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

Dan Reed

Dan ReedSongwriter Interviews

Dan cracked the Top 40 with "Ritual," then went to India and spent 2 hours with the Dalai Lama.

Tom Johnston from The Doobie Brothers

Tom Johnston from The Doobie BrothersSongwriter Interviews

The Doobies guitarist and lead singer, Tom wrote the classics "Listen To The Music," "Long Train Runnin'" and "China Grove."

Boz Scaggs

Boz ScaggsSongwriter Interviews

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

Rosanne Cash

Rosanne CashSongwriter Interviews

Rosanne talks about the journey that inspired her songs on her album The River & the Thread, including a stop at the Tallahatchie Bridge.

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.

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.