Elvis Costello is all for Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Brutal’ being inspired by his track

Elvis Costello came to Olivia Rodrigo’s defense online, saying that he was okay with her song ‘Brutal’ sounding like his track ‘Pump It Up’.

While Olivia Rodrigo’s debut album Sour is making waves globally — and making her the biggest artists on the planet right now — there is another side of the Twitter-sphere that is buzzing with talk about the sincerity of her music. Well, Elvis Costello is here to put those concerns to rest.

Costello came to Rodrigo’s defense in a new tweet online, where a user took a jab at her song ‘Brutal’ sounding similar to Costello’s 1978 track ‘Pump It Up’. The user, who called the song ‘pretty much direct lift from Elvis Costello’, however, earned a response from the rocker himself. Turns out, he’s quite okay with it.

“This is fine by me, Billy,” Costello said. “It’s how rock and roll works. You take the broken pieces of another thrill and make a brand new toy. That’s what I did. #subterreneanhomesickblues #toomuchmonkeybusiness.” The two hashtags, of course, are not unintentional. They refer to the Bob Dylan and Chuck Berry songs that were direct influences for ‘Pump It Up’.

While Costello might be okay with Rodrigo paying homage to his style, some others are not.

Just this week, Courtney Love expressed her displeasure with the cover art for Rodrigo’s upcoming concert film, Sour Prom. Love claims that the image of Rodrigo holding a bouquet and wearing a tiara with mascara running down her face is similar to the cover art for Hole’s album Live Through This. 

“Stealing an original idea and not asking permission is rude. There’s no way to be elegant about it . I’m not angry . It happens all the time to me . And he really I’m very gracious or say nothing . But this was bad form . That’s not bullying or bomb throwing . This persons music has nothing to do with my life . Possibly never will . It was rude And I [have] every right to stick up for my work.” she said on Facebook.

You can read more about this topic over at the Pop Observer.

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