Elvis Costello/YMMV


 * Archive Panic - He's made over 30 studio albums - plus a number of compilations containing B-sides, cast-offs, and the like.
 * Covered Up -
 * Made Nick Lowe's "Peace, Love, and Understanding" his own.
 * And Dave Edmunds, in turn, did the definitive version of "Girls Talk", which Costello wrote.
 * Crowning Moment of Awesome - In 1977, Saturday Night Live held a contest for the Guest Host spot on that year's Christmas episode. The winner was Miskel Spillman, an octogenarian grandmother from New Orleans. After learning that an old lady won the contest, the SNL production team tried to get the Sex Pistols on as the musical guest (as it would drum up more publicity and it would be, y'know, fucking hilarious), but visa problems caused them to pick Elvis Costello and the Attractions instead. NBC and Costello's record label insisted he play "Less Than Zero", but instead he dramatically stopped the Attractions during the second line and began playing "Radio, Radio" - a song he was specifically told not to play - instead. For this he was banned for several years from the program, but the show now actively embraces the incident as one of the coolest things to ever happen on the show. To prove this, the show asked Costello to "crash" the Beastie Boys' performance of "Sabatoge" during the SNL 20th Anniversary Special. After said crashing, Costello and the Beasties performed, of course, "Radio, Radio".
 * Funny Aneurysm Moment/Harsher in Hindsight: "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding" became truly ironic twenty-five years later with the popularity of Blue Collar Comedy. Apparently, some people find the idea of peace, love, and understanding extremely funny.
 * Genius Bonus - Even Silly Love Songs are often peppered with literary and historical references.
 * High Octane Nightmare Fuel -
 * "I Want You". Starts off sounding very gentle and innocuous, but then does a kind of musical Face Heel Turn with the lyrics getting creepier and Costello sounding more and more deranged, until you can almost picture him climbing into the woman's bed and breathing down her neck. One critic described Costello as sounding like he was 'on the end of a noose'. 'Nuff said.
 * "This Offer Is Unrepeatable" from The Juliet Letters also qualifies. It's supposed to represent an extreme form of junk mail (in keeping with the album's theme of correspondence), where the receiver is promised power of life and death over the rich, amongst other things, and is asked to sign the letter in blood.
 * Hype Backlash - Costello feared this trope would come into play when his record company promoted his 1982 album Imperial Bedroom with the tagline "Masterpiece?". Ultimately, the trope was averted; the album is regarded as one of his best by both fans and critics.
 * Never Live It Down - Once, in a drunken rant, called James Brown and Ray Charles "niggers"; he later explained that he was trying to bring a tiresome conversation to a swift conclusion, not expecting his comments to appear in the newspapers. Charles publicly forgave him, saying "...drunk talk doesn't mean anything."
 * Sophomore Slump - This Year's Model is a notable aversion, being considered one of his best albums.
 * Tear Jerker: "Tramp The Dirt Down''. The sheer bitterness and anger in his voice and in the lyrics is heartbreaking, especially to people who have less than positive memories of Margaret Thatcher.