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.
Strange
Elvis Costello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
How many hairs in a head
How many waves in the ocean
How many crumbs in bed
But last but not least, but baby most of all
Why do I mmmumble every time you call
[Chorus]
Oh, you`re good to me mama
Well, I admit you are strange
But baby please don`t change
I know I belong with you
How many bubbles in soap
How many chewings in gum
How many rolls in a wheel
Where did eyeballs come from
But last but not least
But baby most of all
Why do I mmmumble every time you call
[Chorus]
How many blanks in a blanket
How many cuts in a knife
How strong is a bedbug
And how deep is his bite
But last but not least
But baby most of all
Why do I mmmumble every time you call
[Chorus]
Strange you got a big double head and one bloodshot eye
Strange you got five double chins?
Strange your knees look like the knees on a billy goat
Strange you got two left legs?
Strange there`s something wrong with you I don`t know what it is
Strange I`m gonna leave you alone, gonna leave you like this
The lyrics of Elvis Costello’s “Strange” consist of a series of nonsensical questions, but they come together to form a commentary on the confusing, inexplicable nature of love. The verses are comprised of a random collection of queries, such as how many wrinkles are in a pickle or how many bubbles are in soap. However, the chorus emphasizes that despite the perplexity of their relationship, the singer feels a strong connection to their partner and doesn’t want them to change.
The song uses the absurdist form of humor to make a poignant point about how little sense love can make. The constant repetition of the question “Why do I mmmumble every time you call” suggests that the singer struggles to articulate their feelings, but they can’t help but feel drawn to the person they’re addressing. The chorus highlights the tension between the contradictory feelings of confusion and attraction, and the final verse suggests that the strangeness of their partner is actually what’s pushing the singer away.
Overall, “Strange” is a playful yet poignant exploration of the contradictions present in love. Despite the sense of confusion and uncertainty, the singer ultimately decides that they belong with their partner.
Line by Line Meaning
How many wrinkles in a pickle
Asking an absurd question to highlight the silliness of pondering the inexplicable.
How many hairs in a head
Asking an absurd question to highlight the silliness of pondering the inexplicable.
How many waves in the ocean
Asking an absurd question to highlight the silliness of pondering the inexplicable.
How many crumbs in bed
Asking an absurd question to highlight the silliness of pondering the inexplicable.
But last but not least, but baby most of all
Why do I mmmumble every time you call
The underlying question about the mysteries of love and attraction, which can never be fully understood or explained.
[Chorus]
Because you`re strange to me baby
Oh, you`re good to me mama
Well, I admit you are strange
But baby please don`t change
I know I belong with you
Acknowledging the strange and mysterious aspects of a romantic partner, while still expressing deep affection and a sense of belonging.
How many bubbles in soap
How many chewings in gum
How many rolls in a wheel
Where did eyeballs come from
But last but not least
But baby most of all
Why do I mmmumble every time you call
Continuing to ask absurd questions about the mysteries of the world, but ultimately returning to the central question of love and attraction.
Strange you got a big double head and one bloodshot eye
Strange you got five double chins?
Strange your knees look like the knees on a billy goat
Strange you got two left legs?
Strange there`s something wrong with you I don`t know what it is
Strange I`m gonna leave you alone, gonna leave you like this
Using humorous insults and descriptions to convey both the strangeness and allure of a romantic partner, while acknowledging that there are still some aspects that remain mysterious and perhaps unknowable.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JAY HAWKINS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind