Can't Stop Killing You

"Can't Stop Killing You" is a song by British singer and songwriter Kirsty MacColl, released in 1993 as the second single from her fourth studio album Titanic Days. It was written by MacColl and Johnny Marr, and produced by Victor Van Vugt and Baboon Farm.[1] The song reached No. 20 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks and remained on the chart for seven weeks.[2]

"Can't Stop Killing You"
Single by Kirsty MacColl
from the album Titanic Days
B-side"Touch Me"
"Fabulous Garden"
Released1993
Length4:12
LabelLiberation Records (Australia)
I.R.S. Records (US)
Songwriter(s)Kirsty MacColl
Johnny Marr
Producer(s)Victor Van Vugt
Baboon Farm
Kirsty MacColl singles chronology
"Angel"
(1993)		 "Can't Stop Killing You"
(1993)		 "Caroline"
(1995)

Background

Speaking of the song, MacColl told Dawn Eden of Videowave in 1993: "When I wrote the song, it was a very cinematic piece and the characters were like film characters to me. It wasn't a particularly autobiographical song." MacColl said of the lyrical message on abusive relationships: "People do have this terrible fear of being alone [and] that's why [they] get married and everything else, but there comes a point where you have to say 'Ok, well if this relationship's doing my head in all the time, why do you keep going back to it?'"[3]

Video

The song's music video was directed by Tim Hunter. MacColl told Videowave: "When we came to make the video, I wanted to do it like I'd seen it in my head. We got a couple of great actors in it and I was really pleased with the performances they gave. [The video's] quite funny in a way and it's sort of frightening as well. I think it's a weird combination of scary and crazy."[3]

Reception

Upon release, Andrew Boyd of the Reading Evening Post felt the song's melody "hints at [Johnny Marr's] Electronic work."[4] Jim Farber of New York's Daily News noted the song's "bold rock riff".[5] In a review of Titanic Days, Brenda Herrmann of the Chicago Tribune commented: "MacColl's one of the few songwriters that can occasionally latch on to bits of Elvis Costello-ian wit without seeming contrived, as in her single "Can't Stop Killing You"."[6]

Diana Valois of The Morning Call wrote: "Darkly wary, at times unsettling, MacColl's lyrics ritualize the memories of a past love ("Soho Square") or bear the mental and physical stigma of abuse ("Can't Stop Killing You")."[7] Mitch Schafer of The Tampa Tribune commented: "...and you'll likely be tapping your toes and singing along to "Can't Stop Killing You," before you realize it's about a serial murderer."[8] Steve Hall of The Indianapolis Star felt the song was a "cinematic rockers about a psychopath and one of his victims".[9]

Mirabella wrote: "On "Can't Stop Killing You," she explores a realm of quiet inner terror set on top of prickly rock 'n' roll guitars."[10] Ira Robbins of Trouser Press felt the song "sounds like an Anglofied Carly Simon classic".[11] Both Billboard and Neil McKay of Sunday Life considered the song a highlight from Titanic Days.[12][13]

Track listing
CD single (Australian release)
  1. "Can't Stop Killing You" - 4:12
  2. "Touch Me" - 3:34
  3. "Fabulous Garden" - 3:13
CD single (US promo)
  1. "Can't Stop Killing You" - 4:04

Personnel

Production

Charts
Chart (1993) Peak
position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart[14] 131
US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks[2] 20

References
  1. MacColl (1993-10-05). "Titanic Days - Kirsty MacColl | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  2. Billboard. "Kirsty MacColl Can't Stop Killing You Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  3. "1993 Kirsty MacColl Interview on Videowave". YouTube. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  4. Boyd, Andrew (11 March 1994). "Getting back to basics". Reading Evening Post.
  5. Farber, Jim (10 October 1993). "MacColl a 'Titanic' talent". Daily News.
  6. Herrmann, Brenda (25 November 1993). "Celestial standout". Chicago Tribune.
  7. Valois, Diana (6 November 1993). "Records". The Morning Call.
  8. Schafer, Mitch (19 November 1993). "Records". The Tampa Tribune.
  9. Hall, Steve (26 November 1993). "Nashville adds little to Eagles' best songs". The Indianapolis Star.
  10. "Mirabella - Google Books". 2010-03-17. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  11. "The Trouser Press Guide to '90s Rock: The All-new Fifth Edition of The ... - Ira A. Robbins - Google Books". Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  12. "Album Reviews". Billboard. 9 October 1993.
  13. McKay, Neil (3 April 1994). "Albums". Sunday Life.
  14. "Kirsty MacColl ARIA chart history, received from ARIA on 17 March 2020". Imgur.com. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
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