Music Review: The Breeders "Cannonball"

The Breeders

Cannonball

Album: Last Splash

Year: 1993

            Kim Deal is attracted to a bad boy in the excellent  “Cannonball.”

              A sly guitar riff opens the single, setting a chic tone. She’s going to have to go to extraordinary lengths to get her crush’s attention. She slaps on some leather and puffs out her chest. Dainty and girly will get her eaten alive. Acting as though she doesn’t care and rebelling is what’s going to work. She’s the one who will get him to settle down. (“Spitting in a wishing well/Blown to hell crash/I'm the last splash/I know you little libertine/I know you're a real coocoo.”)

                  In the chorus, she loves that he’s unpredictable and their relationship can be secret, a shock to everyone she knows. (“Want you coocoo cannonball/Want you coocoo cannonball/In the shade, in the shade/In the shade, in the shade/I know you little libertine/I know you're a cannonball.”)

                       She’ll change her personality for him. She wants him to get high just by her presence. (“I'll be your whatever you want/The bong in this reggae song/In the shade, in the shade/Want you coocoo cannonball/Want you coocoo cannonball/Spitting in a wishing well/Blown to hell/Crash/I'm the last splash/I'll be your whatever you want/

The bong in this reggae song.”)

                    The chorus is sung again.

                    Deal may be prim but she’s got a wild side and wants to explore it. Usually female rockers try to prove they can be as tough as the men. However, Deal subverts it. She maintains her feminity but when it comes time to rock out, she brings it. As a vocalist, it makes her much more interesting and human.

                   The classic “Last Splash” can fit into any generation.