"Cross Bones Style" is a song by the
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 musician
Cat Power
Charlyn Marie "Chan" Marshall ( ; born January 21, 1972), better known by her stage name Cat Power, is an American singer-songwriter, musician and model. Cat Power was originally the name of her first band, but has become her stage name as a ...
, also known as
Chan Marshall
Charlyn Marie "Chan" Marshall ( ; born January 21, 1972), better known by her stage name Cat Power, is an American singer-songwriter, musician and model. Cat Power was originally the name of her first band, but has become her stage name as a ...
. It is the 10th song on her fourth album, ''
Moon Pix
''Moon Pix'' is the fourth album by Cat Power, the stage name and eponymous band of American singer-songwriter, Chan Marshall. It was released in September 1998 on Matador Records.
Much of the album was written in a single night, following a h ...
'', released in September 1998 on
Matador Records
Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of mainly indie rock, but also punk rock, experimental rock, alternative rock, and electronic acts.
History
Matador was created in 1989 by Chris Lombardi in his New York City apart ...
.
Origin and recording
"Cross Bones Style," along with five other songs from ''Moon Pix'', was written by Marshall one night in the fall of 1997, after she awoke from a
hallucinatory
A hallucination is a perception in the absence of an external stimulus that has the qualities of a real perception. Hallucinations are vivid, substantial, and are perceived to be located in external objective space. Hallucination is a combinatio ...
nightmare
A nightmare, also known as a bad dream, Retrieved 11 July 2016. is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong emotional response from the mind, typically fear but also despair, anxiety or great sadness. The dream may contain situations of d ...
while alone in the
South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
farmhouse she shared with then-boyfriend, American musician
Bill Callahan. "My nightmare was surrounding my house like a tornado," she explained. "So I just ran and got my guitar because I was trying to distract myself. I had to turn on the lights and sing to God. I got a tape recorder and recorded the next sixty minutes. And I played these long changes, into six different songs. That's where I got the record."
The song was recorded by Matt Voigt at Sing Sing Studio in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
in January 1998. As with most songs on ''Moon Pix'', "Cross Bones Style" was largely recorded live, with Marshall singing and playing guitar at the same time. The drums, by
Jim White of the Australian instrumental rock band
Dirty Three
Dirty Three is an Australian instrumental rock band, consisting of Warren Ellis (violin and bass guitar), Mick Turner (electric and bass guitars) and Jim White (drums), which formed in 1992. Their 1996 album ''Horse Stories'' was voted by ''Ro ...
, were added after.
Composition and lyrics
In a 2018 interview with ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', Marshall explained that the song was inspired by two children she met while in Africa, who slept in trees at night after their parents were killed. "A lot of kids slept in the trees in the park," Marshall recalled.
Music video
"Cross Bones Style" was never released as a
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
, but a music video directed by American director
Brett Vapnek was released for the song. It was the only video released to promote ''Moon Pix'', and Cat Power's second music video, following "
Nude as the News
"Nude as the News" is a song by the American singer/songwriter Cat Power (a.k.a. Chan Marshall). It is the fourth song on her 1996 album, ''What Would the Community Think''. It was released as a single, and a music video shot entirely in black and ...
," also directed by Vapnek.
Marshall has cited the 1983 music video for "
Lucky Star," by American musician and actress
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
, as an influence on the video. In a 1998 interview with ''
Index
Index (or its plural form indices) may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities
* Index (''A Certain Magical Index''), a character in the light novel series ''A Certain Magical Index''
* The Index, an item on a Halo megastru ...
'', she explained, "I'm thinking of making
Cross Bones Style"the single and doing a full-on "Lucky Star" style video. Like Madonna, dancing in a white room. I'm sure I'll chicken out though."
The video was filmed at
Silvercup Studios
Silvercup Studios is one of the largest film and television production facilities in New York City. The studio is located in Long Island City, Queens, with another facility in the Port Morris, Bronx, Port Morris neighborhood of the Bronx. The stu ...
in
Long Island City
Long Island City (LIC) is a residential and commercial neighborhood on the extreme western tip of Queens, a borough in New York City. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; New Calvary Cemetery in Sunnyside to the ...
,
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. It featured Marshall's friends as dancers, and Harry Drudz, a drummer and bartender, on drums, since White not available for the video shoot. Marshall wore two outfits chosen by her, along with yellow nail polish and black bracelets "reminiscent of Madonna." The dancers performed in front of a white background using simple dance steps devised by Vapnek and hand gestures conceived by Marshall.
Vapnek later recalled her surprise when Marshall expressed her desire to
lip sync
Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , the same as the word ''sink'', short for lip synchronization) is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals.
Audio for lip syncing is generated thr ...
in the video, which she explained was rarely done in indie rock videos of the time, and "kind of considered cheesy." However, Vapnek was excited by the idea, saying that "almost immediately I came up with the idea of doing a take-off on Madonna's "Lucky Star" video. Chan and I are almost the same age, and we grew up with Madonna. Madonna's
first record came out when we were in junior high, and that 'Lucky Star' video was so iconic to us."
Release and reception
Heather Phares of ''
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
'' described the song as "hypnotic and seductive." In a ''
Stereogum
''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine.
''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...
'' article celebrating ''Moon Pix's'' 20th anniversary, Tom Brehihan wrote that "Cross Bones Style" was "the first Cat Power song that I ever heard and maybe still the best," describing it as "swirling, pulsating
dream-pop with maybe the faintest hint of
New Order in its groove."
In 2008, the song was included in
Pitchfork's ''
The Pitchfork 500
''The Pitchfork 500: Our Guide to the Greatest Songs from Punk to the Present'' is a book compiling the greatest songs from 1977 to 2006, published in 2008 by Pitchfork Media. The book focuses on specific genres including indie rock, hip-hop, el ...
''. In 2010, it was ranked at number 129 in ''Pitchfork's'' "The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s." In 2022, ''Pitchfork'' listed it at number 203 on their list of "The 250 Best Songs of the 1990s", writing, "You could spend a lifetime trying to detangle the spell cast by "Cross Bones Style", with its twilit guitars and peppy percussion that never quite falls in step with Chan Marshall's voice. Her vocals are doubled—weary yet hopeful, meditative and pleading—like a rope that braids and frays."
In 2006, the music video was ranked at number 44 in ''
Stylus''' "Top 100 Music Videos of All Time" list.
Accolades
References
1998 songs
Cat Power songs
Songs written by Cat Power
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