Born in St Mary's Hospital, Paddington in London, Costello is the son of trumpeter, vocalist and band-leader Ronald (āRossā) 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.
Iām Not Angry
Elvis Costello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I hear you calling his name, I hear the stutter of ignition (angry)
I could hear you whispering as I crept by your door
So you found some other joker who could please you more
I'm not angry (angry)
I'm not angry anymore (angry)
I'm not angry (angry)
Ooh, I know what you're doin'
I know where you've been
I know where, but I don't care
'Cause there's-a no such thing as an original sin
I've got this camera click, click, clickin' in my head (angry)
I got you talking with your hands, got you smiling with your legs (angry)
Spent all my time in a vanity factory
Wonderin' when they're gonna come and take it all back
I'm not angry (angry)
I'm not angry anymore (angry)
I'm not angry (angry)
I'm not angry anymore (angry)
Ooh, I know what you're doin'
I know where you've been
I know where, but I don't care
'Cause there's-a no such thing as an original sin
Yeah, yeah
Oh, there's no such thing as an original sin
Oh, there's-a no such thing as an original sin (angry)
I'm not angry (angry)
I'm not angry anymore (angry)
I'm not angry (angry)
I'm not angry anymore (angry)
I'm not angry (angry)
I'm not angry (angry)
I'm not angry anymore (angry)
I'm not angry anymore (angry)
I'm not angry anymore (angry)
I'm not angry anymore (angry)
I'm not angry anymore (angry)
I'm not angry anymore (angry)
I'm not angry anymore (angry)
I'm not angry (angry)
The song "I'm Not Angry" by Elvis Costello is a tale of betrayal, jealousy, and ultimately, forgiveness. The first verse sets the scene of the singer overhearing his lover with her new boyfriend, leaving him feeling angry and hurt. But as the song progresses, he claims to have overcome his anger and accepts the fact that his lover has moved on. He dismisses her actions as inevitable, saying "there's no such thing as an original sin."
The second verse reveals the singer's struggle to let go of the past. He describes a camera clicking in his head and memories of his lover's body language. He also reveals that he spent time "in a vanity factory" - a metaphor for obsessively trying to perfect himself to win back his lover's affections. But despite his pain and regret, he insists that he is no longer angry.
The chorus, "I'm not angry anymore," is repeated throughout the song, suggesting that the singer is trying to convince himself as well as his former lover. Overall, the song's message is one of maturity and acceptance - even when love doesn't last, it doesn't always have to end in bitterness.
Line by Line Meaning
You're upstairs with the boyfriend while I'm left here to listen
I am aware that you are with your new partner while I am stuck here, forced to listen to your actions
I hear you calling his name, I hear the stutter of ignition
I can hear you saying his name and the sound of a car starting, indicating that you are leaving
I could hear you whispering as I crept by your door
So you found some other joker who could please you more
As I passed your door, I overheard you whispering sweet nothings to your new partner, who you deem as more satisfying than I am
I've got this camera click, click, clickin' in my head
I cannot get the imagery of your infidelity out of my mind; it continuously replays in my head like a camera clicking
I got you talking with your hands, got you smiling with your legs
I am aware of your actions and how you manipulate your body to attract and please your new partner
Spent all my time in a vanity factory
Wonderin' when they're gonna come and take it all back
I have been consumed with my own ego and appearance, but now I am worried that my life will fall apart
Ooh, I know what you're doin'
I know where you've been
I know where, but I don't care
'Cause there's-a no such thing as an original sin
I am aware of your actions and whereabouts, but I have come to terms with the idea that no one is perfect and we all make mistakes
I'm not angry
I'm not angry anymore
I'm not angry
I'm not angry anymore
I am no longer angry at you for your actions
Oh, there's no such thing as an original sin
I have come to the realization that no one is perfect and mistakes happen; there is no such thing as a truly original sin
Lyrics Ā© Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ELVIS COSTELLO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Michael Lloyd-Billington
You're upstairs with the boyfriend while I'm left here to listen (angry)
I hear you calling his name, I hear the stutter of ignition (angry)
I could hear you whispering as I crept by your door
So you found some other joker who could please you more
I'm not angry (angry)
I'm not angry anymore (angry)
I'm not angry (angry)
I'm not angry anymore (angry)
Ooh, I know what you're doin'
I know where you've been
I know where, but I don't care
'Cause there's-a no such thing as an original sin
I've got this camera click, click, clickin' in my head (angry)
I got you talking with your hands, got you smiling with your legs (angry)
Spent all my time in a vanity factory
Wonderin' when they're gonna come and take it all back
I'm not angry (angry)
I'm not angry anymore (angry)
I'm not angry (angry)
I'm not angry anymore (angry)
Ooh, I know what you're doin'
I know where you've been
I know where, but I don't care
'Cause there's-a no such thing as an original sin
Matt Sambrano
Billy Joel in a Rolling stone interview said Elvis Costello was one of his favorite songwriters....
EC is my favorite by far and still I can appreciate Billy Joel... yes, he's has some crap
But
Just the way you are
Only the good die young
Scenes from an Italian restaurant
Are all outstanding
Rattlebone Okpolosi
"I got you talkin with your hands, got you smiling with your legs " rarely said any better. The writing was so solid and the pop sensibility so square on, this album made it's own place in a disco ducked and punk rocked time.
Dave Allentown
Kudos.
Steve Adkins
I always loved the irony of the title. He is obviously furious, and that's what made his first two albums so fascinating.
Robert Szymanski
This is my favorite song by Elvis Costello because I really dig the guitar riffs...Right on Elvis! I like to see Elvis the Pelvis Presley try to play it!......oh, I forgot the so called King of Rock n roll is dead and gone...oh well...
fordpickup40
Elvis's back up band the Attractions were great too!
Kevin Mcnamara
Yeah they werenāt too shabby
Anthony Andrea
this was clover on this album not the attractions
kenbirzneck
my favorite album, thanks, oh i wish it was 78 again...thanks elvis
Jim Williams
A true survivor of the music industry and one who continues to surprise, thanks for posting this, saves me dragging my vinyl out of the shed!
Jen Arnett
I remember buying this at the locally owned record shop