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The Pretenders — Brass In Pocket
Album: The Singles
Avg rating:
7.1

Your rating:
Total ratings: 748









Released: 1981
Length: 2:57
Plays (last 30 days): 0
Got brass in pocket
Got bottle I'm gonna use it
Intention I feel inventive
Gonna make you, make you, make you notice

Got motion restrained emotion
Been diving Detroit leaning
No reason just seems so pleasing
Gonna make you, make you, make you notice

Gonna use my arms
Gonna use my legs
Gonna use my style
Gonna use my sidestep
Gonna use my fingers
Gonna use my, my, my imagination

'Cause I'm gonna make you see
There's nobody else here
No one like me
I'm special, so special
I gotta have some of your attention, give it to me!

Got rhythm I can't miss a beat
Got new skank it's so reet
Got something I'm winking at you
Gonna make you, make you, make you notice

Gonna use my arms
Gonna use my legs
Gonna use my style
Gonna use my sidestep
Gonna use my fingers
Gonna use my, my, my imagination

'Cause I gonna make you see
There's nobody else here
No one like me
I'm special, so special
I gotta have some of your attention
Give it to me

Mmm-woah
Comments (66)add comment
Long Live RP
Rating to me 7 but  a weak 7      I will change to rating 3 and Skip
Those lyrics. Didn't understand half of what she was singing back in the day. Now that I read them I still don't. 

But I have good memories of my girl friend singing the chorus out loud. She was special and she knew it.
Saw her a few months ago on her tour with Stevie Nicks.

Chrissy owned the stage within the first minute of playing. If she had been the only one on the bill, it still would've been worth the ticket price. Awesome show.
 Mikey wrote:
Special? Not. Well, maybe, shortbus special.
 

If Chrissy is on it then I'm there.
Remains one of my favorite female vocals! 
Never got into her music. Must be the voice.
 VH1 wrote:
This women belongs with many others in my special catergory "can't sing and is very nervey"  {#Stop}

 
This woman belongs in my special category "i almost became blind when i was younger listening to her" {#Cheesygrin} 
 Hannio wrote:
Gonna use my sausage...(??)

 
Ha Ha !!!
This women belongs with many others in my special catergory "can't sing and is very nervey"  {#Stop}
Gonna use my sausage...(??)
Great set!
 
great bass line and bass sound n this tune - Pete Farndon. simple.  rhythmic. in the pocket.
brass in pocket{#Cheesygrin} 

 joe1 wrote:
Bloody best track for at least 4 hours on here...It's been bollocks up to this..... Morning Scott......
 
Mornin', Joe.
 Grammarcop wrote:
"Been driving Detroit leaning"

I've noticed recently that the Detroit Lean is making a comeback.

I'd do the Detroit Lean, but I'd look ridiculous in a minivan..

 
{#Lol}
"Been driving Detroit leaning"

I've noticed recently that the Detroit Lean is making a comeback.

I'd do the Detroit Lean, but I'd look ridiculous in a minivan... 
 bam23 wrote:
Obviously there will never be complete agreement about specific songs. I think Chrissy Hind is remarkable, not least for making Cuyahoga Falls famous.
 
Don't forget Seneca.
Hugely overrated.
Obviously there will never be complete agreement about specific songs. I think Chrissy Hind is remarkable, not least for making Cuyahoga Falls famous. But, this particular song has ever grated on my ears and esthetic sensibilities. It is a bit more than borderline out of tune for me. Luckily, she has loads of better work.
Chrissy does it for me!

8
"gonna use my sassy." Brassy sassy! Where do I sign up for some of that?
 brander wrote:
My nomination for best female rock singer.
 
Tough to argue with that call.  Great, unique band and sound.

i have heard this specific song so many times in the last three weeks that it's starting to make me wonder if someone's trying to tell me something.

love this entire cd. longtime fan. chrissy is awesome.

Why play this track? Maybe in Second Life.


