Bands write songs two topics: love won and love lost. This pop formula has worked for decades. Even songs that veer off that topic don’t generally veer that far off. Unless you’re Alison Goldfrapp. For her 2003 album Black Cherry, the English electro maven explored a too often overlooked issue: rodent sex joy.
“’Strict Machine’ was inspired by me reading about … well, there’s all this stuff in the newspaper about scientists being able to control rats, by sort of putting these little pulses into their brain, into their love, sex bit of their brain so, being able to control them, telling them to go left or right and they go left or right with sort of deep joy, which is kinda strange,” she told ArtistInterviews.com. “Anyway, I just thought that that had a strong sort of image to it and that was the inspiration and then it sort of evolved into other more human aspects of machines and sex and control.”
If that’s not trippy enough for you, check out the wolfmen/vampire music video. If that’s too trippy though, Band of Skulls’ stripped-down cover might be just your speed. The Southampton garage trio pulled it back for an appearance on Australia’s Triple J radio station. Sure, the song’s still about stimulating rat pleasure centers (ew), but it’s less Willard and more “Ben.” Continue reading »