"Can't Seem to Make You Mine" is a song by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

group

the Seeds The Seeds were an American psychedelic garage rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1965, best known for their highest charting single "Pushin' Too Hard". The band's classic line-up featured frontman Sky Saxon, guitarist Jan Savage (b ...

, written by vocalist

Sky Saxon The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In the field of astronomy, ...

and produced by Marcus Tybalt. It was released as a single in 1965 and re-issued in 1967, when it peaked at number 41 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, and number 33 in Canada. The song appears on the 1998 box set '' Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968'', and has been

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

by such artists as the

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...

Alex Chilton William Alexander Chilton (December 28, 1950 – March 17, 2010) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer best known as the lead singer of the Box Tops and Big Star. Chilton's early commercial success in the 1960s ...

Johnny Thunders John Anthony Genzale (July 15, 1952 – April 23, 1991), known professionally as Johnny Thunders, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He came to prominence in the early 1970s as a member of the New York Dolls. He later played with ...

Yo La Tengo Yo La Tengo (YLT; Spanish for "I have her") is an American indie rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan (guitars, piano, vocals), Georgia Hubley (drums, piano, vocals), and James McNew ...

Garbage Garbage, trash, rubbish, or refuse is waste material that is discarded by humans, usually due to a perceived lack of utility. The term generally does not encompass bodily waste products, purely liquid or gaseous wastes, or toxic waste produc ...

, and

Rumspringa Rumspringa (), also spelled ''Rumschpringe'' or ''Rumshpringa'', is a rite of passage during adolescent, adolescence, translated from originally Palatine German language, Palatine German and other Southwest German dialects to English as "jumpi ...

Recording and release

"Can't Seem to Make You Mine" was the first song recorded by the Seeds, according to keyboardist Daryl Hooper. "Sky started peddling it around to different record labels... and got the typical 'we'll call you' routine, and

Crescendo In music, the dynamics of a piece is the variation in loudness between notes or phrases. Dynamics are indicated by specific musical notation, often in some detail. However, dynamics markings still require interpretation by the performer dependi ...

, for some reason, liked it and said they'd like to take us into a recording studio. When Sky got into the recording studio, he really put his all into his vocals." The recording session took place on April 21, 1965 at

United Western Recorders United Western Recorders was a two-building recording studio complex in Hollywood that was one of the most successful independent recording studios of the 1960s. The complex merged neighboring studios United Recording Corp. on 6050 Sunset Boul ...

, together with engineer

Chuck Britz Charles Dean Britz (November 7, 1927 – August 21, 2000) was a recording engineer who worked with Jan and Dean, Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys, P.F. Sloan and The Grass Roots on numerous albums between 1962 and 1967. Biography Britz was bor ...

.
Singles As & Bs 1965-1970
' (liner notes pg. 2). Palao, Alec.

The Seeds The Seeds were an American psychedelic garage rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1965, best known for their highest charting single "Pushin' Too Hard". The band's classic line-up featured frontman Sky Saxon, guitarist Jan Savage (b ...

. Big Beat Records. 2014. Catalogue number CDWIKD 322 Saxon produced and take #4 was the master. The song was released as a single in July 1965,
Singles As & Bs 1965-1970
' (liner notes pg. 21). Palao, Alec.

. Big Beat Records. 2014. Catalogue number CDWIKD 322 and first received radio airplay on

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...

KBLA KBLA (1580 AM) is a broadcast radio station in the United States. Licensed to Santa Monica, California, KBLA serves the Greater Los Angeles area. The station is owned by Multicultural Broadcasting, through licensee Multicultural Radio Broadcas ...

. Sky Saxon recalled in a 2006 interview: "they used to play 'Can't Seem to Make You Mine' as late as two in the morning.

KRLA KRLA (870 kHz) "AM 870 The Answer" is a commercial AM radio station broadcasting a talk radio format. Licensed to Glendale, California, it serves Greater Los Angeles and Southern California. The station is owned by Salem Media Group, which also ...

and all the rest of the stations jumped on it later, but KBLA broke it and people would stay up to hear it." A regional hit in California, the single did not chart nationally until its April 1967 re-release, after the band's "

Pushin' Too Hard "Pushin' Too Hard", originally titled "You're Pushing Too Hard", is a song by American rock group The Seeds, written by vocalist Sky Saxon and produced by Saxon with Marcus Tybalt. It was released as a single in 1965, re-issued the following year, ...

" had reached the U.S.

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

. "Can't Seem to Make You Mine" peaked at number 33 in Canada and number 41 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. The song features an instrumental by the pianist of the group, with guitar accompaniment. There was also a radio edit version of this song, which omitted the repeat of the bridge section as well as a repeat of one of the verses. The song features a spoken duologue by Saxon before he repeats the final verse ("Come back, baby, I'm all alone").

