(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
YOU GOT A NEW MEMOIR HERE.
ELVIS COSTELLO, UNFAILTFUL MUSIC
AND DISAPPEARING INK.
>> UH-HUH.
>> Stephen: WHY ARE YOU WRITING
A MEMOIR?
WHY TAKE AWAY THE GAME THAT THE
REST OF US HAVE TO TRY TO
DESIEFER WHAT THE LETTERKS IN
YOUR SONGS MEAN?
I DON'T WANT TO FIND OUT WHAT
BUTTERFLY FEES ON A DEAD
MONKEY'S HAND MEAN.
>> YOU WILL FIND OUT.
>> Stephen: DO I REALLY FIND OUT
IF I READ THE BOOK.
>> YES, YOU WILL.
>> Stephen: WHY DID YOU WRITE A
BOOK.
>> I WAS ASKED TO WRITE IT WHEN
I WAS 24.
>> Stephen: RECENTLY.YEAH.
AND I FIGURED MAYBE I SHOULD DO
SOME THINGS FIRSTMENT SO NOW I
HAVE DONE SOME THINGS.
>> Stephen: HOW LONG DID IT TAKE
TO YOU WRITE THIS?
>> I STARTED ABOUT TEN YEARS AGO
AND I TORE UP A LOT OF VERSIONS
OF TMENT THE LAST THREE OR FOUR
YEARS I WENT TO WORK AT IT.
>> Stephen: IS IT HARDER THAN
WRITING A SONG?
>> IT'S LONGER.
>> Stephen: BUT YOU DON'T HAVE
TO RHYME ANYTHINGMENT DON'T HAVE
TO RHYME ANYTHING.
>> I DID OCCASIONALLY FIND
MYSELF GOING INTO RHYME BY
ACCIDENT.
>> Stephen: DID YOU REALLY.
I HAD TO STOP MYSELF,
CAREFULLY LOOK AT THE CHAPTERS
THAT BE IN RHYME AND I DIDN'T
REALIZE HI WRITTEN THEM.
>> Stephen: THERE WERE
COUPLETS AT THE END.
>> ACCIDENTALLY, YEAH.
>> Stephen: DID YOU DO ANY
RESEARCH ON YOUR OWN LIFE
BECAUSE, NO, I'M SERIOUS.
>> ARE YOU SUGGESTING THAT I
MIGHT NOT REMEMBER EVERYTHING
QUITE CLEARLY.
>> Stephen: YOU SUGGEST THAT YOU
MIGHT NOT REMEMBER EVERYTHING
QUITE CLEARLY.
>> OBVIOUSLY THERE ARE SOME
PERIODS IN A YOUNG MAN'S LIFE
THAT HE CAN'T REMEMBER WELL AND
HE WOULD RATHER FORGET.
BUT I-- I OBVIOUSLY HAVE A
LITTLE BIT OF A CURSE OR GIFT OF
A MEMORY.
AND I CAN CAN REMEMBER THINGS IN
GREAT DETAIL. BUT YES,
OCCASIONALLY YOU HAVE TO GO BACK
AN CHECK WAS IT BEFORE OR AFTER
I DID THAT THING.
>> Stephen: DID YOU.AFTER THE
HUMAN SACRIFICE OR
BEFORE.
>> Stephen: DID YOU FIND OUT
THINGS ABOUT YOURSELF OR DID YOU
REMEMBER THINGS ABOUT YOURSELF
THAT YOU PERHAPS DIDN'T WANT TO?
THE LATE GREAT DAVID CARR WROTE
A BOOK CALLED NIETD OF THE GUN
AND HE FINDS OUT WHEN HE WROTE
ABOUT THAT BOOK ABOUT HIS OWN
LIFE, HE FOUND OUT, OH, HELL,
I'M NOT THE HERO OF MY OWN
STORY. ARE YOU THE HERO OF YOUR
OWN BOOK?
>> I HOPE I DIDN'T SET OUT TO
WRITE IT FOR THOSE REASONS.
>> Stephen: NO, NO, YOU DON'T
HAVE TO.
