Elvis Costello & The Attraction : Rolling Stone

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EC: You know, the Beatles were a pop-sensation band when they first came out. But they didn't stick with what they had first. I remember hearing "Paperback Writer" on the radio when I was 10 or 12, and it was so shocking. It was like, "What kind of music is that?" But by the following week, I couldn't live without that record.

Everybody making pop records has the opportunity to do that, and with a huge audience. That's a really good challenge for you guys: See how far you can carry people into the things that you love, and don't be persuaded to keep making the same record. If being a pop star is your ambition, you're bound to be disappointed. There's truth to the idea that little girls who like you now are gonna wake up one day and be embarrassed they felt that way, because they feel like they're more sophisticated now.

NJ: We get the question a lot — "How are you going to keep up with your audience, and how are you going to stay popular?" I think it always has come down to the songwriting for us, and trying to be as involved in the production of music as well. I think that'll help us have a long-lasting career.

EC: The best thing of all to carry you through that is the genuine love of music, which, it seems from your questions . . . you've got curiosity about music. It seemed unusual at first to hear you're familiar with my music, but then I thought about how, when I was your age . . . how old are you?

NJ: I'm almost 16, in two weeks.

EC: It would be very easy for me to be cynical and say, "Oh, well, a kid like that can't know anything about my music." But I listened to my parents' records when I was that age, and that's how I learned. A career in music is a vocation. It's like you were just born that way, and there's nothing you can do about it. I mean, I'm third in four generations of musicians in my family, and you're from a musical family too.

NJ: Yes. My dad was a musician — he played the piano and sang. And it's just cool that we're able to relate on that level.

EC: I honestly believe that if I hadn't had any of the luck, I'd still be playin'. Sometimes you just have to say to yourself that the music is more important than the rewards of fame. But that's a long way off. You should enjoy what's happening now. The first time somebody asked for my autograph, I actually argued with them. I said, "Why do you think you want my signature?"

NJ: I actually did kind of the same thing. I was about seven or eight and doing a Broadway show. A kid, a family friend, came up and asked for an autograph, and I was like, "You're my friend! Why are you asking me for my autograph?"

EC: I was suspicious of the success, and it was a stupid thing. I was just immature. It took me a really long time to come to terms with the fact that they saw me differently because I wrote songs. Now I realize that I spent a lot of time kind of tussling with that and probably missed a lot of things that I should've just said, "Well, accept it." It's enjoyable, it's not gonna last forever, and I'm lucky if at the end of it I still know what I want.

[From Issue 1064 — October 30, 2008]

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