Elvis Costello speaks like he writes his epic lyrics, which means his snarkiness can get him into trouble at times. It certainly did decades ago when he said some fairly controversial things about Ray Charles that he has been apologizing for ever since.
In a recent interview with the Liverpool Echo, though, the rock icon said some things that will likely surprise no one, especially about the Mancunian band, Oasis. That band will soon be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and was a seminal part of 1990s rock music.
Costello said of the Gallagher brothers and their mates, "This is probably a heretical thing to say to Mancunians, but I think that Oasis are a simplification of the La's. There was a purity to Lee (Mavers)'s songs and the whole attitude of that. (Oasis are) much more ruthless, and undoubtedly effective, so I'm not going to knock it. It's not for me, never has been. Sometimes that happens. Someone has a good idea, and someone takes that idea and turns it into something that communicates to more people. If they're happy with it, then that's great."
Elvis Costello says some things that Oasis fans might not like
Ironically, Costello is basically discussing one artist borrowing heavily from another and making their own sound, but ever so slightly in a negative way. Perhaps Costello simply means the La's, who were making music just a few years before Oasis became so important, needed more appreciation.
This would be the case based on Costello's recent defense of young hitmaker Olivia Rodrigo, whose "Brutal" from her debut record starts a lot like Costello's "Pump It Up" sounds overall. The older icon confessed that one only borrows notes from those who came before, and originality is difficult to come by.
Even Costello himself admits that he has borrowed much from Bob Dylan and others, and there is little wrong with that. The issue would come into play if one musician had a hit song that was a cover, but tried to claim the tune as their own. Oasis hasn't done that, and neither has Rodrigo or Costello.
In other words, some could have a takeaway from what Elvis Costello told the Liverpool Echo as a bit of disrespect for Mancunian legends Oasis, but that isn't what he meant, clearly. He also said, in essence, to each their own, and if many like Oasis, fine. The band isn't just to his taste.
Ultimately, that is what music is all about. One person likes something, and another appreciates something completely different. This is why music lovers have country music and punk, or polka and hip-hop. Those genres might seemingly have little in common except for the humanity that goes into creating everything.
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