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.
Stop Killing Me
The Primitives Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
everything seemed alright
but today sun's not shining
seen you in a different light.
I don't want you now
how can I love you now
just keep away from me
'cause you're killing me
all the things I never asked for
all the things I thought were mine
thought that I could see forever
thought that things would work out fine.
Repeat chorus.
The Primitives' Stop Killing Me was released in 1988 and features a blend of alternative rock and indie pop. The song tells the story of someone who was happy and content with their life being turned upside down due to a change in their relationship. The opening line of the song, "yesterday I was smiling, everything seemed alright," indicates that the person was once happy and content but has since experienced a noticeable shift in their disposition.
The lyrics in the following lines, "but today the sun's not shining, seen you in a different light," speak to the impact of a significant change in the person's relationship, which has now caused them unexplained sadness. They start to view their partner in a different, negative light, which makes it difficult for them to continue with the relationship, as seen in the lines "I don't want you now, how can I love you now." The song's chorus, "just keep away from me 'cause you're killing me, stop killing me," shows their plea for the partner to stay away from them to avoid further emotional pain.
The second verse further emphasizes the damages of the relationship with the lines, "all the things I never asked for, all the things I thought were mine, thought that I could see forever, thought that things would work out fine." The singer is now confronting the reality that things are not as they seem, and the future they thought they could share with their partner is no longer possible.
Line by Line Meaning
yesterday I was smiling
Everything was going fine for me yesterday and I was happy.
everything seemed alright
I didn't have any problems and everything appeared to be going well in my life.
but today sun's not shining
Today is a bad day and I'm feeling low.
seen you in a different light
I've noticed a negative side of you that I didn't see before.
I don't want you now
I no longer have feelings for you.
how can I love you now
I'm unable to love or have feelings for you anymore due to your negative actions.
just keep away from me
Please stay away from me so that I can avoid any further negativity from you.
'cause you're killing me
Your negative behavior towards me is causing me emotional pain.
stop killing me
Please stop hurting me emotionally.
all the things I never asked for
There are a lot of things happening in my life that I didn't want or expect.
all the things I thought were mine
Things that I thought were within my control or possession are slipping away from me.
thought that I could see forever
I was under the impression that my life would remain unchanged and predictable always.
thought that things would work out fine
I expected everything to fall into place and work out well on its own.
Repeat chorus.
The chorus repeats.
Contributed by Samantha D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.