Elvis Costello (born Declan Patrick MacManus on 25 August 1954) is an inter… Read Full Bio ↴Elvis Costello (born Declan Patrick MacManus on 25 August 1954) is an internationally known English singer-songwriter. Gaining prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-70s, he burst into fame with his critically acclaimed 1977 debut 'My Aim Is True', still one of the most successful debuts of all time. He soon did much work in the genres of punk rock, power pop, and New Wave after he formed Elvis Costello & The Attractions. In a long and successful career, Costello has released over thirty studio albums on his own and with the Attractions, the Imposters, and other collaborations, praised by many critics for his literate, witty songwriting.

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.

Poison Moon
Elvis Costello Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

And these bones, they don't look so good to me
Jokers talk and they all disagree
One day soon, I will laugh right in the face of the poison moon

You look in the mirror
I'm sorry, but it can't be replaced
You're thrown straight out in that cruel parade
Buttoned down and laced
It starts like fascination, it ends up like a trance
You've gotta use your imagination on some of that magazine romance

And these bones - they don't look so good to me
Jokers talk and they all disagree

One day soon, I will laugh right in the face of the poison moon
One day soon, I will laugh right in the face of the poison moon

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Elvis Costello's song "Poison Moon" are about a person who is struggling to find a sense of belonging and stability in their life. The opening lines suggest that the person is having a difficult time distinguishing between reality and their dreams, and they feel adrift in a nightmare. They try to find comfort in the idea of home, but even that is falling apart for them.

The second verse continues this theme of instability and uncertainty, with the person's luck seeming to turn against them. They are losing money and love, and their bones don't look good to them, perhaps suggesting a sense of physical or emotional vulnerability. The third verse shifts to a narrative about someone else, perhaps a lover, and the cruel world they inhabit. The person is thrown out into a parade of conformity, and they struggle to maintain their individuality and imagination.

The chorus ties all of these themes together, with the person acknowledging the obstacles and challenges they face but also asserting their determination to overcome them. The poison moon could be seen as a metaphor for the difficulties and adversity that the person is facing, but they are resolute in their intention to eventually laugh in its face.

Line by Line Meaning

Cut loose in a nightmare, cast off in my dreams
Feeling lost and disconnected, caught between reality and fantasy

If home is anywhere that I can hang my hat
My sense of belonging is tenuous and impermanent

Then it`s coming apart at the seams
My life is falling apart

My luck is hanging upside down
Everything seems to be going wrong

I try to hold on tight
I'm doing my best to keep it together

But money`s rolling out of town
I'm losing everything I have

And love slips right out of sight
I can't seem to hold onto any meaningful relationships

And these bones, they don`t look so good to me
I feel old and worn out, physically and emotionally

Jokers talk and they all disagree
People around me offer conflicting advice and opinions

One day soon, I will laugh right in the face of the poison moon
I will overcome these struggles and find happiness in spite of it all

You look in the mirror
You examine yourself, trying to understand your own feelings

I`m sorry, but it can`t be replaced
You're grieving something that you know can never be recovered

You`re thrown straight out in that cruel parade
Life can be harsh and merciless

Buttoned down and laced
You try to present a composed and polished image to the world

It starts like fascination, it ends up like a trance
You become obsessed with something, but eventually lose touch with reality

You've gotta use your imagination on some of that magazine romance
Don't take everything you see in the media at face value

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ELVIS COSTELLO

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

CmoneyPlayz

5y↑9

Cut loose in a nightmare, cast off in my dreams
If home is anywhere that I can hang my hat
Then it's coming apart at the seams
My luck is hanging upside down
I try to hold on tight
But money's rolling out of town
And love slips right out of sight
And these bones, they don't look so good to me
Jokers talk and they all disagree
One day soon, I will laugh right in the face of the poison moon
You look in the mirror
I'm sorry, but it can't be replaced
You're thrown straight out in that cruel parade
Buttoned down and laced
It starts like fascination, it ends up like a trance
You've gotta use your imagination on some of that magazine romance
And these bones - they don't look so good to me
Jokers talk and they all disagree
One day soon, I will laugh right in the face of the poison moon
One day soon, I will laugh right in the face of the poison moon

All comments from YouTube:

CmoneyPlayz

5y↑9

dandylionwine

3y↑1

I've never heard this one before. It's always cool hearing how some of his lyrics started their life - I've heard that "Starts like fascination, ends up like a trance" in Party Girl off the Armed Forces album.