The Peter Malick Group is an American jazz group formed in Boston in 1994 b… Read Full Bio ↴The Peter Malick Group is an American jazz group formed in Boston in 1994 by Peter Malick (born November 28, 1951, in Brookline, Massachusetts), an American musician and record producer known for his work with blues musicians and for early collaborations with Norah Jones.

Malick enjoyed a surprising career resurgence early in the 21st century after decades of obscurity, much of them spent outside the music business. His first taste of success came in his teens in the 1960s; he was 16 when his band Listening was signed to Vanguard Records. His youthful talent as a guitarist led to stints backing up such blues legends as John Lee Hooker, Otis Spann, Big Mama Thornton, and Muddy Waters. After serving as guitarist and musical director for the national touring company of the Broadway musical Hair in the early 1970s, he joined the James Montgomery Band and appeared on two of the group's albums, First Time Out (1973) and High Roller (1974).

Then came 20 years outside of music, during which Malick struggled with addiction and earned money primarily as a gambler and in the gaming business. But by 1994, he had cleaned up and returned to music. Based in Boston, he launched the Peter Malick Group and recorded the albums Wrong Side of My Life (1998) and Sons of the Jet Age (2000). In 2001, his work on the final Otis Spann album Last Call won him a W.C. Handy Award for historic album of the year.

Malick began to work with several young, up-and-coming female vocalists whom he heard while touring, writing and recording with them. One of them was Norah Jones, and after she rose to fame in 2002, Malick issued an EP of his recordings with her, New York City, that reached the top half of the Billboard 200. It was followed by a full-length album, Chance & Circumstance, that repeated the Jones' tracks and added work with four other singers, one of them Malick's daughter, Mercy Malick.

Strange Transmissions
The Peter Malick Group Lyrics

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I believe, you say
Don't think, we'll stay
Drawn through the ebb
Lost in the flow

Beneath my breath, I confess
My world, loved less
The devil held the proof

For me to know

I could only fight
For the longest while
But with the truth out, baby
I belong to you

I stoop to find
My place, entwined
I took it to the bottom
One more time

I could only fight
For the longest while
But with the truth out, baby
I belong to you

I could trip and I want you to know
That every time I think
That I think I should go
I receive strange transmissions

I could trip and I want you to know
That every time I think
That I think I should go
I receive strange transmissions

I could only fight
For the longest while
But with the truth out, baby
I belong to you

I could trip and I want you to know
That every time I think
That I think I should go
I receive strange transmissions

I could trip and I want you to know
Every time I think

That I think I should go
I receive strange transmissions

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Strange Transmissions" by The Peter Malick Group speak to the challenges and uncertainties of love and relationships. The opening lines suggest that the singer is struggling to trust their own instincts, with the phrase "Don't think, we'll stay" implying a desire to hold onto the relationship despite doubts. However, the lines "Beneath my breath, I confess/My world, loved less" reveal that the singer feels conflicted and not completely invested in the relationship. The mention of the devil holding proof implies that the singer has been confronted with some unpleasant truths about themselves or their partner.

Despite this internal struggle, the singer ultimately acknowledges their love for their partner: "But with the truth out, baby/I belong to you." The repetition of the line "I could trip and I want you to know/That every time I think/That I think I should go/I receive strange transmissions" represents the singer's ongoing ambivalence and confusion about the relationship. They're torn between the fear of leaving and the fear of staying, and they seem to be seeking some kind of guidance or reassurance through these "strange transmissions."

Strange TransmissionsThe Peter Malick Group Lyrics

Strange Transmissions
The Peter Malick Group Lyrics