Just how great is Elvis Costello

r_f_sayles:  Just to expand on my comment, some artists place their politics in their work, some don't, and there is a continuum of how often that occurs that varies by artist.  It has nothing to do with EC's demeanor, as far as I am concerned.  I found his earlier demeanor exciting and pretty cool.

Without going into too much detail, I was very upset that EC fell victim to Roger Waters' irrational anti-Israel pressure and cancelled concerts in Israel, for example.  And occassionally, EC has made political statements to the press, but not in his music, which I have found disturbing.  But overall, I find his infusion of politics into his music to be limited to a song here and there, and not so "in yer face" that it ruins the song for me.  Compared to some artists, EC is only mildly political relative to his extraordinary talent.

There are other artists who seem to speak on political issues more often than they perform in concert or release recordings.  Still others infuse nearly every recording with their politics.  And if those politics really upset me, I simply can't enjoy the music.  That really doesn't happen to me regarding EC. 

In general, I feel that musicians teaching us about political issues is like accountants teacing us about art.  I really don't care what EC or any artist thinks about complex political issues.  And when they feel they are obligated to constantly lecture their fans about politics, they start to appear foolish and small to me, and at some point, their ability to convince me that they are singing with passion and conviction is also diminished.

Not looking to start a flame war here, folks, just replying to the question posted.

Sorry, tooblue.  Such is the nature of internet threads.

r_f_sayles - I concure.  Artists are and ought to be free to express themselves however they wish.  Consumers of art are and ought to be free to either enjoy the art or choose something else that pleases them.  Demanding artists create only art with content that conforms to the preferences of certain consumers is silly on its face, and destroys creativity as well as free expression.