Sonic Youth - Little Trouble Girl

"You'll never know, what I feel inside, that I'm really bad. Little trouble girl."

Album: Washing Machine [9th album]
Recorded: Memphis, Tennessee
Genre: Rock, Alternative Rock
Album Release: September 26th 1995
Single Release: May 1996
Length: 4.29
Producer: Sonic Youth & John Siket
Vocalist: Kim Gordon [age 42], Kim Deal, Melissa Dunn & Lorette Velvette
Label: Geffen Records

Music Video


Shangri-La's - Give Him A Great Big Kiss

Charts, Streams & Sales

Spotify: Over 4 million
YouTube Music: Over 1.5 million

Credits

Bass, drums, piano, guitar

Details

• The song directly references 'Give Him a Great Big Kiss' by sixties girl group The Shangri-Las by  quoting verbatim "we were close, very, very close" in a way that's undoubtable (see the video above).
  
  In the sixties, the Brill Buildings production house found great success. The Shangri-Las' sang in a distinctive way associated with the form. Several features of the style can be found on 'Little Trouble Girl'. Firstly, it has a half sung, half spoken vocal delivery. The Shangri-Las used this to great effect in their 1965 single 'Leader of the Pack'.
  
  Secondly, it features several "sha-la-la" 60s vocal flourishes which are rarely, if ever, found on other Sonic Youth records. These flourishes, as well as the choruses, are sang in harmony with Kim Deal from the Pixies. At the time, Deal was one of the most recognisable women in rock, so it points to their significance that Sonic Youth limited her involvements to these specific parts.
  
  It makes sense that if you'd gone to the trouble of getting an in-demand Deal on board, with all of the arranging and scheduling that would entail, that you would make her vocals prominent. But she was used sparingly in order to emphasise the almost anti-depressant induced, dream-like choruses because they are pivotal to the piece.
  
  Thirdly, the music has sense of melodrama. These songs are usually sang by, and made for, young girls. Mary Weiss of the Shangri-Las was 16 when she made 'Leader of the Pack'. At that age, mundane occurences can seem to be earth-shatteringly important. The Shangri Las song uses dancing as a metaphor for sex "Is he a good dancer? Well how does he dance?" the girls eagerly ask in the lyrics, "close, very, very close" is the reply. The height of '60s teenage adventure.
  
  Kim Gordon, who was a 42 at the time, delivers her rendition as if a parody. In 'Little Trouble Girl' the singer tells her mother "we kissed, we hugged, we were close, very, very, close." It sounds as if she's telling her mother she's pregnant. The dreaded hangover that follows the party.
  
  The music video takes place in a sterile environment that feels cold and distant and is most-likely an abortion clinic. There's also an alien child running around which implies that the prospect of motherhood feels alienating for the protagonist. The child and the possible mother-to-be are never in the same shot which creates a distance between them. The wide-eyed optimism of the swinging '60s has been replaced by the detached and jaded Generation X of the '90s, which is to say that care-free party were followed by the crushing reality of the hangover.
  
  People traditionally expect young women and girls to be a certain way: kind, demure, caring. They're conditioned to be good girls, but there's inevitably a part of them that isn't good. If you really want to know your daughters, you have to embrace the darker side of them as well. Otherwise, there might be a harsher reality underneath the appearance of innocence.
  
  'Little Trouble Girl' uses the motif of a sweet, innocent girl talking to her mother, coupled with the pleasant, familiar harmonies of old '60 songs, to conjure a comforting image. However, it feels off. The vocals are nearly emotionless. Then the tone delves underneath to reveal the darker feelings which are also there. In her autobiography Kim Gordon wrote:

  "(that the song is about) wanting to be seen for who you really are, being able to express those parts of yourself that aren’t “good girl” but that are just as real and true."

Artwork