Moving along to another Elvis...

The ubiquitous Elvis Costello, that is. I don't have a TV, so sometimes an otherwise widely known moment in pop culture can go right over my head. So for all of you out there like me, Mr. Costello now hosts his own music series on the Sundance channel, Spectacle: Elvis Costello With...

To me, this is the next logical step in his quest for world domination. As venerated Prefix poster Jim Allen put it: "It's apparently not enough that the New Wave pioneer (yes kids, before he earned his thick veneer of respectability he was once a rock & roll enfant terrible) can be seen just about everywhere you look -- here's Elvis duetting with Lucinda Williams on her new album, there he is performing on late-night TV with Jenny Lewis, hey, wait a minute...I've got Elvis in my breakfast cereal!"

I have always admired Elvis Costello. He's a brilliant, sassy, tongue-in-cheek lyricist (the art of which he practically invented), creates "complex pop" songs in his sleep, and is a seasoned crooner of the highest pedigree. There was a time in my life when I was borderline obsessed with the man. Only when Prefix posted a Fall Out Boy video featuring Costello, the self-asserting voice inside my head leaked out into the discussion: "Anyone who’s available all the time for anything and anyone – especially a high-profile personality like Costello – eventually becomes less interesting. That’s why it’s no surprise to me that he appears on the FoB record; rock God that he is, he’s afraid to lose his edge by not always being there when the next big thing happens, and this has resulted in some less than discriminating choices. Take for example his divorce from Cait O'Riordan (from the Pogues) and his soon thereafter marriage to Diana Krall. To me, that signaled a major shift away from his punk/new wave roots to a more marketable persona with the potential to attract an even bigger fan base."

I will always love Elvis Costello, I just wish his ambitions weren't so obvious, so we could still genuinely marvel at his inspiring body of work and endless pool of talents.

Here's a link to the Spectacle website: Spectacle: Elvis Costello With...