Goldfrapp – ‘A&E’
I think Goldfrapp are so underrated. I was anxious suggesting this song because I don't know what it is meant to be about. And the lyrics are really elliptical. I think she's describing herself being in A&E, but it's also quite joyful with an amazing vocal performance. And I think, for me, it's a very basic thing: it reminds me of friendship. For me, my test of friendship is: will they take you to A&E? Or will they pick you up from A&E? I remember messy evenings in my 20s where my friends did that for me, but those evenings stop as you get older. I feel very nostalgic about them. I miss the chaotic way things would unfold in your 20s, how you didn't have to plan things. People just turned up. All that stuff stops in your 40s because life gets so complicated. You have to plan things for weeks in advance. So many friends fall out of your life. But for me, it's very simply a beautiful song about friendship. Although she probably didn't mean it that way. I don't know what she meant by it. But it's got that happy sad thing which I probably am drawn towards.