Elvis Costello calls this iconic ’70s rock band “dreary” and claims he can’t listen to anything by them

Plenty of acts in the punk/post-punk era had something to say about the generation that came before them, typically uncomplimentary. Not known for keeping his opinions close to his chest, Elvis Costello has revealed he’s kept that fire burning in a new interview, in which he expresses a general displeasure for Pink Floyd‘s music.

Speaking to The Guardian, Costello admits to a dislike of Pink Floyd, calling their music “dreary”. When quizzed about the song he can no longer listen to, the singer-songwriter reveals (and perhaps overshares) that he avoids “anything by Pink Floyd”, when asked about the song he would no longer listen to. “Never could, never will. I find their music dreary. I love the imagination and playfulness of See Emily Play, but after Syd Barrett left they just never appealed to me.”

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Costello’s hits started to arrive in the late 1970s, most notably with Oliver’s Army in February 1979. Coincidentally, Pink Floyd’s biggest hit single, Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2, also appeared in 1979, and both are essentially protest songs.

To Costello’s credit, his dislike of Pink Floyd is not a general rejection of that generation of music – Elvis Costello and the Attractions emerged in the post-punk/new wave era – as he’s far more generous about Jimi Hendrix. When quizzed about the first song he fell in love with, Costello cited The Wind Cries Mary, stating that it “came out in 1967 when I was 12. Hendrix was known for outgoing music, but I was a romantic soul, so the emotional side of his music led to that strain in my own writing.”

Costello is promoting a new release of his 1977 debut album, My Aim Is True, which was produced by Nick Lowe. While the original UK version of the album was issued without the song, the US release included Watching The Detectives, his first hit on both sides of the Atlantic. My Aim Is True – 49th Edition includes multiple versions of Watching The Detectives, including the original single.

In other news, Pink Floyd recently teamed up with the Royal Mint to launch a limited run of 18-carat gold picks worth nearly six grand apiece…