In 2009 The Primitives reformed, releasing their first album for 21 years, Echoes and Rhymes, in May 2012. The album features covers by lesser-known female fronted bands from the 1960s.
There are other bands called The Primitives:
2. A band from the United States with Lou Reed and John Cale
3. A garage rock band from the United Kingdom
4. An alternative country band from the United States
2. The Primitives were a band from New York formed in 1964, they released one 7" that year; "The Ostrich/Sneaky Pete. The band was fronted by Lou Reed and featuring John Cale, both later of the Velvet Underground. Ostrich guitar tuning, the all-D tuning particularly credited to the Velvet Underground, originated from the Primitives single the Ostrich. They disbanded in 1965.
The ostrich guitar or ostrich tuning is a type of trivial tuning. It assigns one note to all strings, e.g. E-E-e-e-e'-e' or D-D-D-D-d'-d'.
The term "ostrich guitar" was coined by Lou Reed in 1965 after the song "The Ostrich" by Lou Reed and the Primitives, on which he first used this tuning. John Cale, a collaborator with avant-garde composer La Monte Young, recognised the similarity between Reed's guitar tuning and Young's work involving drone music when he was hired to play Reed's song 'The Ostrich' as part of a fabricated touring group.
Reed and Cale (who would play viola, keyboards and bass) began to collaborate and investigate the connections between ostrich tuning and drone music, as the band introduced new members (such as guitarist Sterling Morrison and percussionist Angus MacLise, another student of La Monte Young) and became known as The Velvet Underground. Cale had composed and recorded 'Loop' in 1964, but which became the first EP released under this band name, composed of drones played on an electric viola, and the combination of both Cale's viola and Reed's guitar tunings would be an early hallmark of their work. Reed used ostrich tunings on the 1967 album The Velvet Underground & Nico on the songs "Venus in Furs" (appearing at the end of the song) and "All Tomorrow's Parties", which also included Cale playing drones on viola.
According to an interview with drummer Maureen Tucker in What Goes On? No. 4, Reed's ostrich guitar was a guitar that had its frets removed, and was stolen shortly after the album sessions.
3. The Primitives, from Northampton UK, were also known as Mal & the Primitives. They released their debut (Help Me) in November 1964. They released a couple more 45's before relocating to Italy where they released 3 more albums.
4. The Primitives were an alternative country group formed in 1987. Upon discovering the existence of the British band of the same name, they changed their name to Uncle Tupelo.
Outside
The Primitives Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Can you see way up high
What do you feel inside
Polythene english skies
Open the window wide
Can you see far behind
How do you feel outside
Open the window wide
Can you see way up high
What do you feel inside
Polythene english skies
Open the window wide
Can you see far behind
How do you feel outside
Polythene english skies
Outside
Outside
Open the window wide
Can you see way up high
What do you feel inside
Polythene english skies
Open the window wide
Can you see far behind
How do you feel outside
Polythene english skies
Open the window wide
Can you see way up high
What do you feel inside
Polythene english skies
Open the window wide
Can you see far behind
How do you feel outside
Polythene english skies
Outside
Outside
The lyrics to The Primitives' song "Outside" invite listeners to open the window and take in the view of the sky and surroundings. The lyrics repeat the phrase "Polythene English skies," which can be interpreted as a commentary on the artificiality or plasticity of modern life contrasted with the natural beauty outside. The repetition of the phrase emphasizes the singer's desire for the listener to pay attention to the world outside, rather than being consumed by man-made materials and structures.
The use of the phrase "Polythene English skies" may also be a nod to the popular Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," which includes the line "the girl with kaleidoscope eyes." The lyrics of both songs encourage the listener to open up to a psychedelic world beyond the mundane.
Overall, "Outside" can be seen as a call to break free from the confines of modernity and embrace the natural world beyond our windowpanes.
Line by Line Meaning
Open the window wide
The singer urges the listener to open the window completely
Can you see way up high
The singer asks the listener if they can see the sky above
What do you feel inside
The singer inquires about the listener's emotions
Polythene english skies
The singer describes the skies as resembling plastic or artificial
Can you see far behind
The singer asks if the listener can see into the distance
How do you feel outside
The singer is interested in the listener's emotions pertaining to the outdoors
Outside
The singer repeats the title of the song, emphasizing the setting of being outside
Contributed by Jeremiah F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.