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Writing about music is like dancing about architecture - it's really a stupid thing to want to do.

Elvis Costello

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Elvis Costello
Age: 69
Born: 1955
Born: August 25
Composer
Guitarist
Record Producer
Singer-Songwriter
London
England
Declan Patrick MacManus
Declan Patrick Aloysius MacManus
Declan MacManus
Architecture
Dancing
Stupid
Music
Writing
Thing
Really
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More quotes by Elvis Costello

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Sometimes I write notes that I have difficulty singing.
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When in doubt, play track 4 - it is usually the one you want.
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My ultimate vocation in life is to be an irritant.
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They say you better listen to the voice of reason But they don't give you any choice 'cause they think that it's treason. So you had better do as you are told. You better listen to the radio.
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I've had a lot of different experiences in music over the years.And not everything you do can satisfy everybody's idealised version of you.
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What do we care, if the world is a joke? We'll give it a big kiss, we'll give it a poke. Death wears a big hat cause he's a big bloke.
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I became an altar boy because of the solemn face, but I got thrown out at fourteen for laughing. Because the priest used to mumble everything except the church plate takings.
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The Internet is overrated. It's much smaller an innovation than people think it is. I don't think it's changed the way anybody makes music.
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Morrissey writes wonderful song titles, but sadly he often forgets to write the song.
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I'm a working travelling musician, but just on a bigger scale...
Elvis Costello
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[Commercial radio] is owned by one or two corporations now, and they're not in the music business. They're in the advertising business.... So let's not kid ourselves. If you want to hear music, go buy a guitar.
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When you work with new people, I think that it throws all of the matters into relief, because you have to explain yourself every time. It's like crossing a new border. They want to see your documents.
Elvis Costello
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Don't tell me you don't know what love is When you're old enough to know better.
Elvis Costello
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And obviously, when I started out, I had a little bit more curiosity than some, and went seeking out the original artists, or in some cases searching up country music.
Elvis Costello
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Certain songs have been written years apart, but they have a natural continuity to my mind.
Elvis Costello
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I've never had any real concern about posterity. I hope some people will be sorry when I'm not here, but I'm not playing for that.
Elvis Costello
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The truth can't hurt you, it's just like the dark. It scares you witless, but in time you see things clear and stark.
Elvis Costello
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I'm a man with a mission in two or three editions And I'm giving you a longing look Everyday, everyday, everyday I write the book.
Elvis Costello
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I think when I was younger I was not very good at writing love songs that didn't have a twist.
Elvis Costello
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I'm drawing from two generations back how to think about music, how to think about why you travel to make music, what the possible pitfalls of that are for the way your life is structured. The good and bad of all of it get into the mix of what's created, what you're creating.
Elvis Costello