Up until just last year, I always thought she was going to make him "mo'(more) tense" when she is around. Turns out she is going to make him "notice". Oops... It still kinda makes sense with my version...
Alexandra wrote:
Can't hear this, now, without thinking of the karaoke scene in "Lost In Translation." What a GREAT film!
same for me, great movie
Special? Not. Well, maybe, shortbus special.
Frater_Kork wrote:
Big Brass Balls?
You want to be careful of those in the cold weather. Aye, where's there's muck there's brass. I'm special.
jbyrd13 wrote:
I can think of some other much cooler things I'd like to have in my pocket other than brass.
Big Brass Balls?
t
I can think of some other much cooler things I'd like to have in my pocket other than brass.
siandbeth wrote:
From an interview in The Independent (Londen) 2004 when asked about Brass In Pocket: "'Brass in Pocket' is part of a rock tradition: I'm the sharpest cat on the block, that kind of thing. It's a song about someone who's really insecure, who turns it around and has a false arrogance to impress people. But I wish I hadn't written it. It serves me well, but it's not the greatest. When we recorded it I said, 'That will be released over my dead body.' But I found out a long time ago just to keep my yap shut."
Now that's the sort of trivia that makes it worth reading these comments :)
My nomination for best female rock singer.
Who cares for the haters? This is the sort of timeless song that kicks ass.
twcarlin wrote:
Wow- 90% of those saying that this song sucks are saying that because they heard it too much on the radio. Nice way to judge a song kids...
Yep, and then after the guy says "It's overplayed," then another guy says "Good way to judge a song," and then someone else says "There's a reason this song was played so much," and then the next person says "I don't understand why it was played so much - this song sucks" and then "No way, this is great, you have bad taste" ad infinitum. I wonder if there's some sort of a script that could redirect this conversation from each song page to a single consolidated place on the forum.
i LOVE this scene in 'lost in translation'...
From an interview in The Independent (Londen) 2004 when asked about Brass In Pocket: "'Brass in Pocket' is part of a rock tradition: I'm the sharpest cat on the block, that kind of thing. It's a song about someone who's really insecure, who turns it around and has a false arrogance to impress people. But I wish I hadn't written it. It serves me well, but it's not the greatest. When we recorded it I said, 'That will be released over my dead body.' But I found out a long time ago just to keep my yap shut."
DD joe1 wrote:
Bloody best track for at least 4 hours on here...It's been bollocks up to this..... Morning Scott......
your taste sucks..sorry
Wow- 90% of those saying that this song sucks are saying that because they heard it too much on the radio. Nice way to judge a song kids...
Definitely pity. Kidding... c.
my 8 rating may be skewed by remembering my sophomore '81 high school homecoming when a senior cheerleader asked me to dance - looking back, I wonder if it was on a bet..or just pity either wayÂ…giving this an 8
Worst. Karaoke. Song. Ever.
geavis wrote:
Quite possibly the world's worst song.
No, actually the world's worst song was on previously. (Starsailor-yuk!) This is the world's second worse song. One of the most over-played on commercial radio. I'm not a Pretenders fan, but they do have better songs out there. Would be nice to hear a different one.
She's from my hometown.Score a 9...and I love her!
Quite possibly the world's worst song.
Can't hear this, now, without thinking of the karaoke scene in "Lost In Translation." What a GREAT film!
joe1 wrote:
Sorry...just stumbled across this and really cannot pass without asking what kind of carp is Scott' below coming out with??..farking brilliant b*llsh*t!! Chrissie is horny....ok?....just 'cos you don't fancy her?....Do you know her personally or is that some drivel that you have read/made up?... Interesting........
Hey. Redbird is the one who wanted someone to explain the metaphorical implications of the song, so I gave it a go. Now you try.
a wee bit corny.
Well I, for one, like this song, and am happy you play it. Yes there are better Pretenders songs, but this is their classic.
Please, please, don't elevate this song to some higher level. It's a mediocre and annoying song that is way overplayed and appealed to me when I was a teenager and full of revelation that women could be rock stars too.
Yuck! I have to listen to this song every single night at the retail store I work at. It's terrible! :x
Wow--what a debate! Banal drivel? Hardly. A statement on the loss of soul in modern life? Come on. Everyone's entitled to an opinion, but... Heck, I think Chrissy is just expressing what it's like for her in moment being hot and bothered--and if music didn't originally come from a need to scratch that primal itch, then I really do misunderstand it.
Originally Posted by brucergtr58: Love the Pretenders but this is the last song i ever listen to by em. How bout "Only Human" from Viva El Amour?
I'll second that. These guys & gal have so many good good better songs, especially on their first three albums; this song just seems to me like calculated pop candy that they tacked onto their first album to ensure some FM airtime outside the college stations.
Originally Posted by webman: This is a multifaceted song which can be interpreted on a variety of philosophical and conceptual levels. Don't be too quick to dismiss it because of its seemingly banal surface. On one level, I see it as a metaphor for the spiritual deterioration of modern civilization. "Gonna use my arms / gonna use my legs" -- sheer sensuality at the expense of the soul.
That's funny. Anyway I've never understood restricting musical enjoyment based on a songs philosophical depth (or lack there-of). There's music to be admired as timeless and priceless, music to be simply enjoyed and not taken seriously, and certainly muisc to turn off as unappealing. For me this falls into the simpy enjoy category.
Originally Posted by redbird: Okay, I'll bite. I've always considered the lyrics no more than banal pop-rock drivel --if you can explain their metaphorical content in more detail, I'll reserve my very low rating for this piece o' crap until after hearing your view. :)
This song is only good because Chrissie is not a sex bomb. Take the lyrics as coming from someone who has almost none of the confidence the singer is trying to put forth. In that case, it becomes more about self-actualization and less about boy-meets-girl. I always imagined this conversation taking place in her head. She says it to herself every morning and every time she sees a guy she likes, but never actually says anything to anyone. Works for me. See also: "Painting Her Fingernails" by Shel Silverstein.
This is by far the worst song on what\'s otherwise a pretty good album When it came out in 79 or 80 it was pretty cutting edge and a definite relief from the disco years. Try playing \"Precious\".
Originally Posted by webman: This is a multifaceted song which can be interpreted on a variety of philosophical and conceptual levels. Don't be too quick to dismiss it because of its seemingly banal surface. On one level, I see it as a metaphor for the spiritual deterioration of modern civilization. "Gonna use my arms / gonna use my legs" -- sheer sensuality at the expense of the soul.
Okay, I'll bite. I've always considered the lyrics no more than banal pop-rock drivel --if you can explain their metaphorical content in more detail, I'll reserve my very low rating for this piece o' crap until after hearing your view. :)
This song (and most others by the Pretenders) is right up there on my all time list of songs I could care less if I never heard again. Others include: Stairway to Heaven and Layla. I just never got the pretenders..
i hate this song.