Aviation (song)

"Aviation"
Single by The Last Shadow Puppets
from the album Everything You've Come to Expect
Released	16 March 2016
Length	3:43
Label	Domino
Songwriter(s)	Alex Turner Miles Kane
Producer(s)	James Ford
The Last Shadow Puppets singles chronology
"Everything You've Come to Expect" (2016) "Aviation" (2016) "Miracle Aligner" (2016)
Music video
"Aviation" on YouTube

"Aviation" is the third single by English band The Last Shadow Puppets from their second studio album, Everything You've Come to Expect. It was released on 16 March 2016 on Domino Records.^[1]

Background

In 2014, Kane and Turner were on the process of writing, what at the time, was thought to be Kane's next album. During one of those writing sessions, both "experimented with a vocal harmony" on a 8-track demo, which would later become "Aviation," this reminded them of their work on The Age of the Understament.^[2][3][4] The song was written in London, and Turner came up with the riff on New Year's Day.^[5]

The track, begins with an "echoing scrape of strings."^[6] Its first verse references sectoral heterochromia, an eye condition in which part of one iris is a different color from its remainder. Its second verse uses the term "coke-head close" to describe a woman, under the influence of the drug, loudly talking to the narrator. Turner wanted to use the word "Colorama" in a song since the first time he saw Michelangelo Antonioni's Blow-Up (1966), he described it as, "an unplugged neon light at the back of my mind for years,"^[7] about the line he added, "It doesn't make a ton of sense, but that's not really the point. "I think, not always, but sometimes it's good to just have the lyrics facilitate a melody, like, that's harder to do, [...] — getting the fuckin’ ‘I Am The Walrus’ shit right."^[8] Musically, the track's been described as coming closest to the "Lee Hazlewood-indebted style" of their first record.^[9]

Music video

The music video for "Aviation" features Turner and Kane digging holes on a beach as a man approaches in a car with a woman in bridal clothing. Kane turns and kisses the man, and a fight ensues before the woman runs down the beach and Turner and Kane are buried in the holes by the man's associates. The video serves as a prequel to the music video for "Everything You've Come to Expect".^{[10][11][12][13][14]}

The video was shot at Point Dume, Malibu. It was directed by Saam Farahmand and filmed in 16mm. Chung Chung-hoon served as DoP.^[15]

Personnel

The Last Shadow Puppets

• Alex Turner – electric guitar, lead vocals
• Miles Kane – lead vocals, acoustic guitar
• James Ford – drums, percussion, keyboards
• Zach Dawes – bass guitar

Additional personnel

• Owen Pallett – strings arrangement^[16]

Charts

Chart (2016)	Peak position
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[17]	150

References

1. "The Last Shadow Puppets reveal new track 'Aviation' ahead of second album release". NME. 16 March 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
2. Tyaransen, Olaf (8 June 2016). "Alex Turner talks to Hot Press about The Last Shadow Puppets and Tina Turner's thighs". Hot Press.
3. Grand-Pierre, Ken (15 February 2016). "The Last Shadow Puppets". QRO Magazine.
4. Ventura, Christina (11 March 2016). "15 Minutes With The Last Shadow Puppets". Sidewalk Hustle.
5. Eliscu, Jenny (1 April 2016). "The Last Shadow Puppets: interview Sirius XMU Sessions". Sirius XM.
6. Petridis, Alexis (24 March 2016). "The Last Shadow Puppets: Everything You've Come to Expect review – more a smirking in-joke than a band". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
7. McCormick, Neil (25 June 2016). "Last Shadow Puppets: 'Pop has become too predictable'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
8. Brennan, Collin (29 March 2016). "The Last Shadow Puppets and the Weight of Expectation". Consequence.
9. Perry, Kevin Eg (22 January 2016). "Alex and Miles' guide to the key tracks on the album - The Full NME Cover Interview". NME.
10. Monroe, Jazz (16 March 2016). "The Last Shadow Puppets Dig Their Graves in "Aviation" Video". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
11. Murray, Robin (16 March 2016). "The Last Shadow Puppets - 'Aviation'". Clash. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
12. Reeve, Joe (16 March 2016). "Music Video: The Last Shadow Puppets - Aviation". huhmagazine.co.uk. Archived from the original on 24 April 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
13. Smith, Dave (16 March 2016). "The Last Shadow Puppets serve up 'Aviation' video". live4ever.uk.com. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
14. Johnson, Laura (16 March 2016). "The Last Shadow Puppets Share Video For New Single Aviation". stereoboard.com. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
15. "NEW WORK: TLSP "EVERYTHING YOU'VE COME TO EXPECT"". Fixer Films. 10 March 2016. Archived from the original on 31 July 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
16. Helman, Peter (10 January 2015). "The Last Shadow Puppets – "Bad Habits Video". Stereogum. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
17. "CHART: CLUK Update 9.04.2016 (wk14)". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 April 2016.

External links

• "Aviation" official music video on YouTube