Critical reception

Music writer Malcolm Russell described the song as "a slow, angry piece which highlighted Saxon's unique vocal style – an inspired nasal snarl punctuated by howls, wails and yelps". Author Michael Hicks elaborated on Saxon's vocal style on the track: "he superimposes an

Eddie Cochran Ray Edward Cochran (; October 3, 1938 – April 17, 1960) was an American rock and roll musician. Cochran's songs, such as "Twenty Flight Rock", "Summertime Blues", " C'mon Everybody" and " Somethin' Else", captured teenage frustration and desire ...

-like buzz on classic

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...

-style

baby talk Baby talk is a type of speech associated with an older person speaking to a child or infant. It is also called caretaker speech, infant-directed speech (IDS), child-directed speech (CDS), child-directed language (CDL), caregiver register, parent ...

ndadds a

Jagger Jagger is an English surname. Someone who owned and/or managed a team of packhorses was known as a "jagger", so this surname probably originates from that occupation. More rarely, the name is used as a given name. Notable people with the surnam ...

-like pseudo-dialect, but a seemingly arbitrary one, in which vowels are colored and recolored with no particular consistency." The song has been called a "

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

classic" by authors

Will Hodgkinson Will Hodgkinson is a journalist and author from London (born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne), England. He is the chief rock and pop critic for ''The Times'' newspaper and contributes to ''Mojo'' magazine. He has written for ''The Guardian'', ''The Indepen ...

and

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

, and it is featured on the 1998 box set '' Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968''. The song placed fourth on ''

Paste Magazine ''Paste'' is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with studios in Atlanta and Manhattan, and owned by Paste Media Group. The magazine began as a website in 1998. It ran as a print publication fro ...

s 2014 list of the "50 Best Garage Rock Songs of All Time".

Other versions and appearances

covered this song on his 1978 "Bangkok" single.

and

Patti Palladin Patti Palladin is an American singer and musician of the punk rock and post-punk / new wave genres. She is primarily known for her work with Snatch (with Judy Nylon), Johnny Thunders, and the Flying Lizards. Career Palladin was a member o ...

recorded the song on their 1988 album, '' Copy Cats''. The

covered it on the 1993 album, ''

Acid Eaters ''Acid Eaters'' is the thirteenth studio album by American punk rock band Ramones. Released in 1993, towards the end of the Ramones' career, the album is the band's first and only album entirely composed of covers. ''Acid Eaters'' forms a mu ...

''.

included their rendition of the song on their 1995 ''Camp Yo La Tengo'' EP.

released a cover version as a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

to the 1999 singles " When I Grow Up" and " The Trick Is to Keep Breathing".

Murder City Devils The Murder City Devils is an American garage rock band formed in 1996. History The band's original lineup, consisting of Spencer Moody, Dann Gallucci, Derek Fudesco, Coady Willis, and Nate Manny, formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1996. Gabe Ker ...

covered the song for a 1999 split 45 with

Gluecifer Gluecifer is a Norwegian hard rock band based in Oslo. Formed in 1994, they produced several underground releases during their first years of existence and soon claimed to be "kings of rock". History In 1997, the album ''Ridin' the Tiger'' ...

Diplo Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is the co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer, a member of the supergroup LSD with ...

sampled the track on his remix of

Spank Rock Naeem Juwan, better known by his stage name Spank Rock, is an American rapper and songwriter from Baltimore. He rose to fame with his 2006 album ''YoYoYoYoYo'', which was produced by former group member Alex Epton (XXXChange). A harbinger of po ...

's 2005 single "Put That Pussy on Me".

Spirits in the Sky The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamb ...

, a

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

led by

Billy Corgan William Patrick Corgan Jr. (born March 17, 1967) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and professional wrestling promoter. He is best known as the lead singer, primary songwriter, guitarist, and only permanent member of the rock band the ...

, performed the song at a Sky Saxon tribute concert on July 24, 2009 in Los Angeles. The song featured in the films ''

Cop Land ''Cop Land'' is a 1997 American neo-noir crime drama film written and directed by James Mangold. It stars an ensemble cast that includes Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, and Robert De Niro, with Peter Berg, Janeane Garofalo, Robert ...

'' (1997) and ''

Secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

'' (2002) and was briefly featured in the first episode of Netflix's original series, ''

Stranger Things ''Stranger Things'' is an American science fiction horror drama television series created by the Duffer Brothers, who also serve as showrunners and are executive producers along with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen. Produced by Monkey Massacre Prod ...

'' (2016). It was also used in a 2008 television commercial for Lynx/Axe body spray.

Track listing

;7" Vinyl (August 1965) ;7" Vinyl (February 1967)

Chart performance

References

{{authority control 1967 singles 1965 debut singles Parlophone singles Songs written by Sky Saxon The Seeds songs 1965 songs