>> I DID ACTUALLY WRITE ONE PASS
AGE AND IT WAS CONSIDERED THAT
MAYBE IT WASN'T THE RIGHT THING
TO SAY AM BUT I THINK IT IS
TRUTHFUL.
I SAID THERE IS A TIME WHEN YOU
WRITE A BOOK LIKE THIS WHERE YOU
SAY THAT YOU DON'T LIKE THE
SUBJECT.
IN OTHER WORDS, YOU HAVE, SOME
THINGS YOU DON'T LIKE AND THAT'S
OKAY TO WRITE THOSE DOWN AND
LOOK BACK AT THINGS.
THEN THERE ARE OTHER THINGS IN
THE STORY WHICH ARE TRYING TO,
IF NOT EXPLAIN AT LEAST LAY OUT
HOW I CAME TO HEAR MUSIC THE WAY
I DID.
BECAUSE IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT ME,
IT'S ABOUT MY FATHER AND MY
GRANDFATHER.
>> Stephen: YOUR LIFE IN
SOMEWAYS IS GREATLY ABOUT YOUR
FATHER I DIDN'T
REALIZE BECAUSE I SAW CLIPS THAT
SOMEONE SHOWED ME TODAY AM I
WITH LIKE TO SHOW THE PEOPLE
RIGHT NOW.
THIS IS A CLIP OF YOUR FATHER.
TELL THE PEOPLE WHAT YOUR FATHER
DID FOR A LIVING.
>> MY FATHER SANG WITH A DANCE
BAND THAT WAS SORT OF LIKE, NOT
IN THE SAME ERA OF GLEN MILLER
BUT MODELED ON THE GLEN MILLER.
SAX PHONES, TROAM BONES.
THE BAND WAS SUCCESSFUL AND THEY
ACTED LIKE A SIN THEY SIZER FOR
POPULAR MUS YOU CAN. IN ENGLAND
WE ONLY HAD ABOUT 12 MINUTES OF
POPULAR MUSK I A DAY.
THE REST OF THE TIME IT WAS
PEOPLE DESCRIBING KNITTING
PATTERNS AND READING THE WEATHER
PARENT.
>> Stephen: ON THE BBC, VERY
SOBER IT ISN'T THE WAY IT IS YOU
ANIMATION-- IMITATION OF
AMERICAN RADIO. WHEN I GREW UP
YOU COULD
SWITCH ON THE RADIO AND STILL
THINK IT WAS 1935.
SO MY FATHER WAS WITH THIS
BOOND.
HE BROUGHT HOME STACKS OF
RECORDS EVERY WEEK, THAT WERE
FROM THE DHART-- CHARTS AND AT
THIS POINT THEY HAD THIS BAND
WITH SAX PHONES AND TROM BONES
AND THIS IS A BIG BAND AND HAD
TO SING LIKE A ROLLING STONE AND
SUBSTITUTE.
>> Stephen: OR THIS SONG.
LET'S LOOK AT THIS.
>> YEAH.
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ WHOA ♪ ♪ WHOA ♪ ♪ I
HAD A HAMMER ♪ ♪ I HAD A HAMMER
♪ ♪ I WOULD HAMMER IN THE
MORNING ♪ ♪ HAMMER IN THE
MORNING ♪ ♪ AND HAMMER IN THE
EVENING ♪ ♪ HAMMER IN THE
EVENING ♪ ♪ ALL OVER THE LAND ♪
♪ OVER THE LAND ♪ ♪ I HAMMER OUT
DANGER ♪ ♪ AND HAMMER OUT
WARNINGS ♪ ♪ I WOULD HAMMER OUT
THE LOVE BETWEEN ♪ ♪ MY BROTHERS
AND MY SISES TERES ♪ ♪ ALL OVER
THIS LAND ♪ ♪ WHOA WHOA WHOA ♪ ♪
WHOA ♪ ♪
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
THERE IS NO-- I DON'T NEED A
BOOK TO TELL ME WHERE YOU GOT
YOUR LOOK ELVIS COSTELLO.
DID YOU KNOW YOU WERE STEALING
YOUR DAD'S LOOK.
>> IT'S NOT SO MUCH THE LOOK,
IT'S THE DANCE MOVES.
