Elvis Costello’s new program, Spectacle premieres tonight on the Sundance Channel. While it is my sincere hope that this show came about as a direct result of Elvis’s appearance as a guest host for David Letterman (which included interviews with [inexplicably] Kim Cattrall and [more explicably] Eddie Izzard as well as a performance by Elvis himself and the late Mitch Hedberg’s final appearance on the Late Show), it doesn’t really matter: Elvis simply has a penchant for intelligent discourse, especially when it comes to music.
Tonight’s episode features discussion and performance with Elton John, and it does not disappoint. In addition to chatter about the change from Reginald Dwight to Elton John (and from Declan McManus to Elvis Costello) the two discuss, Laura Nyro, Leon Russell, and Elton’s songwriting partnership with Bernie Taupin. Future episodes will feature everyone from Lou Reed (next week) to Jakob Dylan to Bill Clinton to Rufus Wainwright to Kris Kristofferson. The first episode already has me looking forward to a DVD release with expanded interviews, because one hour wasn’t enough.
