Solomonia: It's OK, Elvis Costello Sucks Anyway

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Seriously, has the guy done anything that mattered in over 30 years? He's the Noam Chomsky of music. Said a few interesting things early on, lived off it ever since: Costello cancels Israel shows

Only two weeks after British rock icon Elvis Costello told The Jerusalem Post that the only answer to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is "dialogue and reconciliation," he decided to take himself out of the equation by cancelling his two shows scheduled for June 30 and July 1 at the Caesaerea Amphitheater.

Costello posted an announcement on his Web site over the weekend explaining his decision to join the boycott of Israel. "There are occasions when merely having your name added to a concert schedule may be interpreted as a political act that resonates more than anything that might be sung and it may be assumed that one has no mind for the suffering of the innocent," he wrote.

Saying he couldn't imagine receiving another invitation to perform in Israel, Costello wrote that since the conflict was "actually too grave and complex to be addressed in a concert, then it is also quite impossible to simply look the other way... sometimes a silence in music is better than adding to the static."

Costello was set to make his Israeli debut with his new folk/bluegrass band The Sugarcanes, and in his conversation with the Post two weeks ago, he said that he had given much thought to playing in the country, but decided that he was against efforts to boycott performances...

Bluegrass? Take your stupid hat and stay at home. He was so cool when I was in High School...in the 80's.

Posted by Solomon at 4:04 PM on Tuesday, May 18, 2010 | Comments (7)
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7 Comments

#1 g | May 18, 2010 4:53 PM

I've always enjoyed Elvis and considered myself a fan. Got lots of old vinyl and CDs. Pity. Such a lame asshole rationale. Why book the gig in the first place if you care so deeply for the "innocent." Putz, but understandably so. After all, he is a Brit.

#2 walt kovacs | May 18, 2010 5:34 PM

here is what is sad and hypocritical.

elvis had no problem appearing in the us or england during the war in iraq or the subsequent ongoing occupation

he could use the concerts to voice his political views, just as he does at most of his concerts throughout the world

i would have been a bit more upset had this happened 20 years ago...but whatever, its his loss

#3 Eddie | May 18, 2010 10:53 PM

Well he's british, so no surprise.

Other british "artists" who have take sides against Israel are julie christie and patrick stewart, annie lennox.

I hope the entire british entity is enveloped in a cloud of volcanic ash.

http://www.boycottscotland.com

Remember Pan Am 103 and british compassion for libyan oil contracts.

#4 EV | May 19, 2010 2:08 PM

No need to impugn bluegrass. Bluegrass is great. Elvis Costello wasnt even cool in the 80s. He sucks.

#5 Annekl | May 20, 2010 3:34 AM

I saw this link via CifWatch, and I left a comment there which I will reproduce here:

here’s a comment from Israelycool (scroll down to about the 7th comment by Jerusalems:

…really this has nothing to do with ideology. I know a few people in the production circle and he simply failed to sell tickets for his show. There was no buzz, and not many people willing to pay to see him preform. Which is why he said he was against boycotts, and set the show, knowing the situation on the ground only to cancel it a month and a half before: he failed to sell tickets. Which makes it even funnier when the pro-palestinians tout him as a martyr.

#6 zoidberg | May 20, 2010 7:11 AM

costello must have known months in advance he was going to play in israel....but waited until the dates were announced to cancel...cynical marketing ploy.

poor ticket sales perchance?

hell, lump him in with annie lennox and file under 'big in the 80s...was shit then, is shit now.'

and for g and eddie- stick it up yer holes xenophobes!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jec5fDw4e20

#7 Eddie replied to comment from zoidberg | May 20, 2010 9:24 AM

zoidburqa,

Happy DrawMuhammedDay!

http://www.drawmuhammadday.com/

http://www.boycottscotland.com

It's all about typical british compassion for libyan oil contracts.