Plaything

Album: Smother (2011)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Wild Beasts' drummer Chris Talbott really comes to the fore on this short avant-garde pop song about selfishness. Said bassist Tom Fleming to Drowned In Sound: "Chris plays his drums like a leviathan, and we prefer to hide under our professors desks, covering him in pads and arpeggiators. One of the snare sounds is 12-ton forge hammer, recorded to floppy disk 20 years ago, and another is a bike chain on a bongo. It seemed fussy to put anything much over those three bass notes, so we really didn't."
  • Lead singer Hayden Thorpe explained the song's meaning to Q magazine: "It's a voyeuristic nod to the slightly creepier elements of romance and the disturbing parts of people's desires."
  • The Wild Beasts write copiously about sex and this song includes an invitation to "take off your chemise and let me do as I please." "We openly admit to being obsessed with sex," Fleming told The Guardian. "We say things really bluntly at times – we like to be earthy. The effects of sex and sexuality are really interesting."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

The Untold Story Of Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine

The Untold Story Of Fiona Apple's Extraordinary MachineSong Writing

Fiona's highly-anticipated third album almost didn't make it. Here's how it finally came together after two years and a leak.

Glen Ballard

Glen BallardSongwriter Interviews

Glen Ballard talks about co-writing and producing Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill album, and his work with Dave Matthews, Aerosmith and Annie Lennox.

Donny Osmond

Donny OsmondSongwriter Interviews

Donny Osmond talks about his biggest hits, his Vegas show, and the fan who taught him to take "Puppy Love" seriously.

Barney Hoskyns Explores The Forgotten History Of Woodstock, New York

Barney Hoskyns Explores The Forgotten History Of Woodstock, New YorkSong Writing

Our chat with Barney Hoskyns, who covers the wild years of Woodstock - the town, not the festival - in his book Small Town Talk.

Alan Merrill of The Arrows

Alan Merrill of The ArrowsSongwriter Interviews

In her days with The Runaways, Joan Jett saw The Arrows perform "I Love Rock And Roll," which Alan Merrill co-wrote - that story and much more from this glam rock pioneer.

Gene Simmons of Kiss

Gene Simmons of KissSongwriter Interviews

The Kiss rocker covers a lot of ground in this interview, including why there are no Kiss collaborations, and why the Rock Hall has "become a sham."