Buick Makane (Big Dumb Sex)

by **Soulmonster** Thu Aug 19, 2010 2:32 pm

BUICK MAKANE (BIG DUMB SEX)

Album:
The Spaghetti Incident?, 1993, track no. 7.

Written by:
Marc Bolan (T. Rex) and Chris Cornell (Soundgarden).

Musicians:
Vocals: Slash N' Axl
Lead & Rhythm Guitars: Slash
Rhythm Guitar: Gilby Clarke
Bass: Duff McKagan
Drums: Matt Sorum

Live performances:
'Buick Makane (Big Dumb Sex) has not been played live.

Lyrics:

Buick
Buick
Buick Makane will you
Buick Makane will you be my girl
Oh, be my girl

Rainy lady,
Queen of the rock will ya
Queen of the rock will ya
Help me roll
Help me roll
To my soul

Slider, slider
You're just a sexual glider
You're just a sexual glider
Be my plane
In the rain

[repeat first verse]

I said I know what to do
I'm gonna
fuck
fuck
fuck
fuck you
Fuck You
[repeat twice]

Quotes regarding the song

Slash, on singing:

The only reason I did it was I wanted to cover the song... and when Axl came in to do the vocals, he didn’t feel comfortable. So he called me into the studio and said, ‘Why don't you sing it?' The only reason I did it was because I wanted the song on the album.

Detroit Free Press, November 26, 1993

The song wasn’t quite right for Axl's voice so he asked me to sing it. But beyond that, I’m not the singing type. It’s probably my first and probably my last time singing. It came out OK, it’s just I hated doing it.

The Province, February 2, 1994

The fact that we got – you know, at least I got Buick Makane off my chest, a song that I used to listen over and over again. […] I hate hearing my own voice on the record. I can deal with the guitar aspect of it but – I mean, when we were recording it, I had the hardest time feeling comfortable in front of the microphone. Standing by yourself with no guitar, it’s not my forte. I don’t plan on doing it again though. There won’t be any Slash vocals other than backgrounds on the next Guns record. I promise you that. Famous last words or anything (laughs).

MTV, December 1993

So I had to sing it [laughs]. But the combination of the two songs and all that was… The song was more or less done and then Axl sang just real naturally over the end of it, and put the Soundgarden vocals there.

]Axl and Slash interview, Rockline 1994

Axl said, “Well, do you want to do that?” And I was like, “Okay,” and he says, “Why don’t you sing it?”

Musique Plus, January 1994

I won’t do it again if I can help it. I only did it that one time because Axl didn’t want to sing it. Beyond that, I’m not the singing type.

The Georgia Straight, February 11, 1994

[Axl] called me up at home and said, ‘Why don’t you sing it?’. And I was like, ‘Huh? Okay!’. I went down there and had the hardest time standing in front of the microphone without a guitar. But it got done, otherwise it wouldn’t have made it on the record. I don’t plan on doing any more taking cameo vocals, though!

Kerrang! March 21, 1994

I hate singing. I don't have the personality for it. I tried it on the T. Rex song on "Spaghetti Incident" because Axl didn't feel comfortable singing that song, so the only way it would make it on the record was if I did it. I freaked out and felt like I had to have a guitar hanging on my shoulder just to be able to stand there in front of the mike and sing.

Los Angeles Times, February 1995

I hate fucking singing. On tour right now I'm singing backup on one of Gilby's songs, which Is 'Cure Me Or Kill Me ...,' and I don't mind doing it. but I'm not what you'd call a focused singer. I can sing in key and everything, but it's like a distraction for me. I don't enjoy singing that much. I just do it to fill the gap.

Michigan Daily, April 17, 1995

I did it once with Guns N’ Roses, I sang on a T. Rex song (“Buick Mackane”) when we did that, what was it called, The Spaghetti Incident? record. That was because Axl was adamant that I should sing that particular song. I hid myself away behind iso booths and that’s the way I did it.

