Elvis Costello & The Imposters - Monkey To Man

What this video is

Released in autumn 2004 to support The Delivery Man, Elvis Costello's deliberate return to Southern American roots rock recorded at Sweet Tea Studio in Oxford, Mississippi. The song's lyrical satire — tracing human folly from evolutionary origins — aligns with the mid-2000s cultural moment of heightened political commentary in popular music, following the Iraq War and leading into the 2004 U.S. presidential…

Why it matters

A landmark in Costello's late-career reinvention as a roots-rock provocateur, 'Monkey To Man' bridges his new wave origins with Sixties garage rock and 1950s R&B, demonstrating the genre-fluid ambition that distinguished The Delivery Man era. The video's performance-centric aesthetic reinforces…

The director

Jesse Byron Dylan (b. January 6, 1966) is an American film director and production executive who attended NYU film school. He began his career directing music videos for Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Tom Petty, Public Image Limited, and Lenny Kravitz. Feature…