Reptile - Music
Reptile by The Church
The Church
Artist Biography For The Church
The Church Is An Alternative Rock Band Which Formed In Sydney Australia In 1980. Initially Linked In With Neo-Psychedelia Acts Of The Period Their Music Later Became Largely Defined By The Interplay Of Guitarists Marty Willson-Piper And Peter Koppes Coupled With The Abstract Lyrics Of Bassist/singer Steve Kilbey. Their Debut Album Of Skins And Heart 1981 Earned Them Their First Radio Hit "The Unguarded Moment". They Were Originally Signed To EMI's Parlophone Label But Record Company Dissatisfaction Led To Them Being Dropped Overseas Which Limited Their Exposure Early On. After Signing To Arista In 1988 They Saw Their Largest International Success With The Album Starfish And The American Top 40 Hit "Under The Milky Way" Which Resurfaced On The Soundtrack Of The Cult Movie "Donnie Darko". Whilst The Band Remain Feted By Their Peers Subsequent Commercial Success Proved Elusive 1990s Follow-Up Album "Gold Afternoon Fix" Failed To Capitalise On Their Success And The Band Weathered Several Line-Up Changes After Its Release First Losing Long-Term Drummer Richard Ploog Then Peter Koppes Following 1992s "Priest Aura". That Album Baffled And Confused Many Fans Upon Its Release As To What Band The Church Was Considered To Be But Is Now Considered A Seminal Album And One Of The Most Revered By Church Connoisseurs. The Vacant Drum-Stool On Priest Aura Being Occupied By Jay Dee Daugherty Of Arista Labelmate Patti Smiths Group And It Was Produced By Gavin MacKillop Of Moose. Reduced To A Two-Piece Kilbey & Willson-Piper Re-Grouped With The Assistance Of Drummer/producer Tim Powles To Record 1994's "Sometime Anywhere" Concluding Their Obligations To The Arista And Mushroom Labels. The Commercial Decline Combined With The Church Being Ignored Again By A Music Press More Focused On The Nineties' Music Trends Could Have Brought About The Demise Of The Band Had It Not Coincided With The Breakthrough Of The Internet Thus Enabling Direct Communication From The Band To Its Passionate Cult Fanbase. This Brought About A New Beginning For The Church With Peter Koppes Rejoining The Band For Recording 1996s "Magician Among The Spirits". The Band With Koppes Back Into The Fold And Powles Now As The Permanent Drummer Hit A Re-Newed Creative Surge And With Regained Selfconfidence Released "Hologram Of Baal" 2 Years Later And Toured Australia The USA And Europe. The First Decade Of The 21st Century Found The Band Releasing Severeal Highly Critically Acclaimed Albums Like 2002's Aptly Named "After Everything Now This" And 2003's "Forget Yourself" The Latter Breaking New Ground With Bandmembers Swapping Instruments In The Recording Process. Live Performances Stray From High Profile Events Like The 03 Concerts At Sydney Opera House And The Opening Ceremony Of The Commonwealth Games In Melbourne To Low-Profile Gigs For Smaller Audiences Often Confusing Old 80s Fans Surprised To Find The Band Still Playing Wrongly Assuming The Band Just Being One In The Never-Ending String Of Reunion Acts. 2009's Album "Untitled#23" Marked Yet Another Highlight.. Its Essence Represented In Just 10 Songs And With A Strong Less-Is-More Approach The Albums Core Identity Being On Par With Starfish It Also Finds Steve Kilbey Breaking New Ground As A Vocalist. 2010 Saw Their 30th Anniversary With Extensive Touring In The US And Australia. Their Unique Position And Importance In The Australian Music Scene Was Recognized With An ARIA Award. Their Album "Further Deeper" Was Released In 2014 And "man Woman Life Death Infinity" In 2017.
Frogtoon Music - Song Info: Reptile
The-Church - Starfish
"Reptile" Is A Song By Australian Alternative Rock Band The Church. It Was Released As A Single From Their 1988 Album Starfish And The Songwriting Credits Are Given To All Four Members Of The Band. Inspired By A Real-Life Encounter With A Reptile "Reptile" Is Based Around A Prominent Guitar Riff. The Song Saw Moderate Commercial Success As A Single And Has Become One Of The Band's Most Famous Songs.
