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.
Must You Throw Dirt
Elvis Costello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Curiosity, conscience or fate
I know it`s not love
'Cause I once gave you love
And all you showed me was the gate
I got a feeling you've come back
To just rub it in
You've already but big old tears in my eyes
Must you throw dirt in my face
Must you keep telling me that you've got a new love
I don`t need you to remind me
Must you keep telling me how I look so lonely
And my better days are behind me
Must you keep showing me pictures of him
Boasting of his warm embrace
You've already put big old tears in my eyes
Must you throw dirt in my face
You've already left me
And broken my heart
Told me how much you don`t want me
Believe me I`m happier when we`re apart
Why must you come back now to haunt me
Must you keep showing me pictures of him
Boasting of his warm embrace
You've already put big old tears in my eyes
Must you throw dirt in my face
You've already put big old tears in my eyes
Must you throw dirt in my face
Must you throw dirt in my face
In Elvis Costello's "Must You Throw Dirt," the singer is having a conversation, or more like a confrontation, with their ex-lover. The singer knows that their ex has not come back out of love, because they had given them their all before but all they received in return was rejection. The singer suspects that their ex has come back only to rub salt in their wounds and to make them feel small.
The ex continues to make the singer feel inadequate by showing them pictures of their new lover and boasting about the warm embrace that they receive. The singer cannot help feeling hurt and sad, as they still have unresolved feelings for their ex. However, the singer hopes that their ex would stop 'throwing dirt in their face' and move on with their life.
The song explores themes of heartbreak, jealousy, and insecurity. The singer is coming to terms with the end of their relationship, but their ex's actions make it more challenging to move forward. The lyrics convey a sense of despair and helplessness, as the singer is unable to escape their ex's hold on them.
Line by Line Meaning
What is it that brings you to this part of town
I am curious as to why you felt the need to come see me in this part of town.
Curiosity, conscience or fate
I wonder if your visit is driven by your curiosity, your morals, or if it was just meant to be.
I know it's not love
I understand that your visit is not because you still have feelings for me.
'Cause I once gave you love
I know that I once loved you and showed you affection before, but that is no longer the case.
And all you showed me was the gate
You rejected my love and left me with nowhere to turn.
I got a feeling you've come back
It seems to me that you have returned to get revenge.
To just rub it in
You want to make me feel bad and remind me of how you hurt me.
And to really put me in my place
You want to make sure that I know my worth and that I am not good enough for you.
Must you keep telling me that you've got a new love
I don't need to hear about your new relationship, it only hurts me more.
I don`t need you to remind me
I am aware of the fact that you have moved on, you don't need to keep telling me.
Must you keep telling me how I look so lonely
I don't appreciate you pointing out my insecurities and making me feel worse about myself.
And my better days are behind me
Stop reminding me of my past and my failures, it only makes me feel worse.
Must you keep showing me pictures of him
I don't want to see pictures of your new lover, it only makes me feel jealous and hurt.
Boasting of his warm embrace
You are rubbing it in my face that he is able to provide the affection that I could not.
You've already left me
You have already broken up with me, why do you keep coming back to make me feel bad?
And broken my heart
You have hurt me deeply and caused me a lot of emotional pain.
Told me how much you don`t want me
You have made it clear that you no longer have feelings for me and don't want to be with me.
Believe me I`m happier when we`re apart
I am better off without you and happier when you are not around to remind me of my pain.
Why must you come back now to haunt me
Why are you coming back to bring up painful memories and make me feel worse about myself?
You've already put big old tears in my eyes
Your actions have already made me cry and hurt me deeply.
Must you throw dirt in my face
Do you really need to add insult to injury and make me feel worse about myself?
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BILL ANDERSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
danalogue
IMHO, best spot in the house is near the soundboard.
Jason Umbrellabird
Who's playing the mando?