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I used to be disgusted; now I try to be amused.
Elvis Costello -
You need a platform upon which to release an orchestral record, otherwise it's just going to be an obscurity.
Elvis Costello
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I find humming is very useful.
Elvis Costello -
The people with the most resources are the federal government. If you can invade a country halfway across the world in a matter of days, you can surely come to the aid of your own citizens in a shorter order of time.
Elvis Costello -
Songs are more powerful than books.
Elvis Costello -
Living a very long time would be a very scary thing.
Elvis Costello -
But there are things in Il Sogno that the methods of The Delivery Man could never achieve.
Elvis Costello -
It's a dangerous game that comedy plays. Sometimes it tells you the truth; sometimes it delays it.
Elvis Costello
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I find it to be the ultimate backhanded compliment when you are compared against yourself.
Elvis Costello -
Happiness isn't a fortune in a cookie. It's deeper, wider, funnier, and more transporting than that.
Elvis Costello -
Don't try to touch my heart, it's darker than you think. And don't try to read my mind, because it's full of disappearing ink.
Elvis Costello -
Music is more like water than a rhinoceros. It doesn't charge madly down one path. It runs away in every direction.
Elvis Costello -
You do have to be a bit careful with your voice. It is an instrument.
Elvis Costello -
I'm just the mere shadow of my former selfishness. I crave the silhouette of your kiss.
Elvis Costello
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Obviously the people that I admired, like the Beatles, were really into rock'n'roll, but it was already a little past rock'n'roll when I started listening and making my own choices about music.
Elvis Costello -
Mention Hubert Sumlin, as well, because Hubert's a great man, and again, you know, I don't play the guitar very good, but when I'm playing this kind of music, I always have him in my mind. I wish I could play like Hubert.
Elvis Costello -
I can't actually play any instrument properly. I can't read music. And here's the New York Times calling me the new George Gershwin. It was so ridiculous, really embarrassing. It was embarrassing to watch these people fall into the trap of their own critical conceits.
Elvis Costello -
I don't think I was ever particularly mean. I can certainly think of some idiotic exchanges I've had. I was accused of destroying pop music, like Wagner destroyed opera - a guy in Germany started ranting that at me.
Elvis Costello -
Writing about music is like dancing about architecture - it's really a stupid thing to want to do.
Elvis Costello -
My family calls me Declan. But most people call me E.C. I think it comes from my dad. It's an Irish convention. You usually call the first child by the initials.
Elvis Costello
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Don't start me talking, I could talk all night. My mind goes sleepwalking while I'm putting the world right.
Elvis Costello -
There's no such thing as an original sin.
Elvis Costello -
Life for me is about movement.
Elvis Costello -
I'd been to Memphis before, but we stayed out of Memphis early on in the late 70s for obvious reasons. People were very sensitive about Elvis Presley, and my stage name obviously would be provocative to some people in that area at that time.
Elvis Costello