#silverscreen

[miss-body-paint]

Today is an important day for me because it's the first time I analyse MK's lyrics. He may be my favourite musician so far so I'm really glad I finally got here. And the song "Silverscreen" itself belongs to my comfort album.

As always, I can only guess what did Miles mean when wrote this song. The interpretation is a child of context but hope I got it right. Anyways, enjoy!

Silverscreen - Miles Kane

Two-faced Johnny

This piece of lyrics is connected with Turner's favourite Kubrick. Character named Jack- a man who loses his mind - appears in "The Shining". I think that every single one of us heard famous "Here's Johnny" line?

Why two-faced? Maybe because one face is shown to audience — macho man with beautiful models always somewhere near. And the other one is soft and lovingly — the one we managed to see during EYCTE tour.

hotel lobby. I won't go up without you

To get to your room in hotel, you have to get through the lobby — I think it's obvious. But what room exactly? Of course the one with number 505. The same-named Arctic monkeys song was written in collaboration with Kane. That song is some kind of constant in Miles' and Alex's relationship — even in 2023 it was performed together. So in these lines Kane literally sings: I can't continue without you.

Plated boots, lipstick rouge

I love the way he creates contrast. Heavy plated boots that can be effectively used in a fight and something soft , breakable. Also lipstick rouge can lead us to my beloved "Dracula teeth" (lipstick on my pillow). Remember "Lover boy's last resort"? That TLSP reference cries: the whole "Coup de grace"— as much as the song itself — is Kane's last chance.

Jack on the edge of champagne fruits

So, exactly that line made me think about analysis. When I first heard "champagne fruits" only one thing came to my mind.

Igor Severyanin- Overture

...Pineapples, pineapples — dipped in champagne!

Igor Severyanin is my all time favourite poet, also a classic of the Silver Age of Russian literature. Don't know if he's well-known in England but in my country definitely yes. Even if not every British man knows him, I'm half sure that the person for whom the message is intended (genius lyricist of Arctic monkeys) must know.

But what about the pineapples? They've became the symbol of excess and vulgarity, high society's empty luxury. Through the lyrics author says "look, if you want to continue, you'll become exactly like them". Reminds me of the whole situation with lavender relationships and big money stuck in industry.

Misdemeanor, gossip cleaner

Misdemeanor is considered as crime but is not something that can cause a lot of troubles. According to the lyrics it's everything that could happen between Miles and his partner in crime (stage presence, aha) before the album. But of course after something so loud they both needed to clean the gossips.

Overacting table reader

Could be about general audience. Like, it doesn't even concern them, yet the reaction is more vehement than ever.

Ego driver, loose-lip liar

Driving my head ill

Arctic monkeys' "I've got this ego mechanic" could be a hint. Miles is so fcking mad — i mean extra loud — when singing those words. He blames someone for always talking nonsense about their relationship. Or maybe not keeping promises?

I can see the silverscreens

You won't leave it alone

Silverscreen in the lyrics is not about cinema at all. Yes, it's beautiful metaphor and goes well with "two-faced Johnny" but in that case the singer ment something different. I suggest that silverscreen is malicious tongues of industry. The one who don't support any of Kane's (not only his really) actions and are very interested in straight image of Turner. Who of course won't disappoint them —won't leave it alone.

I don't care what you mean

I don't buy your next scene

You won't leave it alone

Miles is mad because he can't understand the partner's decisions. And words mean nothing here when the actions causing pain.

Surface tension, I won't mention

Liar, liar, liar, ha

Surface tension is the physical property of a liquid that causes its surface to behave like a stretched elastic film. The person behind those words behave like the things aren't about him at all. He "covered himself in an impenetrable film" — got back to the straight mask. And yes, there were a lot of tension between the two of them.

While Miles just resigned himself to the situation — he won't mention (at least publicly) how much a liar his partner is.

Dancing finger, constant linger

Driving my head ill

Dancing, according to Monkeys' lyrics, is always about lie. Dancing finger(s) can also be about playing the guitar (the main theory) or being so nervous that hands shake. Constant linger part is also clear — have you heard an interview with Miles when there is no question about Turner? And as you can say Kane isn't comfortable enough to talk about it even now. Imagine the level of uneasiness right after the break up.

