Album: Sparkle Hard (2018)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This traditional-sounding country song features a vocal contribution by Kim Gordon. Stephen Malkmus explained to Uncut why he decided to hook up with the Sonic Youth founding member:

    "I didn't imagine it for her originally. It's a song that pokes fun at marriage being an untenable arrangement or not useful in a way in our modern society, the way the family is changing.

    It had he/she lyrics, so we felt we should get somebody to sing the other part. I initially had some more country style singers in my mind, but then I was like 'Kim's my friend too - we could invite her. I wasn't necessarily sure a country song was right for her but she was really up for it."
  • Stephen Malkmus told Billboard the story of his collaboration with Kim Gordon:

    "I had the song already, I had sang the second verse myself. We listened back and were like, 'Eh it's good, but wouldn't it be fun if we had a female or just somebody else to sing the second verse?' The lyrics are coming from a woman's perspective anyway, so yeah, we were fantasy Rolodex-ing the type of people who would be fun. Why not dream?

    We got our group of people together, and everyone when I mentioned Kim, the overarching reaction – from the engineer to Chris – was like 'yeah man you know her?' I was 'yeah I know Kim, I'll ask, send it to her.' She responds to my texts or whatever. And she was like 'yeah sure.' The lyrics were in the bag.

    I was more, initially, thinking to get more of a country singer, old Nashville or someone with some twang like Angel Olsen – I never asked her though – but then thought 'why not do something unexpected?'

    It's not unexpected to have Kim play with me, but have her on this song (is). She was up for it. Flew up, hung out for a couple days, she was professional or whatever. She's super active, always has something going on."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Melanie

MelanieSongwriter Interviews

The singer-songwriter Melanie talks about her spiritual awakening at Woodstock, "Brand New Key," and why songwriting is an art, not a craft.

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' Albums

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' AlbumsSong Writing

With the rise of Kindie rock, more musicians are embracing their inner child with tunes for tots - here, we look at pop stars who recorded kids' albums.

Michael Franti

Michael FrantiSongwriter Interviews

Franti tells the story behind his hit "Say Hey (I Love You)" and explains why yoga is an integral part of his lifestyle and his Soulshine tour.

Tom Keifer of Cinderella

Tom Keifer of CinderellaSongwriter Interviews

Tom talks about the evolution of Cinderella's songs through their first three albums, and how he writes as a solo artist.

Lori McKenna

Lori McKennaSongwriter Interviews

Lori's songs have been recorded by Faith Hill and Sara Evans. She's performed on the CMAs and on Oprah. She also has five kids.

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie Combination

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie CombinationSong Writing

In 1986, a Stephen King novella was made into a movie, with a classic song serving as title, soundtrack and tone.