The Pretty Reckless - 'Miss Nothing'
Suppose someone gave you a massive whacking hammer - y'know the kind of barrel-headed mallet with frayed extremeties that you'd see on an old Tom and Jerry cartoon. Suppose they gave you this on the understanding that you would use it sparingly, because of the damage such a mighty weapon could inflict if thrown around willy nilly. Suppose you took this responsibility very seriously, as much because you don't want to have to pick up the mess afterwards as anything else.
The question is, what if Tom the cat was just BEGGING to be whacked? What if he had a great big red and white target on his head, a mouthful of your packed lunch/uncle Bob, and a contemptuous sneer on his lips? What if he were prodding you in the chest, demanding that you go ahead and do it, that he can definitely take it. Would you?
I should add, for the purposes of this little moral play, the part of Tom is being played by Taylor Momsen, and the part of the whacking hammer is being played by Courtney Love.
As for me, I'm trying really hard not to let rip.
I meantasay...this "I'm Miss Doobedoo, Miss Lah-di-dah..." thing. That's Courtney's territory, isn't it? It's not like I'm drawing a dim comparison because of the blondeness, the femality. And look at the video! Taylor is just flat out BEING Courtney Love, the troublemaking pottymouth in vintage underwear in a hall of old decandent male rock cliche.
(. Get off the table, Panda-face, you're kneeling in the trifle.)
There is a really good reason to lay off the whacking though. For all the lyrical posturing and narcissitic push 'n' pull - "I'm nothing, I'm everything, I'm terrible, I'm fantastic...JUST BLOODY LOOK AT ME, OK!?" - this is a brilliantly bratty, sneery thing in the verses and uplifting and waily thing in the choruses. The Reckless are great at the rock dynamics too, leaving little holes here and there, weaving their various slabs of noise together and then breaking them apart. There's never a dull moment.
And if we must drag Courtney Love into the argument again, the other thing Taylor does which Courtney does too, is to offer to speak on behalf of legions of disaffected young girls. Girls who just wanna rock out. Now, because they're disaffected, a lot of them won't want the famous Hollywood star Taylor Momsen speaking on their behalf, but it doesn't mean she's got the wrong idea. And for anyone who this DOES reach out to, it's going to hit fairly hard.
SO, because it's a great song and because it's likely to prove useful to bored Saturdays fans, thirsty for something else, I'm leaving the hammer at home for a bit.
Rest assured, if the next Pretty Reckless song is about dolls or celebrities or skin, it's whackering time.
Download: Out now
91Èȱ¬ Music page
(Fraser McAlpine)
"It's such a shame she has such a STANKitude."
"This one's loaded with rock chick angst and another killer chorus."
"It seemed to me like a mixture of Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Avril Lavigne and Pink."
Comment number 1.
At 18th Aug 2010, U14429597 wrote:Aaah the old 'second single' dilemma. Miss Taylor 'Reckless' Momsen and her crew had a choice: Do the exact same thing as the last single to please the fans, or do something completely different in the hopes of gaining new ones, but possibly losing the old ones. She seems to have gone for a meet-in-the-middle single here. This song his grungy but also poppy unlike 'MMWD' which was just GRUNGE. Anyway I love the song and the video (yes i dooooooooo! ;) ). Sh's a hotter courtney love to be honest. Who cares if she is 'contrived' or 'manufactured'? She's HAWT and has a whole lotta 'tude. 4*
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Comment number 2.
At 19th Aug 2010, spirit wrote:Oh wow ! What a soaring , stand out chorus this song boasts . Melodic yet menacing .
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Comment number 3.
At 19th Aug 2010, kutox wrote:Love this song. That's 2 great singles out of 2 for them. I'm really impressed with this band - I know Taylor Momsen can be a bit of a moody so-and-so at times, but she is channelling that into her music and proving herself as a very talented musician.
This is another strong single, again it's rebellious and full of attitude, but very mature and assured at the same time. Excellent production - love the guitar stabs in particular, and it's got great melodies, which is always important for me with these sort of songs. And another fantastic chorus, as with the last song. I will definitely check out the album when it's out at the end of the month.
4/5
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Comment number 4.
At 20th Aug 2010, soon-to-be-mrsburns wrote:Adam..'MMWD' was grundge? Didnt know I liked grunge but there you go, I loved it.
As for 'Miss Nothing' I would say its less poppy, as the chorus is not as catchy and I do not find myself signing along to it, 10 times a day, but I still love it.
4/5
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Comment number 5.
At 20th Aug 2010, soon-to-be-mrsburns wrote:To follow on a bit off topic, I would put 'TPR' in the same genre as Hinder, Theroy of a deadman and Billy Talent. In my mind Pop-punk kinda, but what do I know. I just know what I like lol.
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Comment number 6.
At 20th Aug 2010, U14429597 wrote:@Courtney. Well its not Grunge like Nirvana but its like dirty, sloppy rock with lots of 'tude. I think 'Miss Nothing' is more poopy not because of its chorus (which isn't as catchy) but because the guitar is bouncy and cleaner, its not as hard-hitting as 'MMWD' is it? And do I sense a synthesiser on 'Miss Nothing'? Hmm...
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Comment number 7.
At 20th Aug 2010, U14429597 wrote:POPPY! NOT poopy. 'Miss Nothing'is by no means 'poopy'. Don't hurt me ms. Momsen! *cowers in a corner*
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Comment number 8.
At 21st Aug 2010, RandomEnigma wrote:Courtney, I would say The Pretty Reckless are grunge like Hole, Courtney Love's band. The parallels between the two bands are frightening. If you like TPR, I recommend giving some songs from Hole a listen.
I LOVE this song. My favourite part is the bridge where the electronics kick in and it gets slightly trippy. The Pretty Reckless are so refreshing in today's music industry. 4 STARS
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Comment number 9.
At 21st Aug 2010, spirit wrote:The guitars in the bridge and in the chorus where this hottie sings :
"And as I watch you disappear into the ground "
are worth the admission fee alone !
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Comment number 10.
At 22nd Aug 2010, Knoxx wrote:This song has much happening, I love it, but I just the chorus was as catchy as MMWD, that would have sealed this song to a 5/5, it's a strong 4/5 from me
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Comment number 11.
At 23rd Aug 2010, soon-to-be-mrsburns wrote:Thanks for the explaination. I will certainly give Hole a listen then, should be right up my alley.
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Comment number 12.
At 7th Sep 2010, Lucinda wrote:The pretty reckless is like rock for girls who like pop. It's not really hardcore rock or anything.
I like the music, it's good but it's just Taylor Momsen and her 'attitude' which annoys me - she is trying to be too rock chic but it's just ott e.g. - her outfits for one, but what is most annoying is the whole "I am nothing like Courtney Love, she has no influence on me at all" when it is soo obviously evident she does - that is what makes her look a bit stupid, really
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Comment number 13.
At 9th Sep 2010, Michael Hollins wrote:I reviewed this track last month and oddly (or not so oddly I guess) came to similar comparisons with Hole. I went a bit more in depth with the analysis of her inspiration and found many resemblances.
The review, with comparison pictures and links to similar tracks can be found here;
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