34 years after its release, and Lloyd Cole and The Commotions Rattlesnakes is still one of the best songs you will ever own — Repeat Rotation Video
When British indie pop band Lloyd Cole and The Commotions were at the height of their success back in the late 1980s, it always amazed me they were still unknown by most of the U.S.
After all, they were one of the most successful indie bands in the UK, with four Top 20 albums and five Top 40 singles. And their music was both something like you had never heard before, but also completely accessible and…fun.
Yet, in the United States, Lloyd Cole and The Commotions‘ music was only played on the most independent of alternative radio stations.
After the band’s break up in 1989, however, front man Lloyd Cole actually moved to the United States, married an American and established an independent music career.
Almost 30 years later, he is still in the U.S. and his music is still largely unknown by the vast majority of Americans. Tragic beyond belief as Cole writes the most unique music and music that, if most Americans heard, they would love.
In that vein, as my Repeat Rotation Video for today, I am listening to one of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions most well-known songs.
A track called ‘Rattlesnakes‘ from the band’s 7″ single. A song that was released in 1984 from the band’s debut album of the same name.
‘Rattlesnakes’ was the third single from the album, following the releases of ‘Perfect Skin‘ and ‘Forest Fire‘, and ended up at number 65 on the charts in the UK (it should have done much better), and at number 31 in the Netherlands.
The album itself received critically positive reviews, with one critic at the NME saying “Every song is instantly memorable”.
‘Rattlesnakes‘ itself is a track that is just as fresh and just as exciting today as it was when it was released over 30 years ago. And Lloyd Cole and The Commotions are still one of my favorite all-time bands.
Listen to Lloyd Cole and The Commotions’ ‘Rattlesnakes‘ as your Repeat Rotation Video today — on headphones, loud and dancing to that brilliant guitar, while enjoying gorgeously intelligent lyrics like:
Jodie wears a hat although it hasn’t rained for six days
She says a girl needs a gun these days
Hey on account of all the rattlesnakes
She looks like Eve Marie saint in on the waterfront
She reads Simone de Beauvoir in her American circumstance
And then go out and buy the song, or the album. Thirty four years since its release, and it will still be one of the best you have ever owned.
 Related: Listen to Lloyd Cole and The Commotions ‘Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken‘ — it’s gorgeous