Like A Motorway

 

Trust me #122
Like A Motorway by Saint Etienne

Released in May 94 and (inexplicably) reaching only 47 on the UK singles charts, Like A Motorway is one of my favourite songs by Saint Etienne who come the Glasgow Barrowland next month. The Pastels will be supporting. It is set to be a very memorable night.

The date is part of Saint Etienne's The Long Goodbye tour, with the trio deciding to bow out from 37-years of creating dreamy, reflective and sublime pop since forming in 1990. Since then, the band have released 13 albums and 17 top 40 singles, but those facts merely gloss the surface. 

Saint Etienne always stood out; image, style, art, taste, Bob Stanley's background as a music journalist, Heavenly Recordings, the DJ's remixing their songs, the choice cover of Only Love Can Break Your Heart (see previous blog), a debut album that captured the times, some superb compilation albums (check Songs From Mario's Cafe and The Trip) and the perfect alternative pop star singer - Sarah Cracknell .

Ah, yes, Sarah Cracknell. An absolute dream who captivated many a young indie boy in the 90's - and still does to this very day! That super soft, warm and welcoming voice, the feather boas, cheeky winks, cool blonde hair and impeccable fashion sense - looking like she was going to go straight from a gig to a club ... or a film set! I don't mind admitting to falling head over heels for Sarah!

You're In A Bad Way, released in February 1993, was the first Saint Etienne record I bought. I still remember taping it on to a mixtape for the 6th year Common Room at school. The band were prolific in that period, their So Tough (1993) and Tiger Bay (1994) albums spawned 7 singles, with the band also releasing I Was Born On Christmas Day, a duet with Tim Burgess. So they were never far from The Chart Show, The Word, Top of the Pops or the many other music shows on TV at that time. The NME and Melody Maker loved them.

Watch Saint Etienne and Tim Burgess live on The Word HERE.

Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs have impeccable taste in, and knowledge of, pop music and on Like A Motorway they are clearly digging the pulsating synth sounds of Giogio Moroder. The synth bass groove (I just can't get enough of this) and top line riff are super cool, while Sarah Cracknell sounds seductive and sexy.

Like A Motorway rides in on a deep pulsing bass synth riff, the beat kicks in, Cracknell whispers he's gone, he's gone and then at 35 seconds the lead synth melody comes in. There is a Weatherall style beats break just before the first verse. Cracknell tells the tale of a broken heart.

She wears sad jeans, torn at the waistband

Her pretty face, is stained with tears

And in her right hand, she clasps a letter

I know this means, that he has gone

The second verse has Cracknell telling more - about the girl never thinking she would fall in love, then getting her first kiss. In the third verse Sarah goes on to tell about the girl falling for all the lines she was fed.

He said her skin, smelled just like petals

Said stupid things, he knew she'd like

She said her life, was like a motorway

Dull, grey and long, 'til he came along

The song takes a twist in the 4th verse as Sarah takes over, probing for info, before the girl in the song suggests something more sinister might have happened...

I said - how could he ever leave you

You two were good, you were so right

She said - I wish that he just left me

He'd be alive, alive tonight

He's gone, he's gone

After thinking the guy in the song might have just left, or dumped her and broken her heart, the listener is left wondering if (a) she killed him, or (b) there was an accident. The artwork for the single shows a crashed/abandoned car, overgrown with leaves and weeds. The Chemical Brothers (then The Dust Brothers) and David Holmes both got their hands on Like A Motorway to provide remixes.

Like A Motorway is added to my Trust Me playlist; search for Everything Flows - Trust Me on Spotify or CLICK HERE. Check below for all previous blogs in my Trust Me series.

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

57. Cannonball by The Breeders

58. Like A Rolling Stone by Bob Dylan

59. You Make Me Weak At The Knees by Electrelane

60. Lucky by Radiohead

61. Strange Currencies by R.E.M.

61. I Am The Cosmos by Chris Bell

62. Like A Ship (Without A Sail) by Pastor TL Barrett and the Youth for Christ Choir

63. Nothing But A Heartache by The Flirtations

64. Made of Stone by The Stone Roses

65. Tonight In Belfast by Orbital, David Holmes, DJ Helen and Mike Garry

66. Anything by Adrianne Lenker

67. I Hold Something In My Hand by Bill Ryder-Jones

68. I Meant Every Word by Burnett Sisters

69. Dream Baby Dream by Suicide

70. Stove by The Lemonheads

71. Red Lady by Phil Cordell

72. Little Fluffy Clouds by The Orb

73. I Can Do It With A Broken Heart by Taylor Swift

74. Turnin' My Heartbeat Up by The M.V.P.'s

75. Razzle Dazzle Rose by Camera Obscura

76. Such Great Heights by The Postal Service

77. The Rat by The Walkmen

78. My God Has A Telephone by Aaron Frazer

79. Unfinished Sympathy by Massive Attack

80. Sweet and Tender Romance by The McKinleys

81. Hoppipolla by Sigur Ros

82. 69 Police by David Holmes

83. Hey Lisa by David Holmes

84. I Am A Rock by Simon & Garfunkel

85. Kung Fu by Ash

86. Kids by MGMT

87. Slight Return by The Bluetones

88. Give Peace A Chance by John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band

89. Cut Your Hair by Pavement

90. Race for the Prize by The Flaming Lips

91. Waitin' for a Superman by The Flaming Lips

92. Acquiesce by Oasis

93. This Is Music by The Verve

94. Lone Swordsman by Daniel Avery

95. Sparky's Dream by Teenage Fanclub

96. Common People by Pulp

97. Let Our Love Grow Higher by Eula Cooper

98. Regret by New Order

99. Keep On Keepin' On by Nolan Porter

100. Sit Down by James (Live at G-Mex) by James

101. Never Lose Your Sense Of Wonder by Yeti

102. Just When You're Thinkin' Things Over by The Charlatans

103. Life Is Sweet by The Chemical Brothers 

104. How Can I Tell You (To Love Me More) by Brooke Coombe

105-107. Wigan Casino - Three Before Eight - Time Will Pass You By by Tobi Legend, Long After Tonight Is All Over by Jimmy Radcliffe, I'm On My Way by Dean Parrish

108. Cobra by Geese

109. All I Have To Do Is Dream by The Everly Brothers

110. Vapour Trail by Ride

111. Teardrop by Massive Attack

112. Since I Left You by The Avalanches

113. Good Dancers by The Sleepy Jackson

114. Kiss My Love Goodbye by Bettye Swann

115. What Difference Does It Make? by The Smiths

116. Get Out Of My Dream by The Clouds

117. Sundress by Ben Kweller

118. I Love You by Primal Scream

119. Calico Skies by Paul McCartney 

120. Lay This Burden Down by Mary Love

121. Primitive Painters by Felt w/ Elizabeth Fraser