GIRLS ALOUD | Love Machine | |
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LYRICS:
Ladies, you're damn right You can't read a man's mind We're living in two tribes And heading for war Well, nobody's perfect We all gotta work it But fellas we're worth it So don't break the law
Your call's late, big mistake
Come take my hand,
I'm just a love machine
I've been going crazy while you sleep
Your call's late, big mistake
We're gift wrapped kitty kats,
Come take my hand,
I'm just a love machine
Oh, it's very new
(Oh) A little education
(Oh) I'm just a love machine
(Oh) I'm just a love machine
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INFORMATION:
Available on:
Credits:
Single information:
Notes:
Some of the 'Love Machine' lyrics came about through a process Xenomania employ, which is to sing 'nonsense lyrics' over a backing track - eventually the nonsense lyrics evolve into more meaningful songwords.
The backing track, semi-inspired by The Smiths, is the work of Xenomania musicians Nick Coler and Tim Powell.
In an interview with the Times Online where Girls Aloud
describe the recording process with Xenomania, Sarah Harding added the following about "Love Machine": "That one took a
long time for us to get our heads around".
Arctic Monkeys have covered "Love Machine". In an interview with the Times Online, Girls Aloud said they prefer that cover to their own original version.
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Sonically it has a lot in common with the current early rock and roll era influenced pop of today, it was a song that looked to the Rolling Stones in a time when only crap indie groups did, now everyone's doing it. And lyrically it's one of their cleverest and fully realised and pretty much set their lyrical identity to this very day. Self effacing odes about girls who think they know what they want but don't know what they really want and then struggle to try and get it even if they don't know what it is.
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(...) the Girls' most playful single to date; indeed, the
adjective 'rambunctious' is eminently suitable to describe it, which
is a good thing in itself. What we got here: maniacally chunky guitar,
a 50s skiffle beat, lyrics which are both utter nonsense,
completely bonkers, and sheer pop perfection. A Frankie Goes To
Hollywood reference in the second line! "We're gift-wrapped
kitty-cats!" "Let's go, Eskimo!" "Loving me is as easy as pie!" (That
one's from Nicola, brilliantly.) All of that even before we've hit the
first chorus, which babbles insanely about fantasies and negligees as
the tempo is upped even further. In the second verse, they order "Mr
Prehistoric" to "make his wheel". Er, right.
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The best part has to be that glamor style bridge where the beat cuts out and Nadine stands tall in a classic alone on the disco floor moment backed by a bizarre bubbling chirping noise and a gently plucked guitar. Or no, maybe the genius is in the "tag, you're it" tradeoff of all those delightfully memorable one-liners. "We're gift wrapped kitty cats. We're only turning into tigers when we gotta fight back. / Let's go, Eskimo! Out into the blue!" I haven't had this much fun with the lyrics of a pop song since, well, ever.* And let's not forget about the long overdue return of sixties style bass. Heck, when you add in the teamwork vocals and handclaps, this almost sounds like some modern day Motown update...an entirely good thing! "Love Machine" is cute, expressive, and yes even a little silly. Many pop artists, including Xenomania, have recently followed the trend of emphasizing style over all else, and while I'm as appreciative of interesting sonics and ATTITUDE as the next guy, it's always nice to see the pendulum swing slightly back towards fun every now and then. Shane
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Following
up the pristine electro pop of The Show with a guitar-twanging hoedown
of a track like this was always going to cause a few grunts of
bewilderment. If the phrases "high energy" and "insanely catchy" make
you break out into a cold sweat, then Love Machine's bouncy drums,
perky guitars and ditsy lyrics will probably cause a seizure. That
said, it sounds so unlike anything else in the charts right now that
you simply have to commend the songwriters for pushing the girls into
new territories, proving once again that they're still one of the most
exciting bands in pop right now. Virgin.net
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