HEAD MUSIC

For me, Head Music was always the most underrated of all the London Suede albums. For the first time, we were very conscious of the kind of genre of record we wanted to make. It was an attempt to edge our song-based, guitar rock into more groove-orientated, electronica-influenced territory. The goal was fixed but it was in the execution that we sometimes floundered, the twin spectres of addiction and illness haunting the sessions; the ghosts in the drum machine. After a punishing eighteen month world tour we had finally put Coming Up to bed and were keen to begin work on a new record with less of the levity of its predecessor, colder, more European somehow. Ironically it was the b-side of Trash, Europe Is Our Playground that provided the blueprint as we searched again and again to match its hypnotic elegance. I had moved to a maisonette with a huge garden and a summer house in which I installed a demo studio where Id sit through the changing seasons in bleak conversations with my 8 track and drum machines and analogue keyboards. It was in these sessions, these battles against myself that I came up with songs like Indian Strings and Cant Get Enough and Neil and Richard would drop round with demos which Simon and Mat would later flesh out in rehearsal at Jumbo Studios in Dollis Hill. One day Neil brought me a piece he had called Gloopy Strings which referred to the sliding, pitch-bent nature of the keyboard hook. It only had two robotically repeating chords, but it somehow sounded uplifting and effortless. It inspired me to write the words which became Shes In Fashion, one of the best sounding, most modern records we ever made. I had been reading a lot of Camus and Houellebecq and their simple, unadorned style had inspired me to try and write in a similar vein away from the sometimes suffocating drama of my previous work. So I started writing songs like Indian Strings and Down, bleak and often oblique fragments of observation and emotion. The sessions for Head Music were long, laborious and often fractured, mirroring those of Dog Man Star four years previously. We had switched producers from Ed Buller to Steve Osbourne who was faced with the unenviable task of mustering the troops at a time when the band was less unified than we had been for years, but simultaneously trying to re-invent and deconstruct our sound. The results were a real mixed bag. Some songs, like the gloriously laconic Hi Fi, had never been rehearsed and were conceived completely as studio pieces while others like Everything Will Flow were more traditional and basically organic. Looking back, I think we managed to alienate many of the people who loved the intimacy and personality of our earlier records as we searched for a more oblique style but Im proud we had the bravery to try and push our personal musical envelope. I think the album would have benefitted at the time with some harsher editing but at its heart you can hear the glorious, jumbled sound of a band not content to stay in their suffocating little box, determined to try and be a different version of themselves, always searching, always willing to learn. Brett Anderson, 14th January 2011

ALTERNATE HEAD MUSIC

Listening back to all this stuff makes me want to re-write history. If I could do it all again Id do it slightly differently: Electricity Savoir Faire Cant Get Enough Crackhead Everything Will Flow Down Shes In Fashion Hi Fi Indian Strings Hes Gone Leaving Heroin

head music
NUDE 14CD, 3 May 1999

The London Suede: Singing Brett Anderson Guitars Richard Oakes Drums Simon Gilbert Electric Bass Mat Osman Synthesisers Neil Codling Produced and mixed by Steve Osbourne for 140dB Engineered by Ben Hillier and Paul Corkett Mix engineer Danton Supple Elephant Man recorded, mixed and engineered by Bruce Lampcov Originally mastered by Bunt Stafford Clarke at The Townhouse With thanks to everyone. Cover by Nick Knight, Peter Saville, Brett Anderson Designed by Howard Wakefield and Paul Hetherington at Commercial Art

savoir faire

4.37

(Anderson) Universal Music Publishing Ltd.

She live in a house, she stupid as a mouse And she going where the lights are on She shaking obscene like a fucking machine And shes gone, gone, gone She cooking crack giving us heart attack And she living in a kooky show She open your mind for the millionth time And then go, go, go And she got everything she needs And she got pretty, pretty feet And she got flowers in her hair, yeah, yeah She got savoir faire, yeah, yeah She shaking the scene outside, in between and she rocking to the looney tunes And she make love and swallow a dove in her room, room, room She speeding away thru the city today and she living in a kooky show With show life, low life watching her go and then move, move, move And she got everything she needs (Harmony and ecstasy yeah, yeah yeah) And she got pretty, pretty feet (Painted toes and soft, soft soles yeah, yeah, yeah) And she got flowers in her hair (Daffodils from windowseat) She got savoir faire, yeah, yeah She got savoir faire, yeah, yeah

electricity 4.38
(Anderson/Codling/Oakes) Universal Music Publishing Ltd/Sony Music Publishing (UK) Ltd.

