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.
Little Triggers
Elvis Costello Lyrics
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Little triggers, I don't want to be hung up, strung up
When you don't call up
Little sniggers on your lips
Little triggers in your grip
Little triggers, my hand on your hip
Worryin' about the consequences
Waiting until I come to my senses
Better put it all in present tenses
Little triggers that you pull with your tongue
Little triggers, I don't want to be hung up, strung up
When you don't call up
Little sniggers on your lips
Little triggers in your grip
Little triggers, my hand on your hip
Worryin' about the common decency
When it is only a question of frequency
When you say okay but you've got cheek to be
Sayin' you're tired of me when you don't even weaken these
Little triggers that you pull with your tongue
Little triggers, I don't want to be hung up, strung up
When you don't call up
Little sniggers on your lips
Little triggers in your grip
Little triggers, my hand on your hip
The song "Little Triggers" by Elvis Costello is a catchy pop/rock tune about being caught up in a relationship with someone who uses little triggers to control and manipulate the other person. The lyrics are sung from the perspective of someone who is caught in this power struggle and is struggling to maintain some sense of control and autonomy in the relationship. The little triggers that are mentioned in the lyrics refer to the subtle ways in which the other person exerts their control, such as with the sniggers on their lips or the triggers in their grip.
The first verse sets the tone for the song, with Costello singing about the little triggers that his partner uses to pull him in and then leave him hanging. In the chorus, he repeats his desire not to be caught up or strung up by these little triggers. He goes on to describe his physical attraction to his partner, with the little triggers in her grip and his hand on her hip.
The second verse delves deeper into the power dynamic of the relationship, with Costello worrying about the consequences of their behavior and waiting for a moment of clarity. He then turns the tables on his partner, accusing her of using the guise of common decency to mask her true intentions. He ends the song pleading for his partner to stop using these little triggers and to be honest with him instead.
Overall, "Little Triggers" is a clever pop song that explores the dynamics of a complicated relationship. Its catchy melody and relatable lyrics make it a crowd-pleaser at live shows, and it remains a fan favorite to this day.
Line by Line Meaning
Little triggers that you pull with your tongue
You say things that provoke a reaction from me.
Little triggers, I don't want to be hung up, strung up
When you don't call up
I don't want to be obsessed with you when you're not even calling me.
Little sniggers on your lips
You're mocking me with your smirks.
Little triggers in your grip
You're controlling me with subtle actions.
Little triggers, my hand on your hip
I'm trying to be affectionate, but you're provoking me in uncomfortable ways.
Thinkin' all about those censored sequences
I'm thinking about the things we don't talk about.
Worryin' about the consequences
I'm worried about what will happen to us if things continue like this.
Waiting until I come to my senses
I'm waiting for a moment of clarity so I can make a rational decision about our relationship.
Better put it all in present tenses
I need to focus on the present and not worry too much about the future or past.
Worryin' about the common decency
I'm worried about behaving correctly in our relationship.
When it is only a question of frequency
The only issue is that we're not spending enough time together.
When you say okay but you've got cheek to be
You're saying it's okay, but you're clearly being disrespectful.
Sayin' you're tired of me when you don't even weaken these
You're claiming to be tired of me, but you're not doing anything to fix our issues.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ELVIS COSTELLO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind