Irish Press, May 25, 1986: Difference between revisions
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{{:Bibliography index}} | {{:Bibliography index}} | ||
{{:Irish Press index}} | {{:Irish Press index}} | ||
{{: | {{:UK & Ireland newspapers index}} | ||
{{Bibliography article header}} | {{Bibliography article header}} | ||
<center><h3> | <center><h3> Wasn't I stupid! </h3></center> | ||
---- | ---- | ||
<center> Kristine | <center> Kristine McKenna </center> | ||
---- | ---- | ||
'''A mellower Elvis Costello talks to Kristine McKenna | |||
{{Bibliography text}} | {{Bibliography text}} | ||
Declan Patrick Aloysius | Declan Patrick Aloysius MacManus was born In 1954 and raised in a blue-collar section of London. In 1977 he took the name Elvis Costello and released an album called ''My Aim Is True'' that catapulted him to the front ranks of the first wave of English punk. By 1980 the first blush of success had faded and the next five years were a period of controversy and trouble. The quality of Costello's music has never been in question; instead, the problem has been what Costello himself dubbed his "mouth almighty." | ||
Costello recently released a new album, ''King of America'' | Costello recently released a new album, ''King of America'', which he hopes will set the record straight. "Though it's not without anger, there's more generosity and love in this record," he explains. | ||
Fuelling himself with mineral water, carrot sticks and cigarettes, he responded to questions with wit and honesty. It's no news to anyone who's followed Costello's music that he's a smart and clever man; what did come as a surprise is that he seems uncommonly happy and light hearted. | Fuelling himself with mineral water, carrot sticks and cigarettes, he responded to questions with wit and honesty. It's no news to anyone who's followed Costello's music that he's a smart and clever man; what did come as a surprise is that he seems uncommonly happy and light-hearted. | ||
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''Why is originality so highly valued in art? | ''Why is originality so highly valued in art? | ||
Is it valued? Who by? Critics are the only people who care about that. Go to the Museum of Modern Art and look at Pablo Picasso's work and tell me that he valued originality. All those people stole loads of stuff. The Dadaists and Surrealists parodied previous forms and used them for their own ends with ruthless abandon. I don't think they cared a damn about originality | Is it valued? Who by? Critics are the only people who care about that. Go to the Museum of Modern Art and look at Pablo Picasso's work and tell me that he valued originality. All those people stole loads of stuff. The Dadaists and Surrealists parodied previous forms and used them for their own ends with ruthless abandon. I don't think they cared a damn about originality — perhaps they realized they couldn't help but be original and that's part of what made them great. | ||
''How important is a larger-than-life image in making people receptive to music? | ''How important is a larger-than-life image in making people receptive to music? | ||
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It's true that music is easiest to sell with an exaggerated image, but so what? I was considered a more marketable commodity when I first appeared and they had five pictures of me and five opinions of me, but I refused to be a monkey on a stick or be bound by rock 'n' roll ritual. | It's true that music is easiest to sell with an exaggerated image, but so what? I was considered a more marketable commodity when I first appeared and they had five pictures of me and five opinions of me, but I refused to be a monkey on a stick or be bound by rock 'n' roll ritual. | ||
As far as what my image is now, the writer David Fricke recently made the comment that I'd been "consigned to genius purgatory," which I thought was great. There seems to be this attitude of, "Oh, yeah, we know he's good, but who cares. He's not pretty or anything, so let's watch this other band instead." | As far as what my image is now, the writer David Fricke [[Rolling Stone, April 10, 1986|recently]] made the comment that I'd been "consigned to genius purgatory," which I thought was great. There seems to be this attitude of, "Oh, yeah, we know he's good, but who cares. He's not pretty or anything, so let's watch this other band instead." | ||
''What's the biggest obstacle you've overcome in your life? | ''What's the biggest obstacle you've overcome in your life? | ||
My own stupidity and selfishness | My own stupidity and selfishness — and I definitely haven't overcome either of them permanently. | ||
''How did getting money change your life? | ''How did getting money change your life? | ||
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''What do you see as being the dominant characteristics of America? | ''What do you see as being the dominant characteristics of America? | ||
I could say something glib and cutting | I could say something glib and cutting — which is probably what people would anticipate from me — but I think you should be more compassionate with people. I'm not trying to write big songs about America, but one of the recurring themes on my new album is the idea of travel or exile. | ||
