Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCXCIII--The Ting Tings: That's Not My Name

My introduction to this week's tune came some years back one New Year's Eve when the Ting Tings were a guest on one of the countdown shows as I waited for the clock to strike up the New Year.  Couldn't begin to remember which show it was, but the song was one I knew I had to hear more of and I haven't come close to forgetting it since.

The Ting Tings formed in 2007 when Katie White and Jules De Martino bonded over the fact that they were both fans of Portishead.  With a friend they formed a band called Dear Eskimo, only to quit a short time later due to a dislike of their label's management style (theme for their career).  White got a job as a bartender at a club and she and De Martino formed the Ting Tings around an incorporation of sounds heard at the club.  They eventually landed another label deal and released their first LP in 2008.  It became a big hit and started them on path that lasts to this day, though commercial success has been scant since that first release.  For their career, the Ting Tings have released four LPs and have had a #1 album on the U.K. Albums chart.  They have also released ten singles and had two of them hit the top ten on the U.K. Singles charts, including one #1.  They have received two nominations for the Brit Awards and a Grammy nomination as well.  They released their latest album in 2018.

Fun Fact:  The Ting Tings were named for a coworker of White's at the aforementioned club whose name was, surprisingly enough, Ting Ting.  It supposedly sounds a lot like the Mandarin word for "bandstand," and also means "the sound of innovation on an open mind."  Alrighty, then.

"That's Not My Name" was released as the third single from their first album, We Started Nothing.  Both the album and the single reached #1 in the U.K. (so many cool kids across the pond!), while here in the States the song hit #39 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100 and the album #78 on the Billboard 200.

"That's Not My Name" started out as a rant by White over her anger at the recording industry...and became a nice slice of pop pie.  The song is a cornucopia of rhythm--the drums are prominent throughout and they make liberal use of (emaycee fave!) hand claps.  Even the vocals are delivered as if shot from a machine gun.  White sings with a fierce fury, evoking the determination of a woman who has been wronged for the last time.  There's a nice bridge where De Martino tosses out some sing song lyrics while White sings over it with a harmony that borders on the ethereal.  In the end, the Ting Tings make use of a plethora of musical styles--rock, electronica, rap, funk, dance--and engender a syrupy sweet pop gem.

Lyric Sheet:  "Holding back, everyday the same/Don't want to be a loner/Listen to me, oh no/I never say anything at all..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee