"Love Is..." is a song by avant-garde band King Missile. It was the only single from the band's 1994 album King Missile.
| "Love Is..." | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by King Missile | ||||
| from the album King Missile | ||||
| Released | 1994 | |||
| Genre | Avant-garde, doom metal | |||
| Length | 3:38 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Songwriter(s) | John S. Hall, Roger Murdock, Dave Rick, Chris Xefos | |||
| Producer(s) | Daniel Rey | |||
| King Missile singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Content
editIn "Love Is...," a dirge-like track with elements of doom metal, frontman John S. Hall dryly recites several examples of what love is ("beautiful / Like birds that sing") and is not ("ugly / Like rats / In a puddle of vomit"). The chorus consists of Hall ominously chanting, "Love is beautiful."[1]
Maxi-single
editThe "Love Is..." maxi-single was intended for promotional use only, and not supposed to be sold; nonetheless, copies are sometimes available in "used" sections of record stores, because some people who received the maxi-single sold it anyway.[2]
Track listing
editAll lyrics by Hall. All music by Roger Murdock, Dave Rick, and Chris Xefos.
- "Love Is..." [clean version] – 3:38
- This "clean" version is identical to the album version except for the partial muting of a word that the King Missile liner notes claim is "shipload" but may actually be "shitload." (According to Hall, "on the [King Missile] lyric sheet we [the band] submitted to Atlantic, we changed all the curse words to acceptable words, figuring nobody would listen to the record, and we [would] get away with not having a warning label. This actually worked!")[3]
- "These People" – 4:26
- This track also appears on King Missile.
- "Lost Land" – 4:32
- This track appears exclusively on the maxi-single.
- "What If" [alternate version] – 2:24
- This track, which appears exclusively on the maxi-single, differs from the King Missile version of "What If" in that the lyrics are spoken throughout rather than both spoken and sung.
- "Love Is..." [album version] – 3:38
Music video
editThe video for "Love Is..." was directed by Richard Kern.[4] The video contrasts shots of the band performing in a white room with shots of a dark, sordid party at which attendees engage in heterosexual, homosexual, interracial and zoophilic partnerships.[5]
MTV refused to air the video. Hall believes this rejection was motivated by the shots of multi-instrumentalist Xefos kissing another man.[4]
References
edit- ^ "Lyrics: Love Is..." Farmboy's King Missile. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
- ^ "Discography". Laundry Lists of Nonsense. Retrieved 2008-06-06.
- ^ "Interview w/ John". Farmboy's King Missile. Retrieved 2008-06-06.
- ^ a b "Videography". Laundry Lists of Nonsense. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
- ^ "Video: Love Is..." YouTube. 2006-11-12. Retrieved 2008-05-29.