Someone once asked me what I thought of America, and I said it was a brilliant mistake. There's no country on earth founded on more righteous and noble principles, and there's never been a country where those principles have been abused as horribly as they are here. I'm not saying it's a total failure, because the thing isn't over yet, but for something that started so well, it's gone down an awful lot. | Someone once asked me what I thought of America, and I said it was a brilliant mistake. There's no country on earth founded on more righteous and noble principles, and there's never been a country where those principles have been abused as horribly as they are here. I'm not saying it's a total failure, because the thing isn't over yet, but for something that started so well, it's gone down an awful lot. | ||
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''What's the most important thing you get from your work? | ''What's the most important thing you get from your work? | ||
I get it out of my head and therefore am a bit less neurotic. I can be very neurotic, a terrible hypochondriac | I get it out of my head and therefore am a bit less neurotic. I can be very neurotic, a terrible hypochondriac — all those sorts of things. I'm a human being and have all the usual vanities and frailties. But I'm not trying to make them into a career. | ||
''Ideally, how should the press function in relation to music? | ''Ideally, how should the press function in relation to music? | ||
It should shut up and listen. Still, the press must be more than just an information channel because there's such a lot of terrible stuff put out that wouldn't go uncriticised. But the press tends to imagine itself much more important than it actually is and, occasionally, behaves in an outrageously presumptuous way. My new album was recently reviewed in England This guy hated the record but he wouldn't just leave it at that. He went on to worry about my troubled mental state, my artistic block and my troubled love life. I haven't got any trouble in my love life. | It should shut up and listen. Still, the press must be more than just an information channel because there's such a lot of terrible stuff put out that wouldn't go uncriticised. But the press tends to imagine itself much more important than it actually is and, occasionally, behaves in an outrageously presumptuous way. My new album was recently reviewed in England. This guy hated the record but he wouldn't just leave it at that. He went on to worry about my troubled mental state, my artistic block and my troubled love life. I haven't got any trouble in my love life. | ||
Over the past couple of years my marriage reached an unhappy level. I failed in keeping that relationship going but hopefully nobody has lost and she and I will be stronger apart than we were together. And I love Cait (of the Pogues) very much, so I'm not unhappy and I'm not an alcoholic. I can drink a lot when I want to. I don't take any drugs. That London critic's review didn't just infer these things | Over the past couple of years my marriage reached an unhappy level. I failed in keeping that relationship going but hopefully nobody has lost and she and I will be stronger apart than we were together. And I love Cait (of the Pogues) very much, so I'm not unhappy and I'm not an alcoholic. I can drink a lot when I want to. I don't take any drugs. That London critic's review didn't just infer these things — he stated them as though they were fact. | ||
{{cx}} | |||
{{tags}}[[King Of America]] {{-}} [[Eisenhower Blues]] {{-}} [[My Aim Is True]] {{-}} [[Mouth Almighty]] {{-}} [[Cait O'Riordan]] {{-}} [[The Pogues]] {{-}} [[Declan Patrick Aloysius MacManus]] | |||
{{cx}} | {{cx}} | ||
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{{Bibliography notes}} | {{Bibliography notes}} | ||
{{Bibliography next | |||
|prev = Irish Press, September 26, 1984 | |||
|next = Irish Press, December 2, 1986 | |||
}} | |||
'''The Sunday Press, May 25, 1986 | '''The Sunday Press, May 25, 1986 | ||
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[[Kristine McKenna]] interviews Elvis Costello. | [[Kristine McKenna]] interviews Elvis Costello. | ||
{{Bibliography | <span style="font-size:92%">(from [[Interview magazine, April 1986|''Interview'' magazine, April 1986]]; another version ran in the [[Arizona Republic, May 21, 1986|''Arizona Republic'']].)</span> | ||
{{Bibliography images}} | |||
[[image:1986-05-25 Irish Press page 16 clipping 01.jpg|384px|Page 16 clipping.]] | |||
<br><small>Clipping.</small> | |||
<small>Photographer unknown.</small><br> | |||
[[image:1986-05-25 Irish Press photo 01 px.jpg|220px]] | |||
<small>Page scan.</small><br> | |||
[[image:1986-05-25 Irish Press page 16.jpg|x120px|Page 16.]] | |||
{{Bibliography notes footer}} | {{Bibliography notes footer}} | ||
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==External links== | ==External links== | ||
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sunday_Press Wikipedia: The Sunday Press] | *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sunday_Press Wikipedia: The Sunday Press] | ||
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristine_McKenna Wikipedia: Kristine McKenna] | |||
*[http://www.elviscostello.info/articles/s/sunday_press.860525a.html elviscostello.info] | *[http://www.elviscostello.info/articles/s/sunday_press.860525a.html elviscostello.info] | ||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Irish Press 1986-05-25}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:Irish Press 1986-05-25}} | ||
[[Category:Bibliography]] | [[Category:Bibliography]] | ||
[[Category:Bibliography | [[Category:Bibliography 1986]] | ||
[[Category:Irish Press| Irish Press 1986-05-25]] | [[Category:Irish Press| Irish Press 1986-05-25]] | ||
[[Category:Newspaper articles]] | [[Category:Newspaper articles]] | ||
[[Category:Interviews]] | [[Category:Interviews]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:1986 interviews]] |
Latest revision as of 00:39, 2 January 2024
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