“Movin’ On Up” wasn’t just a colossal step forward for the ever-evolving, and always cool Primal Scream. The song just showed how well styles as different as gospel and rock could be blended together. It is one of the greatest alternative songs of the 1990s.
Here’s a look at its story and lyrical meaning.
Primal Scream’s Journey to Making “Movin’ on Up”
Primal Scream was a concept more than it was a band first. Formed by Glasgow’s Bobby Gillespie under the encouragement of friend, Alan McGee, who would later form Creation Records, the band was meant to blend the sound of ubercool bands like The Byrds and Sex Pistols.
The band’s earliest, punk and shoegaze-inspired records didn’t convince many. However, Primal Scream was making moves on the late-night club circuit.
“Screamadelica” was created with the goal of bridging the gap between dance music and indie rock. It succeeded marvelously!
The Meaning of the Lyrics to “Movin’ on Up”
Primal Scream’s band members were, first and foremost, great fans of music and fantastic record collectors. The band’s dream had always been to incorporate their many influences. Ability and budgetary constraints had made this impossible in the band’s earliest days.
The idea of “Movin’ On Up” as a gospel-rock number seemed like a wild one. In fact, the whole blend of styles found on “Screamadelica” was a massive leap forward for a band that, years prior, was struggling to play Stonesy riffs with a punk attitude.
Bobby Gillespie says that he wanted the lyrics to be earnest, pure and to reflect the spiritual themes found in gospel songs. It’s a fitting start to an album that, for the most part, is about finding yourself through experimentation of various sorts. It’s a way to tell the world that Primal Scream had soul and the musicians weren’t just trying to score drugs on every occasion.
The lyrics: “I was blind, now I can see, you made a believer out of me“ may sound like they belong to a Church choir. But, instead, the lyrics are lifted from German cult-band Can and 1969’s song “Yoo Doo Right.” Gillespie’s always possessed great taste.
Gillespie later told NME: “I like country and soul and blues imagery, it’s very simple and direct, and it’s written in a language that anybody can understand. But it’s hard to write that simple because people will always want to complicate things to show of that they can, you know, they think they can write better than they actually can. It’s all about communicating and touching people.“
The Legacy of “Movin’ on Up” and of Primal Scream
“Screamadelica” gave Primal Scream the hit that Gillespie had wanted so much. The dance-rock record received near-universal praise from critics. It is a bona fide classic in the United Kingdom.
However, the recreational activities and drug taking, in particular, threatened to derail the band. It took years and millions of pounds for the group to record a follow-up.
BY the 2000s, however, the band was back on track and spearheading experimental indie rock. It’s something that the group has continued to do. And while Bobby Gillespie and Primal Scream may be greeted by many elder statesmen of the genre, the group continues to release strong, wildly adventurous records.
