Baby Blue Movie

Album: X's (2024)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Baby Blue Movie" is a sly reference to soft-core pornography. "A 'blue movie' is a term for a porn movie and so 'baby blue movie' is a reference to soft-core porn," explained Cigarettes After Sex vocalist Greg Gonzalez.

    He found the phrase intriguing and used it as a jumping-off point for a song with a deliberately ambiguous narrative.
  • The song doesn't offer a clear storyline. There's a hotel rendezvous where Gonzalez meets up with someone known only by their social media handle, "always4tuesdays." They watch soft-core movies together, but the emotional connection seems more complex than a typical one-night stand.
  • Gonzalez wrote and produced the song. His enigmatic approach is a departure from Cigarettes After Sex's usual style. While "Baby Blue Movie" maintains their signature sound of dreamy soundscapes, it is in stark contrast to the suggestive title and lyrical hints.
  • Greg Gonzalez's lifelong fascination with poet E. E. Cummings' blend of surrealism, sensuality, and coded intimacy inspired "Baby Blue Movie."

    "As a kid, E.E. Cummings was my favorite classic poet," Gonzalez told The Line of Best Fit, citing "somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond" as a piece that's stayed with him ever since.

    "I love the surrealism of that," he explained. "I drew a parallel between E.E. Cummings and 'Baby Blue Movie.' You could tell his stuff was really surreal and cryptic, but also that there's actually something sexual going on - in a romantic way. It's coded, but it's a bit dirty."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Emmylou Harris

Emmylou HarrisSongwriter Interviews

She thinks of herself as a "song interpreter," but back in the '80s another country star convinced Emmylou to take a crack at songwriting.

Wherefore Art Thou Romeo Lyric

Wherefore Art Thou Romeo LyricMusic Quiz

In this quiz, spot the artist who put Romeo into a song lyric.

James Williamson of Iggy & the Stooges

James Williamson of Iggy & the StoogesSongwriter Interviews

The Stooges guitarist (and producer of the Kill City album) talks about those early recordings and what really happened with David Bowie.

Scott Gorham of Thin Lizzy and Black Star Riders

Scott Gorham of Thin Lizzy and Black Star RidersSongwriter Interviews

Writing with Phil Lynott, Scott saw their ill-fated frontman move to a darker place in his life and lyrics.

Shawn Mullins

Shawn MullinsSongwriter Interviews

"Lullaby" singer Shawn Mullins on "Beautiful Wreck," beating the Devil, and his writing credit on the Zac Brown Band song "Toes."

Jonathan Edwards - "Sunshine"

Jonathan Edwards - "Sunshine"They're Playing My Song

"How much does it cost? I'll buy it?" Another songwriter told Jonathan to change these lyrics. Good thing he ignored this advice.