We got a love thats as cold as stone We got a love from a violent home We got a love that aint got no name We kiss our love with lips like pain We gotta lotta electricity We got a love like AC/DC We got a love that aint got no shame We kiss our love with lips like pain Kissing our love with lips like pain I said Oh, its bigger than the universe Bigger than the universe, bigger than the 2 of us Oh; its bigger than you and me We got a love between us and its like electricity We got a love like a violent mind We get our love from the white, white lines We got a love that aint got no name We kiss our love with lips like pain We got a love from the nowhere towns We got a love like electric sounds We got a love that aint got no shame We kiss our love with lips like pain Kissing our love with lips like pain

everything will flow 4.40

(Anderson/Oakes) Universal Music Publishing Ltd.

Watch the early morning sun drip like blood from the day See the busy people run so many games to play See the blue suburban dream under the jet plane sky Sleep away and dream a dream Life is just a lullaby Oh, and everything will flow Oh, you know everything will flow Oh... Watch the day begin again Whispering into the night See the pretty people play Hurrying under the light A million cars, a million trains Under the jet plane sky Nothing lost and nothing gained Life is just a lullaby The neon lights in the night tonight will say everything will flow The stars that shine in the open sky know everything will flow The lovers kissed with an openness will say everything will flow The cars parked in the hypermarket know everything will flow

cant get enough 3.59

(Anderson/Codling) Universal Music Publishing Ltd/Sony Music Publishing (UK) Ltd.

I feel real now walking like a woman And talking like a stone age man I feel real now talking like Buddha And doing it again I get kicks I rip it up, kick it up Take it like a teenage tough And I feel real now talking like sugar And shaking that stuff Singing I cant get enough I feel schizo ever so psycho Kicking at an old tin can I feel real like a man, like a woman Like a woman, like a man I make deadspace feel like a head case Take it like a teenage tough I feel real now watching those wheels And shaking that stuff So gimme this and gimme that Smother me and gimme some of that bad stuff I feel real now talking like sugar And shaking that stuff

shes in fashion 4.51

(Anderson/Codling) Universal Music Publishing Ltd/Sony Music Publishing (UK) Ltd.

Shes the face on the radio, shes the body on the morning show Shes there shaking it out on the scene Shes the colour of a magazine And shes in fashion, shes in fashion Shes employed where the sun dont set and shes the shape of a cigarette And shes the shake of a tambourine and shes the colour of a magazine And shes in fashion, and shes in fashion Oh and if she tells you 2 is 1 then 2 is 1 my love Oh and if she tells you, you should know then you should know my love She is strung out on a TV dream and shes the taste of gasoline and shes as similar as you can get to the shape of a cigarette And shes in fashion (And the sunshine it blows my mind, and the wind blows my brain).

down 6.12
(Anderson/Oakes) Universal Music Publishing Ltd.

All the people in your life say youre down And the strangers in the night say youre down And the loonies on the right say youre down and youre down And the ambulances sigh that youre down And the traffic speeding by say youre down And the people in your mind say youre down, youre down Hey, you chase the day away Hey, you draw the blinds and blow your mind away Theres a sadness in your eyes And theres a blankness in your smile And the people in the park say youre down And the strangers in the dark say youre down And the pissheads in the bars, say youre down, and youre down And the audiences cry that youre down And the ambulances sigh that youre down And the boyfriends and your love say youre down, youre down Hey, you chase the day away Hey, you draw the blinds and blow your mind away, Theres a sadness in your lite, Theres a madness in your smile Hey, you chase the day away Hey, you draw the blinds and blow your mind away, Theres a sadness in your lite, Theres a madness in your smile

asbestos

5.17

elephant man

3.06

(Anderson/Codling) Universal Music Publishing Ltd/Sony Music Publishing (UK) Ltd.

(Codling) Sony Music Publishing (UK) Ltd.

