The Ballad of Keenan Milton

Album: Mala (2013)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song is an homage to the legendary skateboarder, Keenan Milton, who died tragically in 2001 in a freak accident. Banhart explained to Spin magazine: "Supposedly he was at a party and somebody jumped off the roof into the pool and actually hit him, and nobody noticed and he drowned. He died much too young, under very tragic circumstances. He skated for Chocolate, which is part of Girl Skateboards, probably one of the most, if not the most important skateboarding companies of contemporary American skateboarding brands. Keenan had chosen a song [for a video] called '007 (Shanty Town)' by Desmond Dekker, and that changed my life. I had never heard anything like it."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Women Who Rock

Women Who RockSong Writing

Evelyn McDonnell, editor of the book Women Who Rock, on why the Supremes are just as important as Bob Dylan.

Song Titles That Inspired Movies

Song Titles That Inspired MoviesSong Writing

Famous songs that lent their titles - and in some cases storylines - to movies.

Tony Banks of Genesis

Tony Banks of GenesisSongwriter Interviews

Genesis' key-man re-examines his solo career and the early days of music video.

Shawn Mullins

Shawn MullinsSongwriter Interviews

"Lullaby" singer Shawn Mullins on "Beautiful Wreck," beating the Devil, and his writing credit on the Zac Brown Band song "Toes."

Songs About Movies

Songs About MoviesSong Writing

Iron Maiden, Adele, Toto, Eminem and Earth, Wind & Fire are just some of the artists with songs directly inspired by movies - and not always good ones.

Yacht Rock!

Yacht Rock!Song Writing

A scholarly analysis of yacht rock favorites ("Steal Away," "Baker Street"...) with a member of the leading YR cover band.