Marty Willson-Piper Peter Koppes Richard Ploog And Steve Kilbey Were All Credited With Writing The Song. In The Sleevenotes For The 2010 CD Reissue Of Starfish Willson-Piper Described The Process "sometimes A Song Can Be Mainly One Person's Idea Augmented By Everyone Else. Other Times A Song Really Is The Sum Of The Parts Working Magically Together. This Was The Case With ‘Reptile’". Sung By Kilbey The Song Features Lyrics Inspired By An Encounter Kilbey Had After Going With A Woman To Her Hotel Room. Kilbey Explained "I Went Home With This Woman One Night I Met In Canters Deli. I Went In The Bathroom ... And There Was A Sound Behind The Shower Curtain. I Look Behind The Shower Curtain And There Was A Great Big ... Lizard In There Looking At Me. ... And The Woman Goes 'Oh You Met Bruford' Or Whatever His ... Name Was. ... I Guess That Had Something To Do With It". Musically The Song As Stewart Mason Of AllMusic Described Is Based On A "nagging Stop-Start Guitar Riff That Continues Almost Unchanged Throughout The Entire Song Building A Palpable Tension Through The Verses That Is Only Partially Alleviated By Steve Kilbey's Sneering Chorus". Using One Unchanging Riff While The Rest Of The Song Moves Around It Was A Device The Church Had Used In Several Earlier Songs Such As "One Day" From 1983's Seance. Willson-Piper Recalled "I Wrote The Riff In A Rehearsal Room Somewhere In Sydney It Just Fell Out Of My Guitar Like A Diamond". Mason Continues "The Rattling Rhythm Section Only Adds To The Effect With Richard Ploog's Kinetic Hi-Hat Work Driving The Beat". Kilbey Said "I Think 'Reptile' Did Something We Never Quite Managed To Do Again And That Is The Way The Parts All Play Against Each Other. Like The Church Has Always Been A Band Where Its Not Everything Just Doing The Same Thing At The Same Time. Everything's Working Like A Machine. I Think That Was The Best Ever Example Of That".
50 Similar Tracks:
The Church - Under The Milky Way Peter Murphy - Cuts You Up Killing Joke - Love Like Blood Echo & The Bunnymen - Bring On The Dancing Horses The Church - Antenna Echo & The Bunnymen - The Killing Moon The Chameleons - Second Skin The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way The Psychedelic Furs - Heartbreak Beat Siouxsie And The Banshees - Cities In Dust The Chameleons - Don't Fall The Cure - Push The Cure - Fascination Street Bauhaus - She's In Parties Siouxsie And The Banshees - Christine Love And Rockets - So Alive The Sound - Winning New Order - Dreams Never End - 2015 Remaster New Order - Dreams Never End Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart The Damned - Life Goes On Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart - 2020 Remaster The The - This Is The Day Red Lorry Yellow Lorry - Talk About The Weather The Cult - She Sells Sanctuary Killing Joke - Eighties - 2007 Digital Remaster The Smiths - How Soon Is Now? XTC - Making Plans For Nigel The Sound - Skeletons The Jesus And Mary Chain - Head On Love And Rockets - Holiday On The Moon Talking Heads - Burning Down The House Bauhaus - Kick In The Eye The Smiths - This Night Has Opened My Eyes Pink Turns Blue - Walking On Both Sides Gang Of Four - Damaged Goods INXS - Don't Change Depeche Mode - Never Let Me Down Again Modern English - I Melt With You Sad Lovers And Giants - Things We Never Did Tears For Fears - Mad World Public Image Ltd. - Rise The The - Uncertain Smile Talking Heads - Once In A Lifetime The Stranglers - Golden Brown The Bolshoi - Sunday Morning Simple Minds - Alive And Kicking The Danse Society - Somewhere 'Til Tuesday - Voices Carry Morrissey - Suedehead
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Biography - The Church
The Church Is An Alternative Rock Band Which Formed In Sydney Australia In 1980. Initially Linked In With Neo-Psychedelia Acts Of The Period Their Music Later Became Largely Defined By The Interplay Of Guitarists Marty Willson-Piper And Peter Koppes Coupled With The Abstract Lyrics Of Bassist/singer Steve Kilbey. Their Debut Album Of Skins And Heart 1981 Earned Them Their First Radio Hit "The Unguarded Moment". They Were Originally Signed To EMI's Parlophone Label But Record Company Dissatisfaction Led To Them Being Dropped Overseas Which Limited Their Exposure Early On. After Signing To Arista In 1988 They Saw Their Largest International Success With The Album Starfish And The American Top 40 Hit "Under The Milky Way" Which Resurfaced On The Soundtrack Of The Cult Movie "Donnie Darko". Whilst The Band Remain Feted By Their Peers Subsequent Commercial Success Proved Elusive 1990s Follow-Up Album "Gold Afternoon Fix" Failed To Capitalise On Their Success And The Band Weathered Several Line-Up Changes After Its Release First Losing Long-Term Drummer Richard Ploog Then Peter Koppes Following 1992s "Priest Aura". That Album Baffled And Confused Many Fans Upon Its Release As To What Band The Church Was Considered To Be But Is Now Considered A Seminal Album And One Of The Most