Knocking at Your Backdoor: Deep Purple's Naughtiest Riff Exposed

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Welcome back to our Bust the Windows Out Your Car Music Uncensored podcast,
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the podcast where we don't just listen to the music, we drag it into the passenger
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seat, lock the doors, turn the volume all the way up, and find out what the
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hell these people were actually singing about.
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I'm your host, Lex, your merry motel diva, music lover, professional overthinker
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of lyrics, and the woman who will absolutely ruin an innocent-sounding classic
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rock song by telling you what it really means.
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And baby, today Deep Purple has handed me a gift, because our song is called
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Knocking at your back door.
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Yes, that is really the title, and no, it does not mean somebody forgot their house key.
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But before we get started knocking on anybody's doors, let's talk about last week's episode.
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Last week, we went straight into the shadows with Red Ryder's Lunatic Fringe,
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and that song was a completely different kind of dark.
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We talked about the extremism, people operating from the shadows,
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and that feeling that something dangerous can be growing around you while everyone
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else is pretending not to notice.
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The song's message still feels disturbingly relevant decades later.
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What I loved about Lunatic Fringe is that it doesn't need to scream its message
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at you. It creeps. It warns. It basically says, we see you.
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That sinister guitar, Tom Cochran's voice, and the slow build makes the song
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feel like somebody is following you down a dark street.
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It was serious. It was unsettling. It made us think. And now apparently we're
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following that up with Deep Purple's talking about somebody's back door.
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Welcome to a Bust the Windows Out Your Car music uncensored podcast.
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We contain multitudes.
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Music news. Victoria's Secret announces its 2026 performers.
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The 2026 Victoria's Secret fashion show is bringing some serious star power.
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Cat's Eye, Megan Thee Stallion, Tate McRae, and Megan Maroney have been announced
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as the show all-female musical lineup.
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The show is scheduled for October 18th in Los Angeles, marking a move to the
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West Coast after two years in New York.
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The lineup is actually wild because look at the genres represented here.
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You've got K-pop influence, global pop was Cat's Eye, you've got Megan The Stallion
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bringing hip-hop, Kate McRae bringing pop, and Megan Maroney bringing country.
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Victoria's Secret basically said, everybody gets a playlist.
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And Megan The Stallion at the Victoria's Secret fashion show?
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Baby, those wings better be reinforced.
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Former American Idol contestant convicted of murdering his wife.
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Our second story takes a very serious turn.
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Former American Idol contestant and Ohio pastor Caleb Flynn have been found
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guilty in the killing of his wife Ashley Flynn.
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Prosecutors said Flynn shot his wife twice while she was sleeping and then attempted
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to make the scene look like a home invasion.
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Prosecutors also presented digital evidence and messages connected to an extramural relationship.
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His defense disputed the prosecution's case including pointing to the absence
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of the murder weapon and his attorney has indicated an appeal is planned.
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Flynn has appeared briefly on American Idol in 2013.
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This is obviously a tragic story far beyond entertainment news.
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A woman lost her life and a family has been permanently changed.
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So we're going to leave that story there and move on.
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Now, this was the night. The 2026 MTV Music Awards took place September 27th
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at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles with Snoop Dogg hosting.
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And who opened the show? Madonna. Because apparently the Queen said,
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children, let me show you how this is done.
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It marked Madonna's first live VMA performance in 23 years.
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The performance lineups stretch all over the music map, including Lisa,
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Gunny, Rave, Shambuzy, General, Young Lean, and others.
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And that is one thing I will always give the VMAs.
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You can go from pop to rap to K-pop to rock to something you have absolutely
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never heard before all in the same show. That's MTV.
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Deep Purple, Knocking at Your Back Door. Alright, lock the door,
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or lock the front door, check the side door, because apparently Deep Purple
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has chosen another entrance.
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Let's get into some history first.
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Knocking at Your Back Door comes from Deep Purple's 1984 album,
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Perfect Strangers, and this album was a big deal.
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Perfect Strangers reunited Deep Purple's classic Mark II lineup.
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Eon Gillian on vocals, Richie Blackmore on guitar, John Lord on keyboards,
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Roger Glover on bass, and Ian Pace on drums.
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The song was written by Richie Blackmore, Ian Gillian, and Roger Glover with
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Deep Purple and Glover Producing.
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Perfect Strangers became a major comeback album, reaching number 5 on UK's album chart.
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Knocking At Your Back Door later reached number 68 on the UK chart in 1985,
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but chart numbers don't really tell you why this song survived.
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Listening to that opening, John Lord's keyboard starts building the atmosphere,
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then Blackmore's guitar comes walking into the room.
