ABC, Brisbane Radio interview.

martinfoyle · Post by **martinfoyle** » Tue Oct 21, 2003 8:12 am

http://www.abc.net.au/brisbane/stories/s971891.htm

Elvis Costello tells ABC Brisbane: I'm Sickened by the Music Industry
Reporter: Scott Spark

Presenter: Spencer Howson

Tuesday, 21 October 2003

Elvis Costello

He’s one of our most enduring rock musicians and pop-cultural icons. Yet, in all his 26-years of releasing music, Elvis Costello has never achieved a #1 hit record on any chart, anywhere in the world. Until now!

Elvis Costello’s twentieth album, “North”, was released last month, and has just topped the Billboard Traditional Jazz Album Chart.

612 ABC Brisbane’s Scott Spark discovered a man sickened by the industry in which he works and seriously considering ending his recording career yet, at the same time, happy to celebrate his first ever #1 record!!

Exclusive to ABC Online, here's a thirty minute edit of Scott Spark's original interview (including seventeen minutes of bonus material, not broadcast on 612 ABC Brisbane).

Listen to Elvis Costello with 612 ABC Brisbane's Scott Spark
( Audio in RealMedia format ) | Requires RealPlayer

martinfoyle · Post by **martinfoyle** » Tue Oct 21, 2003 8:31 am

Giving this interview a listen as I write.
16 minutes in is the news that the orchestral record wont be out till the end of 2004, when EC's hope to have orchestras lined up to play it live.
Then he says he does'nt plan to play the UK again, following the reception the UK media gave North.
Interesting stuff, well worth a listen. Mr. Howson is a good listener.

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Tue Oct 21, 2003 9:00 am

Wow. Worth a listen. EC doesn't sound too happy about the reception North received in the UK. You have to wonder if he will keep his word about never playing the UK again. Some of you may have just seen him live for the last time.

Post by **spooky girlfriend** » Tue Oct 21, 2003 9:07 am

Uh-oh, where's Verbal? Maybe he can get EC to change his mind on that one.

PlaythingOrPet · Post by **PlaythingOrPet** » Tue Oct 21, 2003 9:22 am

Who Shot Sam? wrote:Some of you may have just seen him live for the last time.

Don't get hysterical, WSS? And lose one of his biggest markets? Yeah...that's a really good idea, Elvis. How about he actually follows through with one of his empty threats for once?

I love him dearly but he infuriates me sometimes.

* If he "truly believes" he'll never play in England again, does that mean the two dates here in early November are cancelled? *

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Tue Oct 21, 2003 9:31 am

POP:

I am not "hysterical." Read my post again. I did say that "You have to wonder if he'll keep his word..."

I doubt it, but it shows you how angry he is about the UK media...

A rope leash · Post by **A rope leash** » Tue Oct 21, 2003 9:32 am

I think he prefers non-aligned countries!

Of all cultures, you'd have thought the British would have embraced North.

Ahhh...there's nothing quite like Elvis Costello pissing about his fans!

Of course, swearing off the homeland makes it easier to defect to Canada!
You done him wrong! How could you?!

PlaythingOrPet · Post by **PlaythingOrPet** » Tue Oct 21, 2003 9:58 am

Over-dramatic then, Sam. Have there not been some bloody awful reviews of North in the US, or am I making that up? One of the best anywhere was in Word magazine, which is, um, English.

I just hate his flippant disregard for the British audience, most of which, taking a wild guess here, are not music magazine hacks. Saying that, it was a good interview.

Post by **spooky girlfriend** » Tue Oct 21, 2003 10:05 am

Diana may be sending him subliminal messages to "hate British, love Canadians."

Misha · Post by **Misha** » Tue Oct 21, 2003 10:06 am

Whoever sees Elvis next, remind him that British Press is not equal to British People. He's lived his whole life not giving a rats ass about it, I'd like to see him continue to do so.

Punishing a whole collection of countries because of their media is juvenile. Thought he was done being juvenile.....alas...

verbal gymnastics · Post by **verbal gymnastics** » Tue Oct 21, 2003 10:34 am

PlaythingOrPet wrote:* If he "truly believes" he'll never play in England again, does that mean the two dates here in early November are cancelled? *

Nnnnnnooooooooo!

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Tue Oct 21, 2003 10:34 am

PlaythingOrPet wrote:Over-dramatic then, Sam. Have there not been some bloody awful reviews of North in the US, or am I making that up? One of the best anywhere was in Word magazine, which is, um, English.

I just hate his flippant disregard for the British audience, most of which, taking a wild guess here, are not music magazine hacks. Saying that, it was a good interview.

Fair enough. The Salon review, one of the more negative ones I've read over here, certainly did not speak for me. The perfunctory dismissal of the album in this month's issue of Uncut was incredibly shallow and unfair. EC's never been a fan of music critics, but this album has elicited some especially thoughtless assessments based on stuff totally unrelated to the music itself.

pip_52 · Post by **pip_52** » Tue Oct 21, 2003 10:38 am

martinfoyle wrote: Then he says he does'nt plan to play the UK again, following the reception the UK media gave North.

