Thanks to msjadeli (Lisa) for suggesting The Black Keys.
Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys describes a Ten-Cent-Pistol as “this low-rent, heinous substance that disfigures you, like homemade napalm.” In the song, a woman takes revenge on her cheating man and his mistress by throwing the acid on their faces.
This was on the 2010 album Brothers. The album peaked at #3 in the Billboard Album Charts, #4 in Canada, and #29 in the UK
Another definition for Ten Cent Pistol is Drugs (usually heroin) laced with lethal amounts of poison. Arsenic is common. Used as revenge against addicts and dealers alike.
The song is smooth and I love his voice…it sounds old…it sounds like his voice is coming out of a 1950s radio yet the music is not. It would have fit on the Pulp Fiction soundtrack easily.
From Songfacts
This was one of 10 songs from the Brothers album that The Black Keys recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in Sheffield, Alabama. From 1969-1978, the studio was owned by the famous Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, who recorded classic tracks like “I’ll Take You There” and “Old Time Rock And Roll” there. In 1999, Noel Webster bought the studio and eventually re-opened it. The Black Keys, in search of a classic southern studio and a vintage Soul sound, booked the place for two weeks, and spent 10 days in the area before heading back to Akron, Ohio, which seemed cosmopolitan by comparison. There’s no real nightlife in Muscle Shoals, so artists quickly get down to business, which is what Auerbach and Carney did, setting up at 10 a.m. and using an array of old instruments.
Mark Neill, who produced this track with the band, discussed the instrumentation on this song in a track-by-track on The Black Keys Fan Lounge: “Ten Cent Pistol is a slightly jazzy tune with very Ethiopian sounding 12 string guitar on it. It’s a cheap Harmony 12 string. It sounds like a lot of that incredible African guitar sound, incredible sounds out of simple instruments. It reminds me a lot of that. Two different groups come to mind that had a feel that reminds me of this. The 12 string lead on it reminds me of something very African.
We started the record with my Rickenbacker, I have a custom Rickenbacker, so the first demos were done with that. The sounds he [Dan] gets out of his Harmony’s is incredible. I don’t think there was any conscious decision officially, but I know we both agreed the sound he gets out of his Harmony’s is unbelievable.
I would say, other than ‘These Days,’ you are hearing his two Harmony guitars. And there are a few instances of a Supro guitar, which he gets a really unique sound out of. All of the recording gear at Muscle Shoals including the 1956 Gretsch drums, bass, guitar amp are from Soil of the South (Neill’s collection of vintage equipment). Dan and Pat brought congas, and various electronic keyboards as well as Dan’s guitars as well as a Music Master Fender bass amp for fuzz!”
The Black Keys
Well he ran around
Late at night
Holding hands
Making light
Of everything that came before
But there she was behind the door
She hit them with her ten cent pistol
Because they ruined her name
Well she hit them with her ten cent pistol
And they’ve never been the same
There’s nothing worse
In this world
Than pay-back from a
A jealous girl
The laws of man, they don’t apply
When blood gets in a woman’s eye
Well she hit them with her ten cent pistol
Because they ruined her name
Oh she hit them with her ten cent pistol
And they’ve never been the same, same
Stars did fall
Thunder rolled
Bugs crawled back
In their holes
The couple screamed, but it was far too late
Her jealous heart did retaliate
She hit them with her ten cent pistol
Because they ruined her name
Well she hit them with her ten cent pistol
And they’ve never been the same
Oh the same
All the same
Never been the same
I don’t know their music and for a moment mixed them up with Black Eyed Peas! 🙂
In any case, listening to the great sound of this tune makes me curious to hear more of The Black Keys.
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Oh yea big difference! I like their stuff…I’d never heard this one before until Lisa pointed it out.
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The black Keys have some great stuff, huh? I like a lot of their earlier stuff (their EP of Junior Kimbrough tunes is a favourite).
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They really do…they sound old but modern at the same time.
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Especially on the older albums when the production and sound was a bit more ‘off the floor’.
Related: hHave you heard any of the stuff from Dan’s label? I really fell hard for a few of the releases on there – my favourite being Early James.
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I do like the rawer sounds.
No I haven’t but I want to hear some of it.
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Do you like Left Lane Cruiser at all?
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I’ve never heard them before…just looked them up…sounds really cool…from the songs I hear they have a great bar band sound…which I was in one for years so I love that sound.
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They’ve been a real favourite of mine over the last few years.
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I just put them on my playlist…appreciate it.
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This is my first time listening to this tune and I like the guitar sounds.
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I do also…and his voice
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they have/had a pretty decent throwback sound. Blue Jays used one of their songs (I forget what it’s called now) for their advertising campaign back 8 or 9 years ago.
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That sound is what attracted them to me.
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Thanks for the nod, Max 🙂 This is the first song I heard of theirs, on pandora radio. I was shocked to learn this was a modern song. I love the info you found on the song and how it was recorded. So pleased it was recorded at Muscle Shoals. Makes me love the song all the more. And the info on the drug term gives it a whole new spin! Wonderful post, my friend.
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Thank you Lisa…it was my pleasure. That is one I didn’t have to think of… I am going to try one from Alabama Shakes soon.
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You’re welcome.
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I’ve heard of The Black Keys. Haven’t thought about them in years. Good track. Very retro sounding.
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Brothers is a really good record – always my go-to for the band.
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I know songs more but I’ve liked what I’ve heard from them…they get such a great great sound.
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Heard some of this stuff on local crap radio. Some neat sounds originate from these guys.
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I just learned something accidentally… After Carney had so much trouble with that wife, I just read where he married singer/songwriter Michelle Branch. I LOVE her! Cool paring!
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I had no clue either! Well glad he is happy.
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These guys are good. Big Earl (son) got me into them. Been listening to them lately. J has lots of good stuff to say about them.
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They throw together past and present in a great way.
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I’m still catching up. Stuck in the early stuff.
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Love The Black Keys. I’ll never forget when I first saw them make their TV debut on Conan. Blew my socks off and have been a fan ever since!
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I love their rawness and lack of big production…
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