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The Pretenders — Brass in Pocket (live)
Album: The Isle Of View
Avg rating:
6.8

Your rating:
Total ratings: 519








Released: 1995
Length: 3:09
Plays (last 30 days): 0
Got brass in pocket
Got bottle I'm gonna use it
Intention I feel inventive
Gonna make you, make you, make you notice

Got motion restrained emotion
Been driving detroit leaning
No reason just seems so pleasing
Gonna make you, make you, make you notice

[Chorus:]
Gonna use my arms
Gonna use my legs
Gonna use my style
Gonna use my sidestep
Gonna use my fingers
Gonna use my, my, my imagination

'Cause I gonna make you see
There's nobody else here
No one like me
I'm special so special
I gotta have some of your attention give it to me

Got rhythm I can't miss a beat
Got new skank it's so reet
Got something I'm winking at you
Gonna make you, make you, make you notice

[Chorus]

'Cause I gonna make you see
There's nobody else here
No one like me
I'm special, so special
I gotta have some of your attention
Give it to me
'Cause I gonna make you see
There's nobody else here
No one like me
I'm special, so special
I gotta have some of your attention

Give it to me
Comments (64)add comment
 Proclivities wrote:

"Skank" in the way she's using it in this song is referring to marijuana:

"...‘Detroit leaning’ references a style of driving where folks lean way back in the front seat and stick their elbow out of the window; her ‘Got new skank/It’s so reet’ is a little tip of the hat to famed US artist and satirist Robert Crumb.
  “I was a big fan of his comic books”, she says. “One cartoon of his had this pot gauge; a machine for measuring the quality of marijuana. If it was really, really good stuff they called it ‘reet petite’.”



Like in Jackie Wilson Said by Van?
 fredriley wrote:
It's Yorkshire dialect, 'appen, as is the title. Despite spending 20 years in God's Own County, I don't know what skank is, but "reet" is just 'right'. I always wondered if Chrissie should sing this in a broad Yorkshire accent...
 
"Skank" in the way she's using it in this song is referring to marijuana:

"...‘Detroit leaning’ references a style of driving where folks lean way back in the front seat and stick their elbow out of the window; her ‘Got new skank/It’s so reet’ is a little tip of the hat to famed US artist and satirist Robert Crumb.
  “I was a big fan of his comic books”, she says. “One cartoon of his had this pot gauge; a machine for measuring the quality of marijuana. If it was really, really good stuff they called it ‘reet petite’.”

 EssexTex wrote:
What's she mean by use her "Sidestep"? are we taking a mobile home, pickup truck or what it's always bugged me
 
I'd always assumed it was some sort of dance reference.
 tonispizzeria wrote:
{#Heartkiss}   SCHÄÄÄTZZELEINN

 
Genau {#Biggrin}
reet

adjective

(also reet and compleat) Good; proper; excellent; right : With her good looks, she was still ''reet'' with me/ looking extremely reet and compleat (1930s+ Jazz musicians)

The Dictionary of American Slang, Fourth Edition by Barbara Ann Kipfer, PhD. and Robert L. Chapman, Ph.D.
Copyright (C) 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers.
skank
/skæŋk/
noun
1.
a fast dance to reggae music
2.
(slang) a promiscuous female
verb (intransitive)
3.
to perform this dance
 
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
There are versions (performances if you will) and then there are versions. This is not one.
{#Heartkiss}   SCHÄÄÄTZZELEINN
 ArbiterOfGoodTaste wrote:
I appreciate the little live stretch here in the playlist, but this song is lacking all of the rhythm and fun that the studio version had.

 
What he says
 venus_df wrote:
the line i've never understood is "i've got a new skank, so reet". wth?
 
It's Yorkshire dialect, 'appen, as is the title. Despite spending 20 years in God's Own County, I don't know what skank is, but "reet" is just 'right'. I always wondered if Chrissie should sing this in a broad Yorkshire accent...
 venus_df wrote:
the line i've never understood is "i've got a new skank, so reet". wth?
 
from https://www.pretendersarchives.com
The mysterious lyrics to Brass have baffled listeners for nearly two < > decades. What is "reet"? And what might a "new skank" be? "Got bottle - I'm gonna use it..."? It's not as mind-boggling as one might think. Skank is to move one's body rhythmically from side to side, moving the arms along with the rest of the body. "Reet" means righteous. So what's she talking about? She's got herself a new way of movin' and groovin' and it's hip. As for the not-so-listener-friendly "got bottle...", that is British slang meaning "courage or confidence".
 

I thought the intro was Springsteen for a second
I had to restrain myself from singing out the  "Spe-cial" echo of the backing vocals, while at work.
 ArbiterOfGoodTaste wrote:
I appreciate the little live stretch here in the playlist, but this song is lacking all of the rhythm and fun that the studio version had.
 

There's defo something major missing, never gets going, her voice is great tho.
 venus_df wrote:
the line i've never understood is "i've got a new skank, so reet". wth?
 

