Related to yesterday's post, Lava lead singer and writer THOBAY K gives us the lowdown on what's what...
THE FLOOR IS MADE OF LAVA:
Our national anthem, our holy bible and the song of which the band took its name from. It’s the first song we wrote and the last song we mixed in the studio. It’s about being better than the average Joe, have more fun than everybody else and speaking whatever’s on our minds. If the album goes gold, I gotta have Sonic The Hedgehog tattooed on my arm. But it wouldn’t surprise me if I had it done anyway.
PICK UP A SHOVEL:
I met this really dumb girl who were so pathetic, that I just had to write a song about people who needs to get it together, and get it fuckin’ going. Later, when I bumped into this goofball, which I’m sure was her boyfriend, I had it all. I was totally stoked when I got the chorus together, so I spend my night, pissed out of my mind, running all over town, screaming the chorus at people. I think it was Christmas 2006.
DO YOUR SISTER:
Simon was bitchin’ about a friend of his, who had a thing going on with his sister. I’ve always thought that all these rules where you’re “not allowed” to make out with friends of friends, or friends’ sisters, were totally bullshit. So me and Simon spend all night discussing the whole issue, and I kinda wrote the lyrics out of the discussion. Later, I heard the expression: “Why fuck a stranger, when you can fuck a friend”, and it just fitted right in there. It also gives the song a whole new meaning, I think. Besides that, it’s just a really cool thing to say. Thank God for lousy redneck movies on late night telly.
HO:
This song is dedicated to the girl at the disco, the club and the prom who everybody wants’s to make it with. She so fine that everybody want’s to get in her pants. That’s what her life is all about – teasing all the young boys, like everybody else would have done in her place. Then one day she meets this dude, who is so cool and so cold, that she’s interested in more than just a one-night stand. Oh by the way, that’s “the dude” singing this song. It took us about 3 months before we got the song and the arrangement right, and Hollaback Girl by Gwen Stefani really played a huge part in writing it..
HAPPY MONDAY:
I really wanted to make a happy song, because the two we wrote before this one were kind of surly and grumpy. I decided that the song was to be called Happy Monday, inspired by the band Happy Mondays. It was the last song we wrote for the album, and it was actually written while we were mixing the other songs. The pace of the song is considerably slower than the rest on the album, and we’ve already talked about going in that direction regarding the next record.
The interlude, which ends this song, is called Who the Fuck Are Arctic Monkeys?! A song which was never completed due to the fact that it sounds like…well Arctic Monkeys! We also thought that it was kinda funny to name a song after their own song and their EP. Alex Turner was busy being a rascal or something, so Mr. Liam O’ Connor were kind enough to lend us his voice.
SUCKER LOVE:
Now if I might take a little liberty here, this is a masterpiece. The chorus is about a fool, a relationship and a blowjob. All happening at the same time! I think most people find it irritating when friends or girlfriends are too sensitive and sticky-icky. But the funny thing is that you actually kinda like it. Yeah, I know. Nobody likes a wordsmith so I’ll get to the point. This song is about instability which is, when you think about it, the cornerstone in any relationship. The blowjob analogy wasn’t really my intention, people listening to it have come up with it themselves.
TANGO IN MY TUMMY:
This is the ultimate drinking tune! I would really like to make a video for this one. It should be about a low-life cop who get’s coffee for his donuts, a beer for his lunch, and a scotch for his dinner. Then he goes to this joint where he screws his regular girl at the toilet. Man…I really like those kind of people. The thing about this song is that there are some parts in this song, which all of us (in the band) can relate to, one way or another. I know that Simon really likes the lyrics and the story of the song. Ace digs heavy on the Ac/Dc-like trucker backing vocals. And me? I think I just like the whole damn thing really! It’s more or less an ode to The Boss.
5-VICE:
For a long time I didn’t know what this thing was about. It was written by request of Ace, who wanted to write a song where one camouflaged drugs with candy. Strange right? But somewhere in the writing process I found out that I wanted it to be about just not giving a rat’s ass. The interpretation of that is for anyone to decide. It’s without a doubt this song that I want a 4th grader to analyze. It contains so much mumbo jumbo that only a kid would understand it. But like most of our songs there is a subliminal message. I’ve just forgotten what it is.
TOLD HER I’M FROM COMPTON:
You know, the best punch lines in life are those you just can’t explain - you just know what they mean. There was this guy who wrote to us on our Myspace, that he had told this girl that he was from Compton. Apparently he made it with her. So there you have it. Oh and by the way, this song has nothing, and I repeat nothing to do with any damn sparrows. “Suck on this barrel, you can ride my Camaro”
YOU AIN’T A BITCH (BITCH):
I understand why people would think this is a chauvinistic hate-song to some punk-ass bitch. It really isn’t. What it really is about is how big an asshole you can be to one another in a relationship. I’m a dogg and she’s a bitch. We are equally good/bad to one another. But of course I’ll blame it on her when we’re having a fight, just like she would blame it on me, if it was her who’d written the song. In other words, I’m just saying it like it is. Nobody calls each other honey or sweetie pie in the middle of a fight, right?
IKEA DID A JOB ON YOU:
This song is about being powerless and unable to cater for peoples needs. It’s about MTV culture, Feng Shui and Extreme Makeover Home Edition. It’s about reviewers, the crowd and girlfriends/boyfriends who are total assholes. I really think that the line “Fuck with me on this one and I’ll fuck you right up” is one of our best. It’s so wonderfully hysteric in a drama queen-like way – which is my way of saying that you can’t and mustn’t take anything I write seriously. The title of the song is the kinda thing you wanna say to somebody who’s really disappointed you – right before you slam the door.
Just like Happy Monday, this song contains an interlude which is actually an outro in this case. The outro , and the interlude for that matter, is referring to album title. It is “Fruit” or filler or whatever you wanna call it. Come to think of it, it might be my favourite track on the album.
We've also got another MP3 for you...
Told Her I'm for Compton
Sucker Love
