"Elvis Costello is known for being stingy with his praise and liberal with his criticism. So when he chooses to champion a fellow singer-songwriter, it attracts attention.
This year he sang the praises of Aimee Mann in the English music press, saying he wished he’d written these opening lines to one of her recent songs: “Today’s the Fourth of July / Another June has gone by / And when they light up our town I just think what a waste of gunpowder and sky.”