Me either, is there anyone that can explain it?  {#Rolleyes}

 
ArbiterOfGoodTaste wrote:
I appreciate the little live stretch here in the playlist, but this song is lacking all of the rhythm and fun that the studio version had.
 

i agree
I appreciate the little live stretch here in the playlist, but this song is lacking all of the rhythm and fun that the studio version had.

 

well, it is not easy to be indifferent to the cutting and insinuate voice of ms. Christine Ellen Hynde - ** 7 **


NoEnzLefttoSplit wrote:
You know the way when you walk past the bar all the women keep side-stepping out into your way to catch your attention? No, I don't either. Just guessing..
The word "saucier" (not positive with the spelling) is a French synonym for "derrier" or "ass" in English
Epic Blah!
it's pretty wild what kind of stuff you can get away with in lyrics: "there's nobody else here, no one like me i'm special, so special i gotta have some of your attention give it to me" man. that is wickedly bad.
songbirdfemme wrote:
based on some of the comments on RP, I sometimes wonder if woman are recognized as capable of living past the age of 30...
Based on same, I sometimes wonder if women musicians are recognized at all unless they're cute or sexy enough for someone to post their picture in the comments page. Strangely, these people's posts rarely mention if they like the woman's music at all.
the line i've never understood is "i've got a new skank, so reet". wth?
Where did she play live, like at some county fair in the midwest? A rich kids 16th birthday? One of the lesser amusement parks? Just wondering.
NoEnzLefttoSplit wrote:
You know the way when you walk past the bar all the women keep side-stepping out into your way to catch your attention? No, I don't either. Just guessing..
Maybe side-stepping is what gives that slinky Jessica Rabbit swish when she walks?
I love this song. It reminds me of when I was single back in the 80's and between girlfriends.
EssexTex wrote:
What's she mean by use her "Sidestep"? are we taking a mobile home, pickup truck or what it's always bugged me
You know the way when you walk past the bar all the women keep side-stepping out into your way to catch your attention? No, I don't either. Just guessing..
Live-day on RP? Not a bad thing, especially with this song.
I consider this album to be a must have for anyone into rock music.
What's she mean by use her "Sidestep"? are we taking a mobile home, pickup truck or what it's always bugged me
funkaholic wrote:
She's still around?
based on some of the comments on RP, I sometimes wonder if woman are recognized as capable of living past the age of 30...
iggy33 wrote:
To all the whiners out there who don't get CH...I feel sorry for you guys.
I don't.
...i've always disliked the pretenders, but i think they're starting to grow on me, kind of like a slightly musty-foul scent one begins to appreciate about a place just for the years of comfortable familiarity it represents...
is she still married with Simple Minds' singer?
She's still around?
"Gonna use my sausage..." :?:
This is, by far, the worst song on what is otherwise a great first album.
To all the whiners out there who don't get CH...I feel sorry for you guys.
(8?» wrote:
This song was my intro to the Pretenders. I do not know now, nor did I then, what anyone likes in this song. (which kinda sucked, since I had it on 8 track). Someone please enlighten me.
If you have to ask......
Originally Posted by kcarr224: This tune has not aged well. Liked it in it's original version but I've lost my taste for it.
Wrong. This song HAS aged well. And the original version still sounds great.
Originally Posted by mrtyler: Anyone else start singing this as "Alone / listless / breakfast table in an otherwise empty room"?
not until you mentioned it, but now i can't drop the similarity...
Anyone else start singing this as \"Alone / listless / breakfast table in an otherwise empty room\"?
Having recently enjoyed Ms Hynde\'s work with \"Moodswing\" I was glad of a chance to hear her do one of her Pretender classics. Methinks it stands up well.
I also believe this song has seen its day, perhaps some other Pretenders song that has not been wore out by regular radio airplay.
This tune has not aged well. Liked it in it\'s original version but I\'ve lost my taste for it. :roll:
Originally Posted by mrrmaid1: Why is everyone so crabby about this song and this version? I like it very much. I am dancing around my office as I listen!!!
Yah! I love this song, and I love Chrissy Hynde! Yay! There's no accounting for taste I guess. :p
I tend to like The Pretenders but this version sounds like Chrissy has a clothes pin clamped tightly on her nose.
sick of hearing this.
The original sucked and so does this version. Booo Pretenders!!!
This way the song ain\'t \'so special\' anymore, IMO.
Originally Posted by pilgrim: New Yorkers are so cool... I certainly prefer the original version of this one.
...And to counter balance that view... I loved hearing this version. Made a great song sound brand new and fresh again. Just as good as the original.
New Yorkers are so cool... :roll: I certainly prefer the original version of this one.
i cant stand this song.
\"gonna mank you, mank you , mank you motel\" this one just grates on me endlessly.
This entire live album is awesome and includes versions of songs from their first album that are as great now as they were then!
All I want for Christmas is for my voice to be as full of flavor as hers is ....