"Writing about music is like dancing about architecture" is a maxim used to express the futility of translating music through words. It may be employed as an argument for dismissing music criticism altogether. The quote's origin is unknown. It is most commonly misattributed to musicians Laurie Anderson and Elvis Costello. Others, including Costello himself, credit the remark to comedian Martin Mull, although a variation ("talking about music is like singing about economics") has appeared in print since as early as 1918.
