Unlike Some People, Elvis Costello Didn’t Feel Like Suing Olivia Rodrigo

He’s been listening to the Muzak, thinking about this and that, and came to this conclusion: What are you all going on about? Despite widespread comparisons between Elvis Costello’s “Pump It Up” and Olivia Rodrigo’s “Brutal” emerging when the pop star released the song back in 2021, Costello is now admitting that he never once thought about trying to get a song credit just because of, say, some similar, stomping guitar grooves shared between them. “That’s too silly to talk about,” he told The Times of London. “Well, I met Olivia, and she was lovely. I said, look, this is just a riff, and how could I be arrogant enough to sue on the basis of originality when my song is based on ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’? Did Bob Dylan sue me? He teased me about it but didn’t sue. And did Chuck Berry sue Bob because his song was like ‘Too Much Monkey Business?’” Costello echoed a parallel sentiment with Vanity Fair in 2024, citing the shared language of music as his prevailing mind-set. “I did not find any reason to go after them legally for that,” he said at the time of “Brutal,” “because I think it would be ludicrous.”

Two artists on the opposing side of the Sour-era discourse are Taylor Swift and Paramore’s Hayley Williams, both of whom retroactively demanded a writing credit and royalties from the album: Rodrigo’s hit “Deja Vu” interpolated the bridge of Swift’s “Cruel Summer,” while “good 4 u” shared the melodic spirit of the Paramore song “Misery Business.” While it was reported that Williams, as well as her Paramore bandmate Josh Farro, had been in contact with Rodrigo’s team prior to Sour’s release (“our publisher is wildin rn,” Williams pointedly wrote on her Instagram Stories), it’s alleged that Swift initiated her action only after social-media users drew attention to the songs’ sonic tension. (Swift wrote “Cruel Summer” with Jack Antonoff and St. Vincent, both of whom were also awarded credit.) As a result, Rodrigo lost well over $1 million in royalties from all involved parties. We’ll let you determine on your own how bothered she was by all of this.