Kim Deal explains how Willy Wonka inspired The Breeders’ hit ‘Cannonball’
Finding her role in the Pixies creatively unfulfilling, Kim Deal formed The Breeders with Tanya Donelly from Throwing Muses as an outlet for her own ideas. With the help of Britt Walford of Slint and Josephine Wiggs from The Perfect Disaster, the band were ready to release their debut album, Pod, in 1990.
The record was a success, hitting number 22 on the UK Album Charts. It was cited as a source of inspiration by the likes of Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain, the latter of whom commented: “The way they structure [the songs is] totally unique, very atmospheric.”
Three years later, with several lineup changes, The Breeders released Last Splash, which hit number five in the United Kingdom, with its single ‘Cannonball’ becoming an alternative hit. While the band have released three more albums and several EPs since then and even had their song ‘S.O.S’ sampled by The Prodigy in ‘Firestarter’, ‘Cannonball’ remains their best-known track.
Talking to Steve Harris, Deal explained the meaning behind the iconic song. “My sister was reading a biography on the Marques De Sade. And I’m making fun of him. I’m saying: ‘Oh, you little libertine! You’re a real cuckoo!… if you wanna go to hell… Come on! Let’s go to hell! Don’t just jump in… do a cannonball! And you know what? I’m gonna be right behind you…I’m gonna be the last fuckin’ splash. It’s a commitment to hell, I guess.”
The song is noted for its impeccable bassline performed by Deal, as well as her whirring “Ohh ohh” vocals at the beginning. During an interview with Triple J, Deal revealed, rather unexpectedly, that this was inspired by the Oompa Loompas from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
She explained: “I knew I wanted to do that through the song, it’s like a… [sings the ‘Oompa Loompa’ song], you know that Willy Wonka thing… Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. There’s like Oompas walking around, like a working man working the chain gang kind of sound, isn’t it?”
Deal continued: “I don’t know, it’s just got kind of a nice ridge to it; it swells a little bit.”
The surprising inspiration helped bring the song to life, forming one of the most iconic alternative rock hits of the 1990s. These vocal harmonies add the perfect amount of tension to the song, welcoming the distorted guitars and Deal’s warping basslines. It was even accompanied by a music video directed by Spike Jonze and Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon.
