History Music / ElvisCostello

* VanillaEdition - Many of his Universal reissues.

* LyricalColdOpen - "Mystery Dance", "Accidents Will Happen", "I Hope You're Happy Now", "Next Time Round", "Indoor Fireworks", "Poisoned Rose", "No Action", and more.

* LyricalColdOpen - "Mystery Dance", "Accidents Will Happen", "I Hope You're Happy Now", "Next Time Round", "Indoor Fireworks", "Poisoned Rose", and more.

* IHaveManyNames - Names he's used in his songwriting credits include: Declan [=McManus=], The Imposter, and Napoleon Dymamite[[note]]No relation to [[Film/NapoleonDynamite the movie]], apparently[[/note]].

* IHaveManyNames - Names he's used in his songwriting credits include: Declan [=McManus=], The Imposter, and Napoleon Dymamite[[hottip:*:No relation to the movie, apparently]].

* IHaveManyNames - Names he's used in his songwriting credits include: Declan [=McManus=], The Imposter, and Napoleon Dymamite[[hottip:*:No relation to [[NapoleonDynamite the movie]], apparently]].

* AnswerSong - Costello has said that "This Year's Girl" is more or less an answer song to the song "Stupid Girl" by TheRollingStones.

Costello's career provides examples of the following tropes:

* EsperantoTheUniversalLanguage - The credits of Costello's 1986 album ''Blood and Chocolate'' are in Esperanto, although some words are misspelled.

Costello was initially associated in the public mind with punk rock, and in terms of attitude there was a resemblance. (He had enjoyed seeing the Music/SexPistols go head to head with morning TV host Bill Grundy.) Musically his closest kinship was to classic [[TheSixties sixties]] pop: Music/TheKinks, Music/BobDylan, early [[Music/TheWho Who]] and especially Music/TheBeatles. While he had a [[CreativeDifferences troubled relationship]] with his backup band the Attractions, they were fully able to keep up with his musical vision.

Declan Patrick Aloysius [=McManus=], better known by his [[StageNames stage name]] "Elvis Costello", has been a sometimes popular and always respectable musician and songwriter since the late [[TheSeventies seventies]]. He honed his skills playing in the pub rock band Flip City at night while working as a computer operator at Revlon's London branch. Soon after that he signed a contract with fledgling record label Stiff and a new name--a shoutout to recently deceased ElvisPresley and his mother's maiden name.

Elvis was initially associated in the public mind with punk rock, and in terms of attitude there was a resemblance. (He had enjoyed seeing the Music/SexPistols go head to head with morning TV host Bill Grundy.) Musically his closest kinship was to classic [[TheSixties sixties]] pop: Music/TheKinks, Music/BobDylan, early [[Music/TheWho Who]] and especially Music/TheBeatles. While he had a [[CreativeDifferences troubled relationship]] with his backup band the Attractions, they were fully able to keep up with his musical vision.

Declan Aloysius Patrick [=McManus=], better known by his [[StageNames stage name]] "Elvis Costello", has been a sometimes popular and always respectable musician and songwriter since the late [[TheSeventies seventies]]. He honed his skills playing in the pub rock band Flip City at night while working as a computer operator at Revlon's London branch. Soon after that he signed a contract with fledgling record label Stiff and a new name--a shoutout to recently deceased ElvisPresley and his mother's maiden name.

He also hosted [[TooGoodToLast two seasons]] of a music/interview show called ''Spectacle: Elvis Costello with...'' which aired on Sundance Channel in the US and Channel 4 in the UK.

* AlbumTitleDrop - ''My Aim Is True'' (from a line in "Alison"), ''Punch the Clock'' (from "The Greatest Thing"), ''King of America'' (from "Brilliant Mistake"), ''Blood and Chocolate'' (from "Uncomplicated"), and ''Brutal Youth'' (from "Favourite Hour"). And played with on ''This Year's Model'' (a line in "I Don't Want To Go To Chelsea" refers to "''last'' year's model", and another song on the album is titled "This Year's Girl").

Elvis was initially associated in the public mind with punk rock, and in terms of attitude there was a resemblance. (He had enjoyed seeing TheSexPistols go head to head with morning TV host Bill Grundy.) Musically his closest kinship was to classic [[TheSixties sixties]] pop: Music/TheKinks, BobDylan, early [[Music/TheWho Who]] and especially Music/TheBeatles. While he had a [[CreativeDifferences troubled relationship]] with his backup band the Attractions, they were fully able to keep up with his musical vision.

{{Television}} has seen him being banned from ''SaturdayNightLive'' for a dozen years for changing songs unannounced, subbing for DavidLetterman during his heart surgery, and appearing AsHimself on ''TheSimpsons''. Charges that he is an [[Series/ThirtyRock international art thief]] are still being investigated.

{{Television}} has seen him being banned from ''SaturdayNightLive'' for a dozen years for changing songs unannounced, subbing for DavidLetterman during his heart surgery, and appearing AsHimself on ''TheSimpsons''. Charges that he is an [[ThirtyRock international art thief]] are still being investigated.

* CreatorBacklash - Costello's liner notes to the Rykodisc reissue of ''Goodbye Cruel World'' open with the sentence "Congratulations, you've just bought our worst album". His stance toward the album has softened over time; he still considers the album to have been poorly recorded, but believes the songs themselves were strong.

* ArchivePanic - He's made over 30 studio albums.

He also hosts a music/interview show called ''Spectacle: Elvis Costello with...'' which airs on Sundance Channel in the US and Channel 4 in the UK.

* ProtestSong: "Shipbuilding".

** An even more well-known example of this trope is "Oliver's Army", an upbeat Abba-inspired (no, really) song that sounds quite cheerful until you realise it's about sending young working-class men, barely out of school, off to fight (and die) in foreign wars.

* PaulMcCartney: A sporadic songwriting partnership led to several [=McCartney=]/Costello compositions scattered over both artists' albums in the late 80s and early 90s. One of their joint compositions, "Veronica", became one of the biggest hits of Costello's career.

* TakeThat[=/=]TheVillainSucksSong - "Tramp the Dirt Down" is essentially a long anti-Thatcher rant.