgeoning punk, power pop, and new wave scenes. From 1980's Armed Forces onwards, however, other influences including soul, country, 1960s pop, and classical music began to re-emerge, and he soon became established as a unique and original voice. His output has been wildly diverse: one critic has written that "Costello, the pop encyclopedia, can reinvent the past in his own image".
His prolific and varied 30-year career has been marked by two constants: sharp songwriting and musical restlessness. The latter has seen him dabble in almost every musical form, from country to jazz to orchestral. This stems from the fact that, at heart, Costello is a fan. His desire to work with his musical heroes has attracted collaborators as diverse as Burt Bacharach and Paul McCartney, Anne Sofie von Otter, Allen Toussaint, Aimee Mann, Bill Frisell, and Brian Eno.
But his most successful partners were his long-term band The Attractions. They comprised Steve Nieve (keyboards), Pete Thomas (drums) and Bruce Thomas (bass). Between 1978 and 1983, this outfit produced a peerless series of albums: This Year's Model; Armed Forces; Get Happy!!; Almost Blue; Trust; Imperial Bedroom and Punch the Clock.
These recordings drew on styles spanning soul, country and western and commercial pop. It was only with 1984's Goodbye Cruel World that Costello started to stumble. An album he concedes was one of his worst, it ushered in a period which produced interesting music but lacked the consistent quality of his halcyon days. Interestingly, although he enlisted the other Elvis's band for King of America in 1986, it was a reunion with The Attractions and former producer Nick Lowe that produced his best album of the late 1980s in the form of the scabrous Blood and Chocolate.
The following albums, Spike and Mighty Like a Rose were uncompromising and difficult solo works, as was the string quartet collaboration The Juliet Letters in 1993. It was only reconvening the Attractions for Brutal Youth the following year that gave his fans another glimpse of what first attracted them to him: punchy, angry pop songs, tightly played by an impeccably taut ensemble.
Since then, Costello has become a career dilettante, true to his inner musical quest, but never again returning to heights he scaled in the early 1980s. Maybe the best work of this latter period was 1998's Painted from Memory. This joint effort with Burt Bacharach matched restrained writing from Costello with stately Bacharach arrangements.
Subsequent career nadirs such as the tune-free North (2003), and instrumental orchestral works such as Il Sogno (2004) led many long-term admirers to conclude that Costello had retained his integrity at the expense of his real musical strengths. However, he has given occasional evidence of his former fire. The ballsy bar-room atmosphere of the collaborative The Delivery Man (2004), suggests that he is still capable of giving his fans what they want, in between his more esoteric experiments.
Elvis is married to jazz vocalist Diana Krall and they have twin sons.
*Upon the film's release, it was noted that the name "Napoleon Dynamite" had originally been used by musician Elvis Costello, most visibly on his 1986 album Blood and Chocolate, although he had used the pseudonym on a single B-side as early as 1982. Filmmaker Jared Hess claims that he was not aware of Costello's use of the name until two days before the end of shooting, when he was informed by a teenage extra. He later said, "Had I known that name was used by anybody else prior to shooting the whole film, it definitely would have been changed ... I listen to hip-hop, dude. It's a pretty embarrassing coincidence." Hess claims that "Napoleon Dynamite" was the name of a man he met around the year 2000 on the streets of Cicero, Illinois while doing missionary work for the Mormon Church.
Costello believes that Hess stole the name: "The guy just denies completely that I made the name up... but I invented it. Maybe somebody told him the name and he truly feels that he came about it by chance. But it's two words that you're never going to hear together." To date, Costello has taken no legal action against the film.
Elvis Costello and Elton John to Make a Television 'Spectacle'
Two of the most respected musicians in the world will collaborate on an extraordinary new television series.
"Spectacle: Elvis Costello with..." is hosted by its namesake and produced in conjunction with Sir Elton John's Rocket Pictures. Elton John will be one of the program's Executive Producers.
