In Her American Circumstance

Lloyd Cole and the Commotions “Rattlesnakes”

“Rattlesnakes” is a sympathetic portrait of a woman Lloyd Cole appreciates but seems to barely understand. She’s cool and beautiful and intelligent, but terrified and cautious. He can glean the reasons why she’d feel anxious and under siege, but doesn’t want to presume too much. The song doesn’t indicate much in the way of lost or longing, which is part of why it’s so interesting – it’s all fascination and admiration for this lovely person who seems unknowable, untouchable, and aloof. Maybe Cole is a little bit romantically interested, but the implication is that he’d rather not be another complication in her life. The music is as prim, mannered, and careful as his subject, but also reflects repression on the part of the singer – it renders the moment as musically dramatic, but oddly inert. It’s all just observation and conjecture, and affection felt rather than expressed.

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Tori Amos “Rattlesnakes”

Tori Amos’ version of “Rattlesnakes” dives straight into the gap between Lloyd Cole’s perspective and the experience of the woman being observed. Amos does not necessarily shift the song to Jodie’s point of view, but her Rhodes electric piano arrangement and vocal performance suggest an intimacy that drastically shrinks the scope of the song. Cole’s grand arrangement with melodramatic strings made it feel like he was just watching this woman from a distance like she’s a character in a film, but Amos zooms in on her. She’s right there, a few feet away from you, living her life. Her stress feels more real, and you can see awkwardness in her affectations that just seem effortlessly stylish from a few yards away. Jodie is still something of a mystery, but Amos has a pretty good idea of who she is. There’s a weary tone in her voice, like she’s saying “yeah sister, I’ve been there.” When it comes down to it, the difference between these two versions of the same song is essentially the difference between sympathy and empathy. Both are positive qualities, but there’s just a lot more depth to the former.

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