Watching all the women shaping, slimming Walking down the roads again Looking at the lovers under covers come in and lets pretend Watching all the school girls breaking the rules running round and having sex Watching all the women shaking slimming Come in and cash the cheques The suburban girls, and theyre making noise And theyre making eyes at suburban boys Watching all the lovers under covers Watching all the roads bend Listening to Lulu, Amazulu come in and lets pretend Watching all the women shaking slimming Walking down the road again Scheming like a school boy watching you boy Come in and lets be friends

I love that deafening, thundering sound That sounds like buildings tumbling down And people wish that they werent around When we all rock and roll into town We hear those fearful piercing screams The kind you find on cinema screens As if theyre fit to burst at the seams If they could say what all of this means I am, I am the elephant man It is incredible how I can Look just like just like an elephant man Just like, just like my elephant fans We love that satisfying, rattling crash The sound of registers full of cash Well be all over your town like a rash Well steal your children and smoke all your hash We are, we are the elephant men, Take heed, well be stampeding again Look out all of you fairweather friends Because elephants never forget

head music 3.23 (Anderson) Universal Music Publishing Ltd. Lonely skies, empty minds, we walk by to the rock and rhyme, I said, Oh, come on do it again City signs, business minds, we walk by with head hi-fi, you know oh, I wanna do it again And we lose it to the music and we lose it to the beat and get stupid, come on lose it Cos it all means nothing to me So give me head, give me head, give me head music instead You know oh is it all in the mind? Give me head, give me head, give me head music instead You know oh yes its all in the mind Kids get high, cities die, we just smile cos its all inside You know oh yes its all in the mind So come on lose it to the music and lose it to the beat and get stupid, come on lose it Cos it all means nothing to me come on come on

hi-fi

5.09

(Anderson) Universal Music Publishing Ltd.

Slipping through the city, sliding train to train Sulking on the subway, music in our brain She and me together in the city sound Me and Mona Lisa on the underground Hi-fi in the white city, yeah yeah Slipping through the city, sliding train to train Sulking on the subway listening to the trains She and me together speed through space and time Graffiti in our eyes and music in our mind

indian strings 4.21

(Anderson) Universal Music Publishing Ltd.

crack in the union jack 1.56

(Anderson) Universal Music Publishing Ltd.

Open up my heart and see whats inside Take a look inside me, inside my mind And youll see my heart is broke in two Cos Ive seen the real you Images of violence fill up my mind, And you see the silence feel it inside And youll see my heart is broke in two Cos Ive seen the real you So sad we seem, so far weve been She knows the scene And I see your heart is broken too Cos Ive seen the real you Seen the real you

Draw the blinds and watch the show Heard it on the radio, saw it on the news today I heard the lonely people say Theres a great big crack in the Union Jack Another day, another love, another midday TV show, Saw it on the news today, heard the lonely people say

hes gone 5.32

(Anderson/Codling) Universal Music Publishing Ltd/Sony Music Publishing (UK) Ltd.

Tears on a pillow, eyes on the phone You pour all the love that you keep inside into a song Like Hes Gone, and these are the thoughts that you keep inside You smile from your window, and stand all alone And pour all the love that you keep inside into the phone, into the phone And like the leaves on the trees Like the Carpenters song Like the planes and the trains and the lives that were young, hes gone And it feels like the words to a song With the style of a widow, and a place of your own you pour all the love that you keep inside into the phone, and sit alone Cos these are the thoughts that you keep inside And you smile from your window and stand all alone and pour all the love that you keep inside into a song, into a song And like the stains on the names of the lives that were young, hes gone And it feels like the words to a song So gone, so gone....

demos
indian strings [bretts original 8 track demo] 4.04
(Anderson) Universal Music Publishing Ltd.

popstar 5.36
(Anderson/Gilbert/Osman/Oakes) Universal Music Publishing Ltd. Produced by Ben Hillier Originally released as a b-side of Electricity

everything will flow [protocol demo] 7.10

(Anderson/Oakes) Universal Music Publishing Ltd.

hes gone [protocol demo] 5.17

(Anderson/Codling) Universal Music Publishing Ltd/Sony Music Publishing (UK) Ltd. First issued on the No Boundaries compilation

shes in fashion [protocol demo] 5.19

(Anderson/Codling) Universal Music Publishing Ltd/Sony Music Publishing (UK) Ltd. First issued on the fanclub-only compilation See You In The Next Life

the b-sides
leaving 4.17
(Anderson/Oakes) Universal Music Publishing Ltd. Produced by Steve Osbourne Originally released as a b-side of Everything Will Flow

