“I Want You” to Want Me

Finally, an excuse to pair Bob Dylan and Basement Jaxx together on a playlist!

1. Bob Dylan, “I Want You”
   “You don’t have it? That is perverse. Don’t tell anybody you don’t own fucking Blonde on Blonde“ (the line is at the 1:17 mark). Oh, I have it alright, JB. Three copies of it to be precise (none of them vinyl, sadly, but I have made it a habit of giving vinyl copies of it to turntable-enabled friends as wedding presents), and “I Want You” has always been one of my favorites. Dylan is more refreshingly direct than usual for him in ‘66, and I love the harp. Interesting theory behind the song on Wikipedia:

   It has been argued that the song is about Anita Pallenberg, at the time the girlfriend of Brian Jones, because of the line “Now your dancing child with his Chinese suit/ He spoke to me, I took his flute./ No, I wasn’t very cute to him”. Brian Jones was known to Dylan and they hung out when Dylan was in London. The relationship was amicable but also tense, ending up in a car chase and car crash (without any casualties) in the middle of the night. Jones used to wear a Chinese shirt at the time. Another line states that “time was on his side”, perhaps referencing a Rolling Stones song from 1964, called ‘Time is On My Side’.

   Interesting idea, no?

2. The Troggs, “I Want You”
   Some primal riffing from the 60’s British invasion. Sounds an awful lot like their biggest hit “Wild Thing,” not that there’s anything wrong with that.
3. Kelly Clarkson, “I Want You”
   Guilty pleasure alert: Look, I know that this slinky number was scientifically created in a Swedish songwriting lab, specifically designed to stimulate the cheese-pop center of my brain, and given to the American Idol winner with the most hispter cred (see Ted Leo’s cover of “Since U Been Gone”) in order to work its way into the maximum number of iPods. What can I say? It worked.
4. Basement Jaxx, “I Want U”
   The duo seems to have learned both spelling and sensual funk from Prince on this track from Rooty, and it serves them well. Jaxx’s futuristic blend of high-BPM house, funk & pop is unique and intoxicating. I’m unsure of the identity of the singer here, but the vocal cut & paste job leading into the choruses is amazing.
5. Massive Attack, “I Want You”
   A collaboration between the Bristol trip-hop progenitors and overrated Anglophile Madonna that only appeared on hits collections from both artists. 3D provides a rolling, perfect-for-4AM beat and peppers it with swaying orchestral beauty, and Madge, more than anything else, makes me miss Liz Fraser’s vocals. Still a good song, but it would have come out better with more help from Massive Attack’s usual suspects.
6. Kings Of Leon, “I Want You”
   I wasn’t a Kings of Leon fan until I first heard “Use Somebody” from their most recent album Only By The Night. Finally, I thought, they’d figured it out, toning down the wooziness of their southern-fried boogie and cranking up their arena-rock ambitions and knack for U2-ish hooks. Their “I Want You” is a slow-burning anthem, and it has just the right amount of cowbell.
7. Elvis Costello, “I Want You”
   Costello’s take on “I Want You” is the dark, tortured flipside of most of the rest of this list. Nicked from Blood & Chocolate, he and the Attractions spin a haunting yarn of obsession and desire.

Download: Bob Dylan, “I Want You” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Troggs, “I Want You” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Kelly Clarkson, “I Want You” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Basement Jaxx, “I Want U” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Massive Attack, “I Want You” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Kings Of Leon, “I Want You” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Elvis Costello, “I Want You” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download all the songs in a handy ZIP file:

Download: “‘I Want You’ to Want Me” (ZIP)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)