I’ve always loved the Arctic Monkeys from the first time I heard them. Whatever you may think of Alex Turner’s morph into a parody of himself, there’s no denying his gift for lyrics. To me his songs are like poetry that show me a glimpse of life as a teen in Sheffield or into the mind of a man making drunken lustful calls to a woman he’s obsessed with. I find them constantly fascinating and appealing; it helps that I like the guitars and drums of their typical sound. I listen to them less frequently now, but when I do, their tunes lighten my mood and lift my spirit. There’s always something new to hear. That’s where this post comes from.
I had their last album, AM, on in the background the other day and the song Knee Socks came on. Another ditty about getting it on with someone you fancy. Out of the blue I noticed a line which I’d clearly heard many times before but only just clocked – it’s near the back end of the song and finishes the chorus sections:
Like the beginning of Mean Streets
You could be my baby
As soon as I heard the line, the image of Harvey Keitel’s head hitting the pillow to The Ronette’s singing Be My Baby in the opening scene of that film flashed through my head.
Lots of artists mention other musicians in their songs, but not many incorporate other song titles into their lyrics (Pavement don’t count – they only listed R.E.M song titles as an homage to Stipe et al).
Yet again ‘Spillers I come to you to discuss this issue. What do you know about all of this? Share your tracks where the band/musician has used a song title as part of their lyrics.
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