Vertigo

Album: The Great Pretenders (2014)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Mini Mansions are the side project of Queen of the Stone Age bassist Michael Shuman. This song features a vocal contribution from Arctic Monkeys' vocalist Alex Turner, who played on QOTSA's 2013 album, ...Like Clockwork. In addition, QOTSA frontman Josh Homme co-produced Arctic Monkeys' Humbug LP and Mini Mansions were the support act during the British band's 2014 US headlining shows. "We've become close with Alex and the rest of the Arctic Monkeys," Shuman explained to NME. "He lives down the street in LA from the studio we were recording in, so he'd just drop by."

    "We had this idea that the second verse of 'Vertigo' would be sung with a British-type (frontman of northern England band The Fall) Mark E Smith vocal," he continued. "It seemed the obvious choice to have a real Brit on it."

    "He wrote the lyrics pretty quickly and knocked the whole thing out in one take," Shuman added.
  • The video stars Alex Turner and a parade of topless models. Speaking to NME about the clip, Michael Shuman explained: "It's naughty. It's very naughty. Almost every shot is based on an old horror movie or Italian horror movies."

    "The guy who made it basically ripped off every shot based off of something else," he continued. "We did a bunch of weird s--t - that's what we like doing and then see what he does with it. The night before, we played a private party, which was really f--king weird and we were all really hungover when we got there in the morning. There were all these naked models. It was just a weird, surreal thing, and that's the kind of video it is."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Boz Scaggs

Boz ScaggsSongwriter Interviews

The "Lowdown" and "Lido Shuffle" singer makes a habit of playing with the best in the business.

Weird Al Yankovic

Weird Al YankovicFact or Fiction

Did Al play on a Beach Boys record? Did he have beef with George Lucas and Coolio? See if you can spot weird but true stories.

Richie McDonald of Lonestar

Richie McDonald of LonestarSongwriter Interviews

Richie talks about the impact of "Amazed," and how his 4-year-old son inspired another Lonestar hit.

Protest Songs

Protest SongsMusic Quiz

How well do you know your protest songs (including the one that went to #1)?

History Of Rock

History Of RockSong Writing

An interview with Dr. John Covach, music professor at the University of Rochester whose free online courses have become wildly popular.

Top American Idol Moments: Songs And Scandals

Top American Idol Moments: Songs And ScandalsSong Writing

Surprise exits, a catfight and some very memorable performances make our list of the most memorable Idol moments.