See the sun drip from the sky Mascara stains clouding your eyes Slowly the raindrop falls See the rain fall from the day The fire escape is leading the way Somewhere a taxi calls Youre leaving girl to seal your fate Leaving girl to run, run away To see the sun To see the light Leaving girl, live your life I see your love has slipped from your life The winter sun and suburban skies Are calling your name this time I see the rain Fall from the day The fire escapes the blues and the greys Will always remain the same So youre leaving girl to seal your fate To see the world and run, run away To see the sun to see the light So youre leaving girl to catch the plane To see the world and run right away To see the sun to see the light So youre leaving girl to live your life Live your life

With eyes of blue And eyes of green And eyes that watch The drum machine And eyes of green And eyes of blue A thousand eyes Stare back at you They watch the sky They watch the sun They watch them all Theyre having fun We like the light that shines from you We like the things you say you do We like the people that you are Cos youre a popular star With eyes of gold And eyes of brown And eyes that watch The world go round They see the girls They see the cars They see the world They go too far With eyes on me And eyes on you With eyes of green That once were blue

killer 4.58
(Anderson/Oakes) Universal Music Publishing Ltd. Produced by Steve Osbourne Originally released as a b-side of Electricity

She is a natural killer She has a strange disguise And she is cold as vanilla She has that look in her eyes She, she hasnt any feelings And she got nothing on her mind She is a natural killer She is the thorn in your side She is a natural killer She has a strange disguise She as sweet as vanilla She has that look in her eyes Thorn in your side

implement yeah! 2.34

(Anderson/Codling/Oakes/Osman/Gilbert) Universal Music Publishing Ltd/Sony Music Publishing (UK) Ltd/Bug Music UK Ltd. Produced by Ian Caple Originally released as a b-side of Electricity

see that girl 4.28

(Anderson) Universal Music Publishing Ltd. Produced by Ben Hillier Originally released as a b-side of Electricity

That boy Smiths got lard for a tongue He looks like a bun or a bung or a bum Hes a basket case, hes asylum fodder His face is odd but his voice is odder Yeah, Implement Yeah That boy Smith called Paul a Scotch homo A bald insane satanic romo And he sings songs that dogs only hear Hes got gum in his mouth and music in his ear Yeah, Implement Yeah

waterloo 3.59
(Codling) Sony Music Publishing (UK) Ltd. Produced by Bruce Lampcov Originally released as a b-side of Electricity

In the undertow Of a muddy rivers ebb and flow Is a hand that will not let go The current is strong The river is deep In the afterglow of the fire that tore through the room below Someone calls through the smoke All you can do is try to breathe to breathe to breathe to breathe When the road is steep And the ground gives way beneath your feet Its the last place you want to be The air here is thin You must try to breathe to breathe to breathe to breathe In the undertow Of a muddy rivers ebb and flow Is a hand that will not let you go That belongs to someone like me Whos holding your head and helping you breathe to breathe to breathe to breathe You need to be free You need to be free

She walks the streets of summer walking all day She likes the steel inside her nothing to say She lives inside the winter walking around Stoned like the wheels in real life wandering round You see that girl You see that girl When she falls, shell fall forever in this dogshit world She loves the lights inside her wandering around She lets the needle guide her and slowly go down Slung like the voices in her Into the dark Time has no choices in her Stoned in a car You see that girl You see that girl When she falls, shell fall forever in this perfect concrete world

bored 3.02
(Anderson/Oakes) Universal Music Publishing Ltd. Produced by Mick Glossop Originally released as a b-side of Shes In Fashion

Bored (introspection) Yeah (city sights) Bored (no connection) Yeah (got it right) Bored (cold, impatient) Yeah (lonely nights) Bored (no new traces) Yeah (you got it right) So wire me up to the party people Wire me up to the neon lights Oh, come on, come on Come-a running along And well sing a little song for the afterlife Bored (stoned elation) Yeah (no new sights) Bored (no connection) Yeah (you got it right) Bored (lonely places) Yeah (astral lights) Bored (so impatient) Yeah (you got it right) Bored yeah

pieces of my mind 4.35

(Anderson) Universal Music Publishing Ltd. Produced by Mick Glossop Originally released as a b-side of Shes In Fashion

gods gift 2.55

(Anderson) Universal Music Publishing Ltd. Produced by Mick Glossop Originally released as a b-side of Shes In Fashion