The series begain airing in 2008 on CTV in Canada, Channel 4 in the UK and Sundance Channel in the US. FremantleMedia Enterprises, will handle sales of the show to the rest of the world.
Conceived to provide a forum for in-depth discussion and performance with the most interesting and influential artists and personalities of our time, the show fuses the best of talk and music television.
"Spectacle: Elvis Costello with..." is an unpredictable and unprecedented television experience. The series of 13 one-hour programs features everything from intimate one-on-ones with legendary performers and notable newcomers to thematic panel discussions, with a variety of performance elements including unique collaborations, acoustic and impromptu "illustrative" demonstrations of the creative process, and some original interpretations of others' songs by Costello.
13 my little blue window
Elvis Costello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Maybe it will be a farewell note
The poison fountain pen now requires the antidote
And if I avert your gaze
And I should become a shrinking flower
Just punch me on the arm
This could be our finest hour
But I'm counting on you
How am I ever going to make you see?
Nothing in this ugly world comes easily
I want you to be
My lovely hooligan
Come by and smash my pane
Till I can see right through
My little blue window
This is a fingerprint
Maybe you will feel a fond caress
But when you start to speak
Are you tempted to confess?
Well, I was a gloomy soul
Never thought I'd see a brighter day
The dark interior
Blows those silver clouds away
Till now this was my view
But I'm counting on you
How am I ever going to make you see?
Nothing in this ugly world comes easily
I want you to be
My lovely hooligan
Come by and smash my pane
Till I can see right through
My little blue window
My lovely hooligan
Come by and smash my pane
Till I can see right through
My little blue window
My lovely hooligan
Come by and smash my pane
Till I can see right through
My little blue window
In Elvis Costello's song "My Little Blue Window," the lyrics depict a sense of vulnerability and yearning for connection. The opening lines suggest that this could either be a farewell note or an attempt to reconcile with someone. The "poison fountain pen" could be a metaphor for the negative thoughts and emotions that the singer wishes to overcome with an antidote - perhaps the person they are addressing.
The singer acknowledges that they have been a "gloomy soul" but recognizes that this other person has the power to blow away the darkness and reveal a brighter day. They express a desire for this person to be their "lovely hooligan," breaking through the facade of their little blue window, which could be a metaphor for their emotional walls or their limited worldview.
Line by Line Meaning
This is a calling card
This song is a message or announcement to someone
Maybe it will be a farewell note
It could also be a final goodbye
The poison fountain pen now requires the antidote
The writer regrets their hurtful words and wants to make amends
And if I avert your gaze
If I avoid eye contact with you
And I should become a shrinking flower
If I shrink and become less confident
Just punch me on the arm
Encourage and motivate me with physical action if needed
This could be our finest hour
This could be the moment when we shine the brightest
Till now this was my view
Until now, this was my perspective
But I'm counting on you
But I'm relying on you to help me see things differently
How am I ever going to make you see?
How will I convince you to understand my point of view?
Nothing in this ugly world comes easily
Things are difficult in this harsh world
I want you to be my lovely hooligan
I want you to be my courageous and passionate partner in crime
Come by and smash my pane
Come and break down the barriers of my closed-off heart
Till I can see right through
Until I can see things from a new perspective
My little blue window
My small and limited view of the world
This is a fingerprint
This song is a unique and personal expression
Maybe you will feel a fond caress
Maybe it will create a personal connection with you
But when you start to speak
But when you begin to talk
Are you tempted to confess?
Do you feel the urge to reveal your own vulnerabilities?
Well, I was a gloomy soul
I was a pessimistic and unhappy person
Never thought I'd see a brighter day
I never believed I could have a positive outlook on life
The dark interior
My inner negative thoughts and feelings
Blows those silver clouds away
Are swept away by the brighter, more positive outlook
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ELVIS COSTELLO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
D D
Not bad, not bad at all!
MrSkahaskaha
The fake Picasso or the song??? lol... love your art...