Back to the 80’s again, this time with Lloyd Cole And The Commotions and my favorite song of theirs, “Rattlesnakes”.
Do you have a favorite Lloyd Cole And The Commotions song? If so, what is it?
“Rattlesnakes” by Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
from the album, Rattlesnakes (1984)
My Top 5 – February 7, 2011
“She looks like Eve Marie Saint,
from ‘On The Waterfront’,
as she reads Simone de Beauvoir,
in her American circumstance.”
My Top Five Thoughts on “Rattlesnakes” by Lloyd Cole And The Commotions:
1. Whenever I hear this song I see a story I’ve never quite finished in my head, and in this story lives a particular female character that I’d someday like to write. I can see her hair color and the way she wears it. I can hear the way gum snaps as she chews it, and the way her voice lilts a little when she sings-a-long to the radio, driving down a half-deserted highway. I can even smell the kind of perfume she wears. Someday I’ll have to give her the story she deserves. And a name. I mean, she already has a song.
2. I love pop culture and literary references in songs.
3. I remember watching On The Waterfront as a child and being spellbound by Eve Marie Saint. She seemed both delicate and tough, a combination that I thought was just perfect.
4. I love the lyric “she tries too hard, she’s obvious, despite herself.” Its always been one of those lyrics that resonate a little too much with me, but I still like it.
5. I find the combination of Eve Marie Saint and Simone de Beauvoir in this song fascinating – the French Feminist and the Academy Award winning actress. It makes me want to really know this girl the song is about (or the way the songwriting sees this girl). I wonder if she’d have anything in common with the girl I see in my head when I hear “Rattlesnakes”?
