Tag Archives: what’s the time mr. wolf?

#1215: Noisettes – Sister Rosetta (Capture the Spirit)

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Another Noisettes song beginning with ‘S’. Not so far after the last one too. Funny how it goes sometimes. You won’t write about a song by a band/artist for a long while, and then before you know it you’re writing about two in almost quick succession. The last one was ‘Scratch Your Name’, a fine, fine song, I’d advise you to listen and maybe read what I have to say about it. But now it’s time for ‘Sister Rosetta’ to shine. Like ‘Scratch Your Name’, ‘Sister Rosetta’ was another track from the band’s debut album to be chosen as a single. It got its own music video, which I’m sure I would have seen on the TV at some moment in time. I can’t remember watching it as much as the singles that came before. But when I did catch the video on those brief occasions, it was always a good time.

The track is an homage to American singer-songwriter Sister Rosetta Tharpe, who pretty much invented rock and roll. I wish my grandma was as cool as this. But more thoroughly, the lyrics explore the personality of a lady who frequently partakes in nights out in London with the song’s narrator. The narrator describes the good times they have together, making note of the synergy between the two characters, complementing each other “like Satan and Christ”, and I think the chorus sees the narrator wanting something more to happen in this relationship. What it is isn’t explicitly stated, but a capturing of the spirit must occur in order for the narrator’s questions to be answered. The verses are carried by an old-timey rock ‘n’ roll feel, suitably reflected by the swing dancing choreography in the video, before transitioning into the blistering punky choruses. They close out the song, just when things start to feel a little out of control, with singer Shingai Shoniwa bringing proceedings to a halt with a sudden shriek.

If you listen closely to the song via the video, you’ll hear that the rumbling noise at the song’s end sort of cuts out quite abruptly. That’s because, on What’s the Time Mr. Wolf?, the audio carries through right into the following track ‘Bridge to Canada’ – the first Noisettes song I wrote about on here so many years ago. Seeing as this is the last Noisettes song I’ll be writing about on here, it feels good to somehow tie them all together. Some people reading this may recognise ‘Sister Rosetta’ as a song that was featured in a Twilight film. It seems the track was re-recorded for its inclusion, and I have to say…. I don’t like it all that much. Sounds so much tamer in comparison to the original. But, you know, that’s just my opinion. Hear it out for yourself.

#1166: Noisettes – Scratch Your Name

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This post may just mark the biggest amount of time between two posts by the same artist/band. The last time I wrote about Noisettes was in 2013, the year this blog started, when I was initially using Blogspot/Blogger. At that point, a year had already passed since the band had released their last album. It’s now been 12, and it doesn’t look like they’ll be returning anytime soon. But the initial trio-turned duo made a mark in the UK at least. In the aforementioned post for the last Noisettes song I wrote about, ‘Bridge to Canada’ (it’s a good one), I dedicate a whole paragraph to ‘Scratch Your Name’ – today’s song. A lot of points I make in that old paragraph still stand though. But if you could refrain from reading it there so I can sort of reuse it here, that’d be great.

‘Scratch Your Name’ was indeed the very first song I heard by the band, and yes, it was through seeing its music video (above) on MTV2 one day. Unlike the smart-aleck 18-year-old I was back then, I don’t think the video is rubbish at all and I was probably just exaggerating to try and get a laugh or something. They did re-release the song as a single some time after though and got a fancier video in the process (below). But I do remember thinking it was very cool to see a Black lady lead singer in a band on the channel for once. Shingai Shoniwa had some soul in that voice, and she rocked too. The video showing up was probably the first time a Black woman-fronted indie rock band appeared on my screen in my experience of watching MTV2, and I’d been frequently visiting that place for at least two years by that time. Was 2006, started watching MTV2 in 2004, so that would make sense.

Like I also said in that old post, and agree with too, the track is a ‘proper rocker’. It starts off with one riff, plays another under the verses before exploding into the power chords for the choruses. Rinse and repeat, it’s a thumbs-up performance. I really like the harmonies between Shoniwa and guitarist Dan Smith as they sing the hook, ‘Scratch your name into the fabric of this world before you go/The skin will tear under the pressure, make it deep so it always shows.’ That’s an encouraging message if ever there was one. Make a name for yourself, make an impact in this world, with your life, in other people’s. It’s something to take on board. The track can be found as the second song on the band’s debut album, What’s the Time Mr. Wolf?, from 2007. I once had a physical copy of that album, but gave it away. There’ll be another song from it that I’ll be revisiting on here.

My iPod #135: Noisettes – Bridge to Canada

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Noisettes are a band who came along near the end of the ‘indie rock/post-punk’ revival that was happening in the mid-noughties. Their first video that they made for “Scratch Your Name” came on MTV2 one day, but it was one of those really rubbish ones that bands do before they become loaded. So it didn’t really do the song justice. “Scratch Your Name” is a proper rocker though, with a cool riff and a lot of effort put into the vocal delivery by the lead singer. It shouldn’t be a big deal but Noisettes were also one of the few indie bands with a black member in it too, which was a cool thing to see.

“What’s the Time Mr. Wolf?” was the band’s debut album released in 2007. The album was exclusively streamed on NME’s website, and that was the first time I heard “Bridge to Canada”. I’ve never actually paid attention to the lyrics but looking at them as I type to you now, the song appears to be about missing a loved one whilst being on tour. I always thought that there was some weird irregular time signatures used in the chorus, but it’s all 4/4. It’s just the way the chords are played. I can’t explain it properly to you, if you listen to it you’ll know what I mean.

Noisettes aren’t very good anymore. At least to me. They had an indie rock sound with their debut which they could have expanded upon and added more depth, but instead they went in a totally different direction. THE POP ROUTE. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed “Don’t Upset the Rhythm” and “Never Forget You” when they were about… but it wasn’t the same. Shingai didn’t even play the bass in the music videos anymore. The drummer left, probably because he couldn’t take it anymore, and the band remain to be a two-piece. The band have three albums to their name, but I’ll stick with the first.

Until tomorrow.

Jamie.