In the corner of your mind Theres a place you go to hide Where the lonely years reside Theres a secret life for sale Watch the world inside your brain Where the people come to say Take the pieces of your life Send the message to the sky Mend the pieces of your mind Take a look inside of you Tell me what to say and do Mend the pieces of your mind In the corner of your head Where the world sits back instead And the pieces that youll send Theres a light that sights unseen Watch the world in slide machines In the corner of your dream Let the music play again Let the songs all stay the same Mend the pieces of your mind Take the pieces of your life Send the message to the sky Mend the pieces of your mind

You raised me on Whitesnake On Prince tapes, on summer sounds And you saved me and gave me Dance songs and hand-me-downs You said that we were just good friends But we jump red lights all the way to the end There you go, there you go again You looked at me in a restaurant And a lonely tune was the only sound And you took me out under Centre Point And we got lost in the lonely crowd And you said that we were just good friends But we jump red lights all the way to the end Gods gift, there you go again

seascape 3.56
(Anderson) Universal Music Publishing Ltd. Produced by The London Suede and Michael Ade Originally released as a b-side of Everything Will Flow

Instrumental

jubilee 3.47
(Anderson/Codling) Universal Music Publishing Ltd/Sony Music Publishing (UK) Ltd.
Produced by Mick Glossop Originally released as a b-side of Shes In Fashion

crackhead 5.53
(Anderson/Osman/Gilbert/Oakes/Codling) Universal Music Publishing Ltd/Sony Music Publishing (UK) Ltd/Bug Music UK Ltd. Produced by The London Suede and Michael Ade Originally released as a b-side of Everything Will Flow

Were the sun that lights the sky Were the winter in your mind The love that lives inside Were the litter on the breeze Were the winter in your mind The words that sit inside When you run with me Do you feel human? And you come with me Come take my hand Were the season like the trees And theyre falling in your mind The sun that lights inside Were the world that spins a line And the winter in your mind The sun that lights the sky When youre done with me Do you feel human? And you come with me Come take my hand And you feel with me And you feel human And you come with me Come take my hand And you run with me Do you feel human And you come with me Come take my hand And you feel with me And you seem superwoman And you come with me Come take my hand

You smoke your money, you burn your mind Youve done whats left of your social life You sold your life for a big white rock Youre sucking on a pipe while the lights turned off You aint got nothing, aint got no plans The crack dont help but the pain dont end You burn your money, you burn your mind You smoke whats left of your social life But you cant give it up, cant give it up Give it up You sold your life for a 4-gram stone You dont see no-one, you smoke alone Youre lost and stuck and you burn your brain Youre sucking on a pipe while your life slips down the drain You aint got nothing, aint got no friends The ice dont help but the pain dont end You waste your love on a cracked-up mind You smoke whats left of your social life No no no no no no You cant give it up, cant give it up Give it up You cant stop, dont stop, wont stop You got nothing, no, no You cant stop, dont stop, wont stop You got nothing, no, no You cant stop, dont stop, wont stop

let go 4.25
(Anderson/Codling) Universal Music Publishing Ltd/Sony Music Publishing (UK) Ltd. Produced by The London Suede with Michael Ade Originally released as a b-side of Cant Get Enough

situations 4.53
(Anderson/Codling) Universal Music Publishing Ltd/Sony Music Publishing (UK) Ltd. Produced by The London Suede and Michael Ade Originally released as a b-side of Cant Get Enough

You say you wanna let go The way that some you knew let go You say you wanna dive in With none of the inhibitions I have been Well theres no need to hold on Youve proven that you dont need to belong You say that you wanna let go The way that some you knew let go Everything is all you need Everything is all you need You say you wanna let go Well people, people, people hold on You say you wanna dive in Well, sister, sister, do what you can Cause if youre gonna hold on People, people, before too long Youll say you wanna let go And people really should, you should know Everything is all you need (all you need is everything) Let go Say you wanna let go

