"Frankie Sinatra" is a song by Australian electronic music group

the Avalanches The Avalanches are an Australian electronic music group formed in Melbourne in 1997. They are known for their studio albums ''Since I Left You'' (2000), ''Wildflower'' (2016), and '' We Will Always Love You'' (2020), as well as their live and ...

. It was released as a digital download on 2 June 2016, acting as the lead single from their second studio album, ''

Wildflower A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant probably is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is in any way different from the w ...

'' (2016). The song, which features

guest appearance In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other p ...

s from rappers

Danny Brown Daniel Dewan Sewell (born March 16, 1981), better known by his stage name Danny Brown, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He has been described by MTV as "one of rap's most unique figures in recent memory". In 2010, after amassing s ...

and

MF Doom Daniel Dumile ( ; July 13, 1971October 31, 2020), best known by his stage name MF Doom or simply Doom (both stylized in all caps), was a British-American rapper and record producer. Noted for his intricate wordplay, signature metal mask, and ...

, was the first piece of new material by the group in 16 years.

Production

"Frankie Sinatra" is one of the oldest produced tracks on ''Wildflower''. The track was built from a calypso record called "

Bobby Sox Idol Bobby Sox Idol is a calypso song by Trinidadian musician Wilmoth Houdini about singer Frank Sinatra. Background Having elements of comedy music, ''Bobby Sox Idol'' is about American singer Frank Sinatra where, in the song, Houdini encourages Si ...

" by

Wilmoth Houdini Frederick Wilmoth Hendricks (November 25, 1895 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago – August 6, 1973 in New York, New York), best known as Wilmoth Houdini, was a prominent calypsonian. Life In 1916 he started his career in earnest when h ...

that Robbie Chater would play at a club night 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 ...

called "Brains". Although both Chater and Tony Di Blasi found the calypso track "strangely repetitive and annoying" at first, they soon grew a liking to it.

Composition

"Frankie Sinatra" features

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

verses from rappers Danny Brown and MF Doom. Regarding the reason why the Avalanches chose to work with Danny Brown on the song, in an interview with

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...

Beats 1 Apple Music 1, previously branded as Beats 1, is a 24/7 music radio station owned and operated by Apple Inc. It is accessible through iTunes or the Apple Music app on a computer, smartphone or tablet, smart speaker (such as the Apple HomePod), ...

, they stated: "We wanted to make this record still sound like us but to be a bit more loose and rock and roll. The initial plan was to make a crazy loose rock record, but with samples. Danny’s voice is almost like a punk rock voice sometimes, so we thought it’d be perfect." The song contains certain elements of

electro swing Electro swing, or swing house, is an electronic dance music genre that combines the influence of vintage or modern swing and jazz mixed with house and hip hop. Successful examples of the genre create a modern and dance-floor focused sound tha ...

with an overarching foundation in

calypso music Calypso is a style of Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago during the early to the mid-19th century and spread to the rest of the Caribbean Antilles and Venezuela by the mid-20th century. Its rhythms can be traced back to We ...

, a type of

Afro-Caribbean music Afro-Caribbean music is a broad term for music styles originating in the Caribbean from the African diaspora. These types of music usually have West African/Central African influence because of the presence and history of African people and their ...

. It features a sample of the song "

" by calypso artist

. It also includes the melody of Percy Faith and His Orchestra's " My Favorite Things".

Music video

The official

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "Frankie Sinatra" was released on 2 June 2016, the day of the song's release, through

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

and

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...

. "Carnival attendees run amok after downing glowing, hallucinogenic ice cream" is how Jason Newman of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' described the video, feeling that it matched the song's atmosphere and "circus-like beat". In the video, two people make and sell frozen treats with an unidentified neon-yellow liquid from a

food truck A food truck is a large motorized vehicle (such as a van) or trailer, equipped to cook, prepare, serve, and/or sell food. Some, including ice cream trucks, sell frozen or prepackaged food; others have on-board kitchens and prepare food from scratc ...

labelled "Frankie's Ice Cream, The Avalanches new flavor 2016," at a carnival. Consumers, with yellow stains on their lips, have

hallucinations 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 ...

, shown by a blue filter. The video cuts to men on

airboat An airboat (also known as a planeboat, swamp boat, bayou boat, or fanboat) is a flat-bottomed watercraft propelled by an aircraft-type propeller and powered by either an aircraft or automotive engine. In early aviation history the term ''airboat ...

s, then a family of four at supper, all who hallucinate and act abnormally after drinking the yellow liquid. A cut back to the carnival shows law enforcement officials looking at the woman from the family in a plastic bubble. People in

hazmat suits A hazmat suit (hazardous materials suit) is a piece of personal protective equipment that consists of an impermeable whole-body garment worn as protection against hazardous materials. Such suits are often combined with self-contained breathing ...

examine collapsed people holding yellow treats, which implies they were affected by the substance. A man plays the guitar as "Frankie Sinatra" and the butterfly logo closes the video.

Track listing

Charts

Release history

References

{{authority control Songs about Frank Sinatra 2016 singles 2016 songs The Avalanches songs MF Doom songs Calypso songs Astralwerks singles Songs with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II Songs with music by Richard Rodgers Songs written by Danny Brown Danny Brown songs