You Tell Me Where

Album: Brill Bruisers (2014)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song was inspired by an a cappella version of Neil Young's "After The Gold Rush," by the English group Prelude, which was a hit in the early 1970s. The New Pornagraphers' A.C. Newman told Spin magazine: "It's got this thick wall of harmonies, which I kept coming back to when we were doing the song."

    Once ["You Tell Me Where"] gets to the halfway point, the vocals just go crazy," he added: "It's me and Kathryn [Calder] and Neko [Case] and Kelly Hogan, and it becomes this wall. I thought, 'I want it to sound like this crazy '70s choir.'"
  • Another inspiration for the song was Scott Miller, the late mainman of 1980s power pop band Game Theory, who passed away in 2013. "His sense of melody and songwriting had a big influence on me," Newman told Spin. "People have said that they think I'm influenced by Big Star, but really I'm more influenced by Game Theory, who were influenced by Big Star. I got it in my head that I would try to write something that musically was a tip of the hat to Game Theory, and that was 'You Tell Me Where.'"

    "It started out like, 'I'm gonna write something like Game Theory,'" he added. "Then it gets to the point where I'm saying, 'Now I want this to sound like an a cappella group from the '70s.' You don't finish songs like this, but it's a good way to start songs."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Album Cover Inspirations

Album Cover InspirationsSong Writing

Some album art was at least "inspired" by others. A look at some very similar covers.

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat WorldSongwriter Interviews

Jim talks about the impact of "The Middle" and uses a tree metaphor to describe his songwriting philosophy.

Weezer

WeezerFact or Fiction

Did Rivers Cuomo grow up on a commune? Why did they name their albums after colors? See how well you know your Weezer in this Fact or Fiction.

Wedding Bell Blues

Wedding Bell BluesSong Writing

When a song describes a wedding, it's rarely something to celebrate - with one big exception.

Eric Burdon

Eric BurdonSongwriter Interviews

The renown rock singer talks about "The House of the Rising Sun" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood."

Deconstructing Doors Songs With The Author Of The Doors Examined

Deconstructing Doors Songs With The Author Of The Doors ExaminedSong Writing

Doors expert Jim Cherry, author of The Doors Examined, talks about some of their defining songs and exposes some Jim Morrison myths.