Lonely lives, stolen hair Twisted smiles, vacant stares Stoney hearts, lonely tunes Empty minds... in you And we want to be the only ones And we want to be the loaded guns Well make decisions and then smile at you Sit-situations... oooh oooh Open hearts, lonely tunes Empty minds, lonely rooms Vacant skies, lonely stares Empty hearts... who cares? And we want to be the only ones And we want to be the loaded guns We make it possible and then smile at you Sit-situations... oooh oooh We want to be the only ones And we want to be the loaded guns We make it possible and then smile at you Youll make the headlines... oooh oooh

read my mind 4.41 since you went away 3.06

(Anderson) Universal Music Publishing Ltd.
Produced by The London Suede and Michael Ade Originally released as a b-side of Cant Get Enough (Anderson) Universal Music Publishing Ltd. Produced by The London Suede and Michael Ade Originally released as a b-side of Cant Get Enough

Since you went away Every night and day Ive been drinking too much wine Ive been sitting in doorways on Circle lines Since you went away Every night and day Ive been staring into space Ive been stumbling slowly through cityscapes And I go where the people go And I see summer laugh at me Whats that mean? Since you went away Every night and day Well, Ive just been marking time Ive been staring at buildings and traffic signs Since you went away Every night and day Ive been wandering around Ive been sat by the TV with the sound turned down

If only people ran the show If only traffic werent so slow If only thoughts would come and go This is the nothingness I know Read my mind Come on if you read my mind Come on if you see inside You wont see nothing If only friends would call again If only people knew my name If only things would never change Its like cement inside my brain

extra tracks
poor little rich girl [featuring raissa] 5.53
(Coward) Ascherberg, Hopwood & Crew Ltd. Produced by Bruce Lampcov Originally issued on the compilation Twentieth Century Blues: Songs Of Noel Coward Licensed courtesy of EMI Records Ltd.

19 music

like sex [previously unreleased] 3.53

(Anderson/Oakes) Universal Music Publishing Ltd/Copyright Control

heroin 2.55
(Anderson) Universal Music Publishing Ltd. Produced by The London Suede and Michael Ade Originally released as a b-side of Attitude

Took me on a limb Youve taken everything Everything As the clouds come in As the rain begins Rain begins Heroin Heroin Im out of it No more songs to sing No more love to bring Love to bring As the rain begins Such a silly thing Heroin

Who will buy this false alarm? Who buy this emotion? Who will exchange their body parts for some imaginary notion? Who will suspend their common sense for this unique occasion? Who will escape their violence? The music connects me, the music connects you, The music selects me, the music connects me to you And its crawling in me like its crawling in you Who will turn these chances down and live out a simple illusion? Who will raise their glasses now and pray for a happy conclusion? Who will synthesise their love to fill out a simple emotion? Who will wear out body parts? The music connects me like the music connects you, The music selects me, the music connects me to you And its calling in me The music connects me like the music connects you Its music like sex you like to have sex to And its calling in me like its calling in youProject co-ordination Val Jennings, Brett Anderson, Vanessa
Sanders

Physical package Jools at ED&P Ltd Mastering Chris Potter assisted by Phil Vernolt at Electric Mastering Photos Simon Gilbert Special thanks Richard Oakes, Neil Codling, Simon Gilbert, Ian Grenfell, Didz Hammond, Dave Akerman Deluxe Editions on the Edsel label:
Suede Dog Man Star Coming Up Head Music A New Morning

www.suede.co.uk Visit www.demonmusicgroup.co.uk for the Edsel catalogue and the many other fine labels that make up the Demon Music Group.

Project co-ordination Val Jennings, Brett Anderson, Vanessa Sanders Physical package Jools at ED&P Ltd Mastering Chris Potter assisted by Phil Vernolt at Electric Mastering Photos Simon Gilbert Special thanks Richard Oakes, Neil Codling, Simon Gilbert, Ian Grenfell, Didz Hammond, Dave Akerman Deluxe Editions on the Edsel label:
Suede Dog Man Star Coming Up Head Music A New Morning

www.suede.co.uk Visit www.demonmusicgroup.co.uk for the Edsel catalogue and the many other fine labels that make up the Demon Music Group.