Fontaines D.C.’s “Marianne” is about escape. More specifically, the desire to disappear from a world that feels increasingly overwhelming. The song explores attraction, danger and the fantasy of leaving ordinary life behind. And its inspiration…
Tag: explained
Fatboy Slim’s “Praise You” is built around the voice of Camille Yarbrough. The vocal comes from “Take Yo’ Praise”, released on Yarbrough’s 1975 album The Iron Pot Cooker. Norman Cook, better known as Fatboy Slim,…
The haunting instrumental appearing in TikTok videos is “Brutus (Instrumental)” by The Buttress. But the original song has a much more complicated story than its ominous music might suggest. “Brutus” is a dramatic retelling of…
“The Tide Is High” was originally recorded by Jamaican vocal group The Paragons in 1967. Not Blondie. And not Atomic Kitten. Blondie made the song a major international hit in 1980. Atomic Kitten introduced it…
“Spooky, Scary Skeletons” was originally written and recorded by Andrew Gold. The song appeared on his 1996 album Halloween Howls: Fun & Scary Music. But the version many younger listeners recognise is a remix by…
KATSEYE’s “Unloveu” is about the moment you realise that you’re finally beginning to stop loving somebody who once meant everything to you. But there’s something particularly interesting about the song. Member Lara Raj helped write…
Deee-Lite’s “Groove Is in the Heart” is built from an extraordinary collection of musical influences and samples. The most famous is a bassline taken from “Bring Down the Birds” by Herbie Hancock. But that’s only…
The song featured throughout the third episode of The Last of Us is “Long Long Time” by Linda Ronstadt. Originally released in 1970, the recording became central to one of the television series’ most emotional…
Jason Derulo’s “Whatcha Say” samples “Hide and Seek” by Imogen Heap. And the original recording sounds almost nothing like a conventional pop hit. Heap released “Hide and Seek” in 2005. The song is built almost…
The song playing during the famous vampire baseball scene in Twilight is “Supermassive Black Hole” by Muse. The British rock band released it in 2006. Two years later, it became part of one of the…
