Central to Strange Time is the psychedelic seven-minute treatise on modern paranoia and social media addiction, “Them Apples”. Co-written with Viljam Nybacka, the song floats on glistening organ and bluesy guitar as Tomlinson contemplates how “even when we’re really here, half of us hangs in the air.” Guest vocalist Connie Chatwin (Sam Smith, dodie) takes up the choric role, playing the voices of morbid-yet-irresistible headlines, singing sweetly to him about SOS notes found in cheap clothes from Bangladesh and the Venetians losing their city to rising tides, dragging him deeper into the doomscroll. As the opus descends into a beautiful clutter of flute, sax and noodling guitar that mirrors his overwhelmed mind, Chatwin’s mellifluous tones turn into cackles as Tomlinson finds himself powerless to resist the screen, begging “talk to me world, tell me everything.”
lyrics
She goes to Newington Green to fetch rhubarb and clementines
At the table a feast
With all the things your eyes have been
Dreaming of eating
That flicker on your lips and you’re still alone
At this time of the year Them Apples are hard to find
Form a line down the street
And mind your Qs and Ps
And where you cough and you sneeze
Move along, stay away or I’ll get the police!
All the world was in my eyes
I didn’t see you passing by
And so everyday was the same
You know inside the museum infinity’s kept in exile
Did you hear the Venetians didn’t go green
Now the fishes are nipping at their knees
Isn’t that funny oh isn’t it a scream
Ti hee hee hee
Books rattle in their shelves trying to save themselves from the fire
Sticking notes down your sleeve
Written in Bangladeshi
Saying come save us, come help me!
S.O.S can you hear us on the high street?
I saw a statue begging with its body bare
I had to leave it standing there
And so every day was the same
Guru said to free your mind
It'll help you work the overtime
And so everyday was the same
Talk to me world…
Talk to me world, why won’t you talk to me?
Tell me everything
Talk to me world, why won’t you talk to me?
Tell me everything that’s going on
Looking out from deep inside
I began to realise
Flowers blooming in my hand
A window to the universe
Opening up, showing me everything
I stared endlessly at a screen
Like a rock, or a stone, or a slate, or a skull
And so everyday was the same
She goes to Newington Green to fetch brimstone and nightshade now
(Laughter)
We don't talk about monsters cos we know they listen out
Oh aren’t you sweet
All the things that we see
You do not need to speak
We thought you knew we see everything
Even when we’re really here, half of us hangs in the air
Even when we’re fast asleep, somewhere we labour in the deep
Even when we’re all alone, something stares back on us all
And so everyday was the same
Why won't you talk to me?
Tell me everything...
Talk to me world, why won’t you talk to me?
Tell me everything
Talk to me world, why won’t you talk to me?
Tell me everything that’s going on
credits
from Strange Time,
track released February 16, 2021
Them Apples by MF Tomlinson and Viljam Nybacka
Produced by MF Tomlinson and Viljam Nybacka
Recorded at Vacant TV Studios with Euan Hinshelwood and Richard Ian James, and at home, and at Rainy Studios
Mixed by Arie van der Poel
Mastered by Syd Kemp
Drums and congas by Ed Grimshaw
Bass, organ, acoustic guitar and additional vocals by Viljam Nybacka
Vocal section by Connie Chatwin
Flute and additional vocals Ami Koda
Guitar Solo by Angus James
Vocals, rhythm guitar and saxophone by MF Tomlinson
An eclectic singer/songwriter “who seems to use music as a means to excavate within the soul” - Clash. Primarily a
storyteller, MF Tomlinson negotiates styles as varied as acid folk, soul, alt country & chamber pop to create a singular presence. He achieves this genre fluidity with the help of a close-knit group of collaborators he calls “the MFs, because they’re all very talented motherfuckers.”...more
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