Post Break Up Sex

Album: What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? (2011)
Charted: 32
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This is the second single from London-based four piece indie rock band The Vaccines debut album, What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?. The song was released in the United Kingdom as a digital download on January 23, 2011, with a 7" Vinyl released the following day.
  • The song finds the protagonist trying to put a relationship behind him as he engages in some rebound romping. Justin Young sings in the chorus: "Post breakup sex that helps you forget your ex. What did you expect from post-breakup sex."
  • Much of The Vaccines material fails to reach the two minutes mark, so at 2 minutes 56 seconds, this song is of epic proportions. Justin Young told the NME: "I'm bored - we're all bored - with the current climate. There's so much amazing music out there, but I feel people are doing the direct opposite. The opposite of being straight down the line, direct. I mean, I get bored with having to wait two minutes before I hear a chorus."
  • Said Justin Young to the NME regarding this song: "I think people can work out this one! Hopefully it's interpreted as frank rather than crass. I like the term 'gloriously dumb.' We've all felt like this, but I'd never heard a song that dealt with it."
  • Guitarist Freddie Cowan explained the album title to Spinner: "There's like three levels to that title. First of all, it's a lyric from the song 'Post Break-Up Sex.' We accepted it partly because we loved the history of names like that, album titles with band names in it like Meet the Beatles, or Introducing the, or Here Comes the Monkees or whatever it is, Enter the Vaselines. We love that aspect. And we just like the idea of poking a little bit of fun at ourselves - all this anticipation and stuff. It's the record that we wanted to make."
  • Young is the principal songwriter of the Vaccines. He discussed his song writing process for the album with CMU: "On this record, I wrote the songs on an acoustic guitar at home. Usually they are lyrically driven, but sometimes melodically too. Then I took them to the band and we tried to dress them up in the simplest and most hard hitting way as possible. We wanted a record where the song ruled instead of the playing or the arrangements."
  • Young told Q magazine the song was indeed written, "the morning after, sat on the end of my bed. Often I write through sheer hopelessness and frustration. I always find it easier to say things in a song than in conversation."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Spot The Real Red Hot Chili Peppers Song Titles

Spot The Real Red Hot Chili Peppers Song TitlesMusic Quiz

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have some rather unusual song titles - see if you can spot the real ones.

"Private Eyes" - The Story Behind the Song

"Private Eyes" - The Story Behind the SongSong Writing

How a goofy detective movie, a disenchanted director and an unlikely songwriter led to one of the biggest hits in pop history.

Meshell Ndegeocello

Meshell NdegeocelloSongwriter Interviews

Meshell Ndegeocello talks about recording "Wild Night" with John Mellencamp, and explains why she shied away from the spotlight.

Steely Dan

Steely DanFact or Fiction

Did they really trade their guitarist to The Doobie Brothers? Are they named after something naughty? And what's up with the band name?

Dick Wagner (Alice Cooper/Lou Reed)

Dick Wagner (Alice Cooper/Lou Reed)Songwriter Interviews

The co-writer/guitarist on many Alice Cooper hits, Dick was also Lou Reed's axeman on the Rock n' Roll Animal album.

Harold Brown of War

Harold Brown of WarSongwriter Interviews

A founding member of the band War, Harold gives a first-person account of one of the most important periods in music history.