Cannonball

Trust Me #57

30-years ago #6

Cannonball by The Breeders

Released 30-years ago, Cannonball by The Breeders is super infectious and outrageously cool. As a debut single, it must be up with the very best.

Beginning with what sounds like a fun soundcheck, there is a roll of drumsticks, a bass kicking into life, beats, a playful guitar riff and then a wonderful distorted, chugging one. 

Kim Deal, fresh from her Pixies break up, is in no rush to sing, allowing the delightful groove to run until 49 seconds before singing;

Spitting in a wishing well

Blown to hell, crash

I'm the last splash

Deal sounds super sweet during the verses, then she is deliciously distorted in the bridge to the chorus hook. And oh, what a hook?! I imagine that anyone reading this who is even remotely familiar with the song will be singing it right now.

In the shade

In the shade

Cannonball is an incredibly leftfield pop song, but Deal knows the benefits/pop trick of repeating lyrics and she uses the lines I know you little libertine, I know you're a cannonball after the first verse and then to start the second verse. Deal then goes on to sing the brilliant seductive but bonkers line;

I'll be your whatever-you-want

The bong in this reggae song

Spike Jonez directed the video which features the band in a rehearsal studio, interspersed with a cannonball rolling down streets and Deal sticking her head under water for the waa ooo ooo section.

But it's the sun kissed in the shade, in the shade hook that gets me every time I listen to this song. Cannonball is a perfect slice of energetic garage punk pop. It just has absolutely everything, I can play it 7-times in a row and it still feels fresh.

Cannonball is added to my Trust Me playlist on Spotify. You can find a list of all the songs on it to date below, along with links to the blogs.

Search for Everything Flows - Trust Me on Spotify , or CLICK HERE

Official video

Previous Trust Me blogs

1. Something On Your Mind by Karen Dalton

1A. Crimson and Clover by Tommy James and the Shondells

2. I Am, I Said  by Neil Diamond

3. Where's The Playground Susie?   by Glen Campbell

4. If You Could Read My Mind by Gordon Lighfoot

5. Gimme Some Truth by John Lennon

6. Gone With The Wind Is My Love by Rita and the Tiaras

7. In The Year 2525 by Zager and Evans

8. The Music Box by Ruth Copeland

9. The Ship Song by Nick Cave

10. Sometimes by James

11. I Walk The Earth by King Biscuit Time

12. Didn't Know What I Was In For by Better Oblivion Community Centre

13. When My Boy Walks Down The Street by The Magnetic Fields

14. The Man Don't Give A F**k by Super Furry Animals

15. All Flowers In Time Bend Towards The Sun by Jeff Buckley and Liz Fraser

16. Are You Lookin' by The Tymes

17. A Real Hero by College & Electric Youth

18. Feelings Gone by Callum Easter

19. Sunday Morning by The Velvet Underground

20. Did I Say by Teenage Fanclub

21. Don't Look Back by Teenage Fanclub

22. Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From by Teenage Fanclub

23. Belfast by Orbital

24. Clouds by The Jayhawks

25. Dreaming Of You by The Coral

26. Everlasting Love by Love Affair

27. Walk Away Renee by The Left Banke

28. Teenage Kicks by The Undertones

29. Shaky Ground by Sneeze

29. Rill Rill by Sleigh Bells

30. I Can Feel Your Love by Felice Taylor

31. The State We're In by The Chemical Brothers w/ Beth Orton

32. Sunshine After The Rain by Ellie Greenwich

33. Losing My Edge by LCD Soundsystem

34. Mondo 77 by Looper

35. Les Fleurs by Minnie Riperton

36. Rat Trap by The Boomtown Rats

37. How High by The Charlatans

38. I Can't Let Go by Evie Sands

39. Pop Song 89 by R.E.M.

40. Summertime Clothes by Animal Collective

41. There She Goes by The Las

42. We're Going To Be Friends by White Stripes

43. Autumn Sweater by Yo La Tengo

44. Sister Rena by Lomond Campbell

45. Revolution by The Beatles

46. Lazarus by The Boo Radleys

47. Wrote For Luck by Happy Mondays

48. American Trilogy by The Delgados

49. Loser by Beck 

50. Silent Sigh by Badly Drawn Boy

51. Comedy by Shack

52. Take The Skinheads Bowling by Camper Van Beethoven

53. Freakscene by Dinosaur Jr

54. Thank You For Being You by The Pastels

55. I Think I'm In Love by Spiritualized

56. Chestnut Mare by The Byrds

Slip Inside This House

Cover of the month #4 - Slip Inside This House

Primal Scream cover The Thirteenth Floor Elevators

Not so much a cover - a total transformation!

Track 2 on the legendary Screamadelica album, Slip Inside This House goes off on a total tangent from the Stone-sy opener of Movin' On Up and brings the listener slap bang into 1991 and Acid House.

Only, this isn't a Primal Scream song, it was originally released by The Thirteenth Floor Elevators back in 1967 - the original summer of love. So there was some kind of neat synergy that it was being updated by the Scream during the second summer of love and it was a nice nod to their love of 60's garage psychedelia.

Of course, being a 15-year old I had no idea it was a cover at the time. It was probably a few years later through reading interviews/reviews or the sleeve notes that I noticed it wasn't written by the band.

Primal Scream, like a lot of bands I fell for in the early 90's, introduced me to loads of good music. Bobby Gillespie is a walking, talking music Encyclopedia and would use interviews to highlight his impeccable taste and knowledge.

So I bought a re-release of The Thirteenth Floor Elevators Easter Everywhere album on vinyl, interested to hear the original. The Scream remain pretty true to the vocal melody, but everything else is transformed. The original has loads of verses and lasts for 8-minutes while the Scream version is just over 5-minutes and concentrates on beats and grooves for much of it before taking the listener on a delicious trip - especially when the bass kicks in.

Screamadelica was (and remains to this date) an important album for me. I remember one crazy night with my good friend Reddy where we listened to it about 7 times in a row when we came in from a night out.

It does sound like Bobby Gillespie, although he has said in interviews that he was so wasted that it was Robert 'Throb' Young that sang on it.

Slip Inside This House by The Thirteenth Floor Elevators is urgent, persistent and the searing guitar just lifts it higher. Primal Scream take it not only to another level, but to another dimension. Exceptional!

Check this live version from the first Screamadelica shows with Jim Lambie's psychedelic artwork only adding to the trippy feel. The original is below.