Ultimate Guitar, October 17, 2008

About the song:

The riff was very similar, if not the same. And I just thought it added something to it and… Plus, we really like the Soundgarden guys, and that particular song is, I think, a song that… I just consider a cult classic, whether it is or not. And it fit together with the T-Rex thing. And when we put the album together, Slash was a big fan of that particular T-Rex song, and I remembered that and I asked if he wanted to that on here as one more song. 'Cause I thought that would balance things out. And get something else out of the closet that was waiting to be recorded.

Axl and Slash interview, Rockline 1994

"Buick Makane", "Hair Of The Dog", and "I Don't Care About You" were my ideas.

]Guitar Player, January 1994

It's a real sexy song and the end gets kind of aggressive. And so an aggressive sexy song on top of that.

Axl and Slash interview, Rockline 1994

We never did talk to Soundgarden about doing 'Big Dumb Sex'. It was one of those spontaneous things. We were in the studio and it just sounded good.

Kerrang! March 1994

I suggested a T. Rex song. When we were first doing it, it was supposed to be like a punk rock covers record. That was what I was told. But then it just kind of became a covers record, and I did suggest T. Rex. Back then I was wearing a T. Rex T-shirt, like, every single day. Matt used to joke, "Okay, we got it, we got it. You've worn the shirt every day."

I didn't pick the song that we did, I just suggested doing a T. Rex song. I wanted to do "20th Century Boy" or "Children of the Revolution" or something. I don't know who came up with the song that we did ["Buick Mackane"]. And I did make the comment about the Nazareth tune ["Hair of the Dog"], because I always thought Axl sounded like the singer of Nazareth. Not even knowing that the band actually played that song way before I got in the band. It was a unanimous choice to do the Nazareth tune.

[...]It wouldn't have been my choice. I think it was the only song that Slash ever actually sang on. He did a lot of background vocals. He was very excited about that.

Songfacts, October 2013

I thought that was cool. I think we were definitely the youngest band on that record besides Guns n' Roses which is pretty great [chuckles].

Time Off, January 12, 1994

by **Blackstar** Fri Jul 26, 2019 10:29 pm

Chris Cornell on GN'R covering Big Dumb Sex:

Slash was eager to find out what the Seattle godheads thought of their treatment of the song. But he need not have concerned himself. "I thought that was cool," multi-octaved vocalist Chris Cornell enthused quietly. "I think we were definitely the youngest band on that record besides Guns n' Roses which is pretty great," he chuckled. [Time Off, January 12, 1994]
http://web.stargate.net/soundgarden/articles/timeoff_1-12-94.shtml

by **Soulmonster** Mon Sep 30, 2019 12:38 pm

Another quote from Slash on singing:

"I hate fucking singing. On tour right now I'm singing backup on one of Gilby's songs, which Is 'Cure Me Or Kill Me ...,' and I don't mind doing it. but I'm not what you'd call a focused singer. I can sing in key and everything, but it's like a distraction for me. I don't enjoy singing that much. I just do it to fill the gap." [Michigan Daily, April 17, 1995].

by **Soulmonster** Mon Apr 12, 2021 11:13 am

New quote:

The song wasn’t quite right for Axl's voice so he asked me to sing it. But beyond that, I’m not the singing type. It’s probably my first and probably my last time singing. It came out OK, it’s just I hated doing it.

The Province, February 2, 1994

by **Soulmonster** Wed May 26, 2021 6:25 pm

I did it once with Guns N’ Roses, I sang on a T. Rex song (“Buick Mackane”) when we did that, what was it called, The Spaghetti Incident? record. That was because Axl was adamant that I should sing that particular song. I hid myself away behind iso booths and that’s the way I did it.

Ultimate Guitar, October 17, 2008

Buick Makane (Big Dumb Sex)

Buick Makane (Big Dumb Sex)

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