Satellite

Album: Blood Pressures (2011)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This hard-grooving Blues-Rock number was the first single to be released from Blood Pressures, the fourth studio album by American indie rock duo The Kills.
  • A phone conversation between Kills guitarist Jamie Hince and his girlfriend, supermodel Kate Moss, was the inspiration for this song. He recalled to Spin magazine: "I was on tour and the signal kept going. I kept losing her. It turned into a daydream about the universe and vibrations, and how a voice can go from one side of the planet to the other via satellite - and it's all vibrations. It sounds dreadfully hippie-ish [laughs]. But it was a daydream - a nightmare, really - about actually losing someone physically."
  • Jamie Hince and Alison Mosshart wrote separately for Blood Pressures, an approach forced on the duo by Mosshart's time on the road with the Dead Weather. "At the start, I was a bit sad about that," Hince told Spin magazine. "But it really freed me up to try new things. She'd come back off tour with something she'd write on acoustic guitar. The process was a lot more exciting than ever before."
  • The song's music video was directed by Sophie Muller, who also helmed the band's memorable "Last Day Of Magic" clip. It was filmed on England's Canvey Island, a Coney Island-like resort area that has fallen out of favor, which Hince described to Billboard magazine as "kind of a ghost town now."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Robert DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots

Robert DeLeo of Stone Temple PilotsSongwriter Interviews

Stone Temple Pilots bass player Robert DeLeo names the songs that have most connected with fans and tells the stories behind tracks from their Tiny Music album.

Carl Sturken

Carl SturkenSongwriter Interviews

Hitmaker Carl Sturken on writing and producing for Rihanna, 'N Sync, Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Donny Osmond, Shakira and Karyn White.

British Invasion

British InvasionFact or Fiction

Go beyond The Beatles to see what you know about the British Invasion.

Carol Kaye

Carol KayeSongwriter Interviews

A top session musician, Carol played on hundreds of hits by The Beach Boys, The Monkees, Frank Sinatra and many others.

80s Video Director Jay Dubin

80s Video Director Jay DubinSong Writing

Billy Joel and Hall & Oates hated making videos, so they chose a director with similar contempt for the medium. That was Jay Dubin, and he has a lot to say on the subject.

Kiss

KissFact or Fiction

Kiss is the subject of many outlandish rumors - some of which happen to be true. See if you can spot the fakes.