Late in 1978, The Raincoats became an all female post-punk band, when joined by Palmolive of The Slits (drums), Vicky Aspinall (violin) and manager Shirley O'Loughlin. The band went on their first UK tour with Swiss female band Kleenex, in May 1979 after Rough Trade Records released their first single "Fairytale in the Supermarket"/ "In Love"/ "Adventures Close to Home".
Palmolive left the band after their seminal first album "The Raincoats" and Ingrid Weiss joined in 1980, when the band began recording their second album "Odyshape", and toured Europe and the east coast of the USA. Guest musicians on "Odyshape" included Robert Wyatt, This Heat's Charles Hayward and Richard Dudanski.
In New York, December 1982, The Raincoats recorded a live album at the arts space The Kitchen. "The Kitchen Tapes" (live) was released on ROIR in 1983. The band split after 1984s "Moving" LP.
In 1992 Kurt Cobain of Nirvana went into the Rough Trade shop in London in search of a new copy of "The Raincoats" and Jude Crighton sent him round the corner to see Ana da Silva. Cobain wrote passionately about this meeting in the liner notes of Nirvana’s "Incesticide" album. riot grrrl was at its height and bands like Bikini Kill, Huggy Bear and Hole, who covered Cobain’s favourite Raincoats track “The Void”, prompted interest in the bands’ back catalogue. In late 1993 Rough Trade and DGC Records released the three albums with liner notes by Kurt Cobain and Kim Gordon.
Shirley O'Loughlin persuaded Ana da Silva and Gina Birch to play a show at the Garage in London in March 1994 with Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth on drums and Anne Wood on violin to celebrate the album releases. They recorded a session for John Peel, which was released on Paul Smith’s Blast First and Steve Shelley’s label Smells Like Records. Kurt Cobain invited them to play on Nirvana’s planned UK tour in April, but sadly he died a week before the tour began. Ana da Silva and Gina Birch had written some new material and released a new album "Looking in the Shadows" on DGC Records and Rough Trade in 1996, produced by britpop producer Ed Buller (who'd previously worked with Suede and Pulp) (see 1996 in music). Musicians include Anne Wood (violin, bass), Heather Dunn (drums) and Pete Shelley (Buzzcocks and solo artist).
Since 1996, The Raincoats have played a couple of special events such as Robert Wyatt’s Meltdown (festival) in 2001 and at Chicks on Speed's “99 Cents” album release in Berlin in December 2003. Ana da Silva and Gina Birch are currently working on a version of “Monk Chant” for a compilation of The Monks songs called “Silver Monk Time” due for release in August 2006.
Black And White
The Raincoats Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Is it love when I see your face on the rails?
When the black and white landscape
Makes me write this black and white song?
Is it love when I fear you talking to me?
Is it love when I fear you talking to me?
And discover it was just a longing
Is it love when I don't know who you are?
Is it love when I don't know who you are?
And have to look out of the window
To write this black and white song?
The Raincoats's song Black and White is a poetic exploration of the complexities of love and desire. The repeated phrases "Is it love when..." highlight the singer's uncertainty and confusion about their emotions towards someone whose identity is somewhat elusive. The image of the person's face on the rails could suggest that they are distant or inaccessible, and the black and white landscape might represent the stark contrast between their inner and outer worlds. The act of writing the song seems to be a way of processing these feelings, of grappling with the paradoxes and contradictions inherent in loving someone who is simultaneously present and absent.
The second verse introduces a new layer of ambiguity, as the singer describes fearing the other person's words and then realizing that it was only a longing that inspired those fears. This raises questions about the nature of desire, about how it both compels and frightens us, and about how we might confuse our own internal desires with external threats. The final verse deepens this sense of uncertainty further, as the singer admits that they don't even know who the other person is, but that the act of looking out the window is enough to inspire this black and white song.
Line by Line Meaning
Is it love when I see your face on the rails?
When I see your face on the rails, I wonder if it's love. It's the landscape that's black and white and has inspired me to write this black and white song.
When the black and white landscape
The landscape is in black and white.
Makes me write this black and white song?
The landscape inspired me to write this black and white song.
Is it love when I fear you talking to me?
I fear talking to you and wonder if it's love rather than longing that's driving me to avoid you.
And discover it was just a longing
I fear that my fear wasn't love. It was just longing.
Which turned into a black and white song?
My longing for you turned into a black and white song.
Is it love when I don't know who you are?
I don't know who you are, but I wonder if it's love I feel.
And have to look out of the window
I need to look out of the window to draw inspiration for writing this black and white song.
To write this black and white song?
I drew inspiration from the black and white landscape to write this black and white song.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Victoria Aspinall, Georgina Birch, Palsma Blanco, Ana Paula Da Silva
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind