Bitter Rivals

Album: Bitter Rivals (2013)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Guitarist Derek Miller told NME about this song with the subject matter of moving on. "It's celebrating coming out of a situation that I didn't think I would be ever able to come out of," he explained. "I had been in the darkest, nastiest situation. I came to terms with my father's death finally, that didn't happen until February (2013). My mom has been in remission for two years now so she's in a great place. I'm in the best place of my life. I'm not going to boo-hoo about it now, but that shattered me for years. When you're in it, you just can't see out of it. But when I cam out of it, I was like 'Oh my god.'"
  • Vocalist Alexis Krauss told NME about the recording of this dog-barking, finger-snapping two chord noise-pop banger: "I had my dog in the studio, and they were setting up to do guitars, and I was like "OK this will be a good time. I'll take my dog out to go pee and I'll be back up by the time they start tracking' and this was literally five minutes, and in one take, it was just like the scrappiest, gnarliest sound. You know? There was no tweaking, there was no fu--ing around with it. We knew it was good and we just left it."
  • The song's music video ends with the message "Be good to each other." Krauss explained to Stereogum: "We thought it would be great to end something that had an aggressive or violent imagery with something kind of humorous and sweet. You know, I was a teacher before I was in Sleigh Bells so being positive and having that kind of energy has always been a part of Sleigh Bells. We're also constantly using the phrase, 'Work hard. Be nice.' It was the phrase I constantly used as my mantra for my kids when I was teaching."
  • Q magazine asked Derek Miller the meaning of the lyrics "You are my bitter rival, but I need you for survival." He replied: "I'd rather leave that lyric open. It could be anything, it could be a war with yourself, an enemy, a girlfriend or boyfriend – it's about being forced to step your game up. That's definitely a big theme. I've got a lot of demons, and making records is one way to deal with them."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Benny Mardones

Benny MardonesSongwriter Interviews

His song "Into The Night" is one of the most-played of all time. For Benny, it took him to hell and back.

Artis the Spoonman

Artis the SpoonmanSong Writing

Even before Soundgarden wrote a song about him, Artis was the most famous spoon player of all time. So why has he always been broke?

Daniel Lanois

Daniel LanoisSongwriter Interviews

Daniel Lanois on his album Heavy Sun, and the inside stories of songs he produced for U2, Peter Gabriel, and Bob Dylan.

Early Days of MTV

Early Days of MTVFact or Fiction

If you can recall the days when MTV played videos, you know that there are lots of stories to tell. See if you can spot the real ones.

Protest Songs

Protest SongsMusic Quiz

How well do you know your protest songs (including the one that went to #1)?

Sam Phillips

Sam PhillipsSongwriter Interviews

Collaborating with T Bone Burnett, Leslie Phillips changed her name and left her Christian label behind - Robert Plant, who recorded one of her songs on Raising Sand, is a fan.