Well, he has been known to hold a grudge . . .

laughingcrow · Post by **laughingcrow** » Tue Oct 21, 2003 12:27 pm

Just 'cos the music reviewer in the musical equivalent of tabloids think that North is average...no need to punish the fans Elv!

Judging by the turnout at Glasgow this UK leg has been pretty successful...so I don't think he'll not play here again. When he says UK does he mean that he'll play in Eire again...I'll have to pop on the ferry, either that or catch the plane to the big country.

Post by **BlueChair** » Tue Oct 21, 2003 12:49 pm

"I'm not making records for people who don't want to listen, I'm making them for people who DO want to listen"

Way to go, Elvis. From the sound of it, his next record (the orchestral one) may be his most challenging yet.

John · Post by **John** » Tue Oct 21, 2003 2:05 pm

I feel very sad after listening to that interview.
At the end of the Manchester concert he said something like "hope to see you all again soon".
Looks like he's changed his mind.

Like some of the previous comments, how can he mix up the British press with his British fans? There were lots of very happy people who exited the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester.

"No longer welcome in the UK" - utter rubbish.
It would be nice to e-mail him directly to put him straight.

pip_52 · Post by **pip_52** » Tue Oct 21, 2003 2:07 pm

But he doesnt have fans . . .

Im still not entirely sure what he meant by that.

Post by **BlueChair** » Tue Oct 21, 2003 2:09 pm

Elvis has been acting kind of weird lately

sulkygirl · Post by **sulkygirl** » Tue Oct 21, 2003 7:23 pm

BlueChair wrote:Elvis has been acting kind of weird lately

And we're suprised because???

whtesde · Post by **whtesde** » Tue Oct 21, 2003 7:55 pm

He needs a good slap to the head.

LessThanZero · Post by **LessThanZero** » Tue Oct 21, 2003 8:02 pm

No way! he's the best!

whtesde · Post by **whtesde** » Tue Oct 21, 2003 8:08 pm

A little harsh, maybe. But threatening never to play the UK again, nitpicking about praise received, the oft-repeated "I'm gonna retire..." Jeezum Crow. It's empty words after a while.

Then I'll listen to something or see something on TV and I will love him again.

Post by **spooky girlfriend** » Tue Oct 21, 2003 9:49 pm

It's the chick I'm telling you. It's the chick.

Sour Milk Cow · Post by **Sour Milk Cow** » Tue Oct 21, 2003 10:00 pm

The UK reviews were almost ALL negative-- yes, there have been a few notable exceptions like MOJO and WORD, but other than that it has been by far the WORST reception a Costello record has ever gotten in the UK.

In the US, the reviews have been more typically mixed. There were some harsh ones, like SALON's ridiculous diatribe, but far more critics here seemed to at least appreciate what he was trying for rather than dismissing it out-of-hand. If you line up the pro- and con- reviews from the US and the UK side by side, it's pretty easy to spot the disparity. Quite frankly, I was surprised at the imbalance, and expected to both countries to have an even mix of good and bad reviews.

However, it seems unfair to blame the whole country for what a handful of people write in the newspapers. My impression is that the UK concerts have been well received (even well-REVIEWED in the papers), and he has always claimed to not give much regard to what the critics think anyway. Now, to melodramatically say he will never, ever perform in the UK again. (And, since everyone seems to have jumped on the apparant inconsistency, I think we can assume he means AFTER this tour is over with), it all seems like a huge overreaction.

I think that Costello has always been a critics favorite, and at the same time, the critics have occasionally been too hard on him because their expectations are so high, or they are simply too jaded or don't like change. But for Costello to punish his UK fanbase seems like his misdirecting his anger.

Also, his threat to stop recording makes me want to puke. He is a diehard music fan and record buff-- he would no doubt hate to hear that Dylan or Waits or other artists he loves were giving up making records because of their record label woes. This is a guy who makes up games like "What songs would Elvis Presley have recorded if he was still alive today?"

He should know that this kind of talk makes his fans feel jerked around. And if he thinks NORTH got a rough reception, how does he think people will judge it if he stops making records in a bitter huff? This record will be viewed with anger, with scorn, as the album that ended his 25 year career as a recording artist! Diana Krall will be looked upon as his Yoko, the woman who, instead of inspiring him to greater artistic heights, spawned the album that led to his early retirement into talk-show host exile!

Come on, Elvis. Make some more records. You know you want to!

verbal gymnastics · Post by **verbal gymnastics** » Wed Oct 22, 2003 4:01 am

BlueChair wrote:Elvis has been acting kind of weird lately

He's got a wedding to sort out. There's a lot of stress involved in sorting out a wedding.

He's just having a bad day. We're all entitled to them. I mean, Elvis was saying not long ago that he and the Attractions would break up after or during every album.

He said on Frank Skinner that he's got his next five albums planned. Even if this wasn't strictly true, Elvis is always at least two steps ahead of everybody else. We all know he'll make the albums he wants to make. He'll then tour with them to promote them and, more importantly to him, try and open up people's ears. I've said it before, Elvis will never give a toss about the media. He knows he's got a loyal fan base in the UK.

Elvis Costello Fan Forum

ABC, Brisbane Radio interview.

ABC, Brisbane Radio interview.

O Canada!