‘I can’t listen to Pink Floyd - I find their music dreary’: Elvis Costello’s honest playlist

The first song I fell in love with
The Wind Cries Mary by Jimi Hendrix, which 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.

The song I do at karaoke
Karaoke? Certainly not. I do this for a living. Would you have made my great-grandfather dig ditches for fun? I prefer to live vicariously through Bill Murray singing (What’s So Funny ’Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding in Lost in Translation.

The song I inexplicably know every lyric to
’Cross the Green Mountain by Bob Dylan is a bit hidden away, but in the very top tier of his songwriting. It’s full of images from the American civil war: conflict, overwhelming love, officers being shot, mothers receiving terrible news. It’s poignant and involving.

The first single I bought
I saved my pocket money to buy the Fame at Last EP by Georgie Fame from Potter’s Music Shop in Richmond. He introduced me to Gerry Goffin and Carole King, Louis Jordan, Ray Charles, Big Joe Turner, Mose Allison, Willie Dixon and Lambert, Hendricks & Ross – which was a lot of education for an 11-year-old who didn’t play an instrument.

The song I can no longer listen to
Anything by Pink Floyd. 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.

The best song to have sex to
How impertinent.

The song I secretly like, but tell everyone I hate
I’ve written a few songs that I secretly hate, but I can’t think of anything I secretly like apart from Milkshake by Kelis – and I don’t think that’s a secret.

The best song to play at a party
I haven’t been to a party since I was 15. Then it would have been Double Barrel by Dave & Ansel Collins.

The song that changed my life
My mother claimed I’d request I’ve Got You Under My Skin by Frank Sinatra before I could form sentences. I can still visualise the record player we had in our basement flat near Olympia, which had a red eye on the front and looked a bit like a robot.

The song that gets me up in the morning
Armagideon Time by the Clash. I found having Good Morning from Singin’ in the Rain as my ringtone put me in a bad mood.

The song I want played at my funeral
Keepin’ Out of Mischief Now by Louis Armstrong.