Watching his career in the music industry land him in the Songwriters and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Elvis Costello captured his success thanks to hit songs like “Everyday I Write The Book” and “Pump It Up.” Having performed since the 1970s, Costello dabbled in genres like rock, R&B, and even country. Releasing his latest album, The Boy Named If ,back in 2022, Costello recently compared Taylor Swift to Bob Dylan when it came to singing about personal experiences.
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Discussing his career and his 1986 album King of America on the Rockonteurs Podcast, Costello explained how the album took him on a journey through genres like folk and country. Recalling how many of the songs focused on his personal experiences, he said, “All I was doing was reciting things that were happening to me. And I know that can be interesting to hear. But it doesn’t necessarily engage the listener because they don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Elvis Costello Praises Taylor Swift’s Ability To “Speak To People”
With Costello needing to alter his approach to the songs, he decided to learn “from the best people who do this.” And one of those people happened to be Dylan. Praising his ability to tell a story while performing, Costello said, “[It] is something that marks out a lot of the Blood on the Tracks songs by Bob Dylan, where one minute they seem to be very raw emotion. The next minute they’re clearly invention. And that keeps you guessing.”
Costello didn’t just look into the past as he turned his sights on Swift. He insisted, “I’m not just trying to say this to be down with the kids, but it’s also what makes Taylor Swift speak to people. She understands the necessity of taking personal experience, but expressing it in a way that’s [relatable]. There’s lots of other examples of that, she’s just the most successful one that you could cite. But that’s why she’s able to sustain communication with her audience in quite that way.”
Learning from his fellow artists, Costello hoped to use his newfound wisdom to help fashion stories that revolved around his life in the spotlight.
(Photo by Johnny Nunez/Getty Images for Signature Theatre)
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