I can see the silverscreens

You won't leave it alone

As a result, song is a pure anger caused by partner (guess who) wanting to retreat into one's shell again. When Miles is strong enough to name their connection like it is, for other one it's just not possible

[claudettcolbert]

June Havoc, 1941.

[should-know-better]

I think that Silverscreen is about that horrible interview

I've looked at the lyrics to Silverscreen over and over again, and just couldn't relate to them being about Alex or Hannah. Something just didn't feel right. For a start, when the song was written, Miles and Hannah hadn't broken up - in fact, they were together for another four months - so although the song appears to be about acting, I felt it couldn't be about her.

Then, there was consideration, that it could have been about Alex and the façade of his straight behaviour but the line 'patent boots, lipstick rouge' didn't fit (interestingly years later, Alex did have some patent boots for The Car tour).

I think that this is Miles' angry song about the RB interview in Spin Magazine (I refuse to even use her name).

Two-faced Johnny, hotel lobby A two-faced person is someone who is not sincere and says complimentary things to your face, but horrible things behind your back. 'Johnny' or 'Little Johnny' is a character often used in funny jokes or anecdotes, so Miles is creating a juxtaposition here. The interview did take place in the lobby of the Bowery Hotel in New York. In many of Miles' songs, he sets the scene in the first line.

I won't go up without you This is similar to what she reported he'd said. Growing up, Miles and Alex would have seen many British tv shows which had many double entendres in them (the Carry On films, Open All Hours, Are You Being Served to name but a few), and much of this humour is seen throughout their interviews. It's of a specific time and it's difficult for some non-UK people to fully appreciate. This is why she took the quip the wrong way. When interviewers say that Miles and Alex are talking in their own language, I feel that they don't realise that they are quoting different comedy lines to each other, to make each other laugh.

Patent boots, lipstick rouge, For the first time today, I looked up online pictures of RB and discovered that she does indeed wear bright red lipstick. There's black boots, but too difficult to say if they are patent.

hang on the edge of champagne flutes She works by writing about people who are rich and successful, literally, a hanger-on to the music industry.

Misdemeanour, gossip cleaner, She's made out that he has done something wrong, and she's created gossip. 'Cleaning up' is a phrase that means making money.

overacting table reader. Ego driver, loose-lip liar A table read is a run through of the script, done by actors just speaking the lines, i.e. there's no action. Nothing happened. She's making it out to be more than it actually was, (building up her ego) by suggesting that a rock star would try to seduce her. She's a liar.

driving my head in A colloquialism - 'doing my head in' is a phrase used in the North of the UK, meaning, it's making me so angry, I can't stop thinking about it.

I can't see silverscreens, He's saying to her, it's no good acting, this is not a film

you won't leave it alone, I don't care what you mean, I don't buy your next scene She repeatedly interpreted aspects from the interview the wrong way and he can't believe what she's written about him. Also, the repeat of 'you won't leave it alone' could refer to that it was reported that she didn't accept his apology.

Surface tension, I won't mention, liar, liar, liar ha This either refers to the tension in the interview itself, or the tension that the interview has created afterwards for Miles. She lied about it and made his comments out to be more than they were.

Dirty finger, constant linger, driving my head in A dirty finger means 'fuck you' as in when you show the middle finger to someone. Miles is still angry about this interview, months later, when he's writing the song. The interview was in March, he wrote the song in September. Perhaps the repeated phrase of 'you won't leave it alone,' also is him talking to himself. He can't get over it and he thinks about it a lot.

We know that Miles says that he is truthful in his lyrics, but in the John Kennedy interview, he says: "yes, it's a real angry one, it's like, I wanna keep a bit of the mystery there..." knowing full well that bringing this up again would do him more harm than good.

As usual, these are just my thoughts and interpretations on the lyrics and I don't mean to open up a can of worms about the RB interview again. Any comments are welcome 😊

[greasypopcorn]

Featured Movie of the Day:

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[lalaballa]

Dancing finger Constant linger Driving my head ill

[celebritybooking]

@sharvari looks absolutely stunning in that dress!

She exudes elegance and grace effortlessly.

[theseimmortalcoils]

A breath taking portrait of Hollywood star Hedy Lamarr. Photographer/source unknown.

[petty-d4bblr]

A little marker pen sketch of Veronica Lake