Revered By Church Connoisseurs. The Vacant Drum-Stool On Priest Aura Being Occupied By Jay Dee Daugherty Of Arista Labelmate Patti Smiths Group And It Was Produced By Gavin MacKillop Of Moose. Reduced To A Two-Piece Kilbey & Willson-Piper Re-Grouped With The Assistance Of Drummer/producer Tim Powles To Record 1994's "Sometime Anywhere" Concluding Their Obligations To The Arista And Mushroom Labels. The Commercial Decline Combined With The Church Being Ignored Again By A Music Press More Focused On The Nineties' Music Trends Could Have Brought About The Demise Of The Band Had It Not Coincided With The Breakthrough Of The Internet Thus Enabling Direct Communication From The Band To Its Passionate Cult Fanbase. This Brought About A New Beginning For The Church With Peter Koppes Rejoining The Band For Recording 1996s "Magician Among The Spirits". The Band With Koppes Back Into The Fold And Powles Now As The Permanent Drummer Hit A Re-Newed Creative Surge And With Regained Selfconfidence Released "Hologram Of Baal" 2 Years Later And Toured Australia The USA And Europe. The First Decade Of The 21st Century Found The Band Releasing Severeal Highly Critically Acclaimed Albums Like 2002's Aptly Named "After Everything Now This" And 2003's "Forget Yourself" The Latter Breaking New Ground With Bandmembers Swapping Instruments In The Recording Process. Live Performances Stray From High Profile Events Like The 03 Concerts At Sydney Opera House And The Opening Ceremony Of The Commonwealth Games In Melbourne To Low-Profile Gigs For Smaller Audiences Often Confusing Old 80s Fans Surprised To Find The Band Still Playing Wrongly Assuming The Band Just Being One In The Never-Ending String Of Reunion Acts. 2009's Album "Untitled#23" Marked Yet Another Highlight.. Its Essence Represented In Just 10 Songs And With A Strong Less-Is-More Approach The Albums Core Identity Being On Par With Starfish It Also Finds Steve Kilbey Breaking New Ground As A Vocalist. 2010 Saw Their 30th Anniversary With Extensive Touring In The US And Australia. Their Unique Position And Importance In The Australian Music Scene Was Recognized With An ARIA Award. Their Album "Further Deeper" Was Released In 2014 And "man Woman Life Death Infinity" In 2017.
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16 Similar Artists To The Church - Frogtoon Music
Gene Loves Jezebel The Psychedelic Furs The Triffids The Chameleons Echo & The Bunnymen Love And Rockets Hoodoo Gurus The Go-Betweens Modern English The House Of Love Peter Murphy The Comsat Angels The Sound Died Pretty Sad Lovers And Giants Simple Minds.
"Reptile" is a song by Australian alternative rock band The Church. It was released as a single from their 1988 album Starfish, and the songwriting credits are given to all four members of the band.
Inspired by a real-life encounter with a reptile, "Reptile" is based around a prominent guitar riff. The song saw moderate commercial success as a single and has become one of the band's most famous songs.
Marty Willson-Piper, Peter Koppes, Richard Ploog, and Steve Kilbey were all credited with writing the song. In the sleevenotes for the 2010 CD reissue of Starfish, Willson-Piper described the process; "sometimes a song can be mainly one person's idea augmented by everyone else. Other times a song really is the sum of the parts working magically together. This was the case with ‘Reptile’".
Sung by Kilbey, the song features lyrics inspired by an encounter Kilbey had after going with a woman to her hotel room. Kilbey explained, "I went home with this woman one night I met in Canters Deli. I went in the bathroom ... and there was a sound behind the shower curtain. I look behind the shower curtain and there was a great big ... lizard in there, looking at me. ... And the woman goes, 'Oh, you met Bruford' or whatever his ... name was. ... I guess that had something to do with it".
Musically, the song, as Stewart Mason of AllMusic described, is based on a "nagging stop-start guitar riff that continues, almost unchanged, throughout the entire song, building a palpable tension through the verses that is only partially alleviated by Steve Kilbey's sneering chorus". Using one unchanging riff while the rest of the song moves around it was a device The Church had used in several earlier songs, such as "One Day" from 1983's Seance. Willson-Piper recalled, "I wrote the riff in a rehearsal room somewhere in Sydney; it just fell out of my guitar like a diamond".
Mason continues, "The rattling rhythm section only adds to the effect, with Richard Ploog's kinetic hi-hat work driving the beat". Kilbey said, "I think 'Reptile' did something we never quite managed to do again, and that is the way the parts all play against each other. Like the Church has always been a band where its not everything just doing the same thing at the same time. Everything's working like a machine. I think that was the best ever example of that". Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.