I've seen various attributions... can anyone pin it down?

And no, daleh, thanks, but I don't need a search or reverse dictionary link.

Elvis Costello "...it's a really stupid thing to want to do."

But, it's been controversial. Check this site: http://www.pacifier.com/~ascott/they/tamildaa.htm

"I've seen the "Writing about music is like dancing about architecture" quote variously attributed to Miles Davis, Elvis Costello, and Frank Zappa. ..."

It's probably one of those that was first said by some anonymous person who happened to be around a person who was in right position to take it far. Seen all the entries people love it.

What's so bad about dancing about architecture anyway?

Nothing wrong with writing about music, either. Elvis Costello can go pound sand.

Isn't that "go kick rocks"?

Never heard that one. Sounds like it means the same thing. Not the exact same, maybe, but the same nonetheless.

We're all waiting with bated breath for your flying buttress into a vaulted arch...

Hey, you leave my flying butt outa this!

My uncle Frank was modern dancer who developed a repertoire of dances about architecture. His "Brunelleschi Suite" was a big hit and was said by the NYT to be the perfect cap to the 1984 season. But the next year, while in rehearsal for an homage to archtiect Jean Chalgrin, he developed fallen arches and had to end his dancing career.

Yes,yes you can dance Architecture. Bauhaus was doing things like geometrical costumed ballets in the twenties and Rem Koolhaas did his archirectural dance performance. Here I think they've just taken the bows.

Architecture dance

Rem Koolhaas' buildings:Rem Koolhaas

Triadische Ballett

One of my favorite ballet pieces is "Angels in the Architecture" based on Quaker design esthetics.

I'll try to find it on the net.(unless you got a link ready.) I love to see things.

Found it and the article interesting enough to read it all.
Angels in Arch. When once I went with my sister from Chicago where she lives to my brother in Edmonton where he lives, we decided to travel the Winnipeg-Edmonton stretch by train and had to spend some time in Winnipeg. "What in the world could be going on in Winnipeg!" I said. Now I know and take my words back.The train ride was wonderful;took us straight through the half circle of a rainbow.