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Then the rhythm section gets underneath everything. And finally,
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Ian Gillian arrives like, okay, everybody comfortable?
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Great, let's talk about sex. Because yes, that's where we're going.
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What this song is actually about, on the surface, we got stories about women named Lucy and Nancy.
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We got dancers, samurai, aristocracy, Bentley's diplomacy. Sounds sophisticated, right? No.
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The lyrics are packed with sexual double and tendras, and the central backdoor
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metaphor is sexual, very sexual.
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Specifically, the title has long been understood as referring to anal sex.
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So when Gillian keeps singing about something knocking at your backdoor,
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he isn't waiting for you to answer the ring camera.
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This is why this show is called A Bust the Windows Out Your Car Music Uncensored
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Podcast, because somebody had to tell you.
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Lyrical Breakdown. Sweet Lucy was a dancer, but none of us would chance her
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because she was a samurai.
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Okay, immediately, Lucy isn't being presented as a delicate or innocent.
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Calling her a samurai paints her as intimidating, powerful, and maybe even dangerous.
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Basically, Lucy isn't somebody you're going to casually walk up to with a vodka
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cranberry and a pickup line. You're going to need a strategy.
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She made me electric shadows beyond her fingertips, and none of us could reach that high.
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Now we start getting into that larger-than-life image. Lucy is desirable, but she's out of reach.
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Everybody sees her. Everybody wants her. Nobody thinks they can actually get
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her. And that sets up one of the biggest themes in this song, the chase.
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She came on like a teaser. I had to touch and please her. Enjoy a little paradise.
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And there goes Sublady. Goodbye.
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The attraction becomes physical. This isn't romance. Nobody's writing flowers.
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Nobody's writing poetry. This is lust, pure and simple.
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Then we get the next image involving what is in his pocket and Lucy meeting the rocket. Sir. Sir.
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Deep Purple knew exactly what they were doing. They are some metaphors that
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require literally analysis. This is not one of them.
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Pre-chorus, it's not the kill, it's the thrill of the chase.
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This is probably the line that explains the entire song. The narrator isn't
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fascinated only by sex, he's fascinated by pursuit.
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The excitement comes from chasing someone who seems difficult to obtain.
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Lucy is the challenge, and catching her becomes the game. Which leads us directly into that chorus.
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Feel it coming, it's knocking at the door.
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Here we go. The central metaphor arrives, something is coming,
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something is knocking, and apparently running isn't going to help.
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The point of no return, and now you know the score.
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Once you understand the sexual meaning behind the song, this chorus changes completely.
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Because the first name you hear it, you might think maybe this is about temptation,
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danger, some inevitable force coming after you.
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Then somebody explains the title and suddenly you're sitting there going, oh, oh.
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And that's part of why this song works. Deep Purple buried something extremely
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naughty inside the dramatic, muscular, hard rock song.
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Enter Sweet Nancy. Lucy exits.
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Nancy enters, and apparently Nancy is fancy. Sweet Nancy was so fancy to get
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into her pantry had to be the aristocracy.
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I know I'm saying that fucking wrong, but sorry, I can't say it.
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The pantry, deep purple, stop it.
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Nancy is being portrayed as an upper class and exclusive.
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You don't simply walk into Nancy's world. You need credentials,
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status, maybe references.
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Apparently Nancy has a very strict guest list.
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The members that she toyed with at City Club were something to diplomacy.
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Now we're surrounded by society people, important people, men with status,
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and once again, the song makes the woman seem difficult to reach,
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which brings us back to the chase.
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And then we get one of my favorite ridiculous double entendres,
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a common cunning linguist, a master of many tongues. Come on.
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Cunning linguists, say it slowly. Deep Purple was not even trying to behave anymore.
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A master of many tongues, let's...
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Lex officially has nothing further to add. The prosecution rests.
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Now she eases gently from her Austin to her Bentley. Suddenly she feels so young.
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There's a class imagery here again. Movement from ordinary to luxurious...
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Underneath all of that sophisticated worrying is still the same sexual joke.
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That's what makes this lyric hilarious.
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They dress everything up. Samurai, aristocracy, diplomacy, Ben Lee.
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It sounds like we're discussing international relations. Meanwhile,
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the song is basically whispering sex.
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Back to the chorus. And now the chorus comes back. The knocking returns. The chase continues.
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But because we've got through Nancy's verse, the double meaning is impossible to ignore.
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That repeated phrase, knocking at your back door, because the punchline around
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which the whole song revolves, and somehow Ian Gillian sings it with such conviction
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that if you're not listening carefully, you can completely miss the joke.
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Lucy returns. Then we return to sweet Lucy, and there's an important little change.
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Earlier, none of them could reach that high. Now one of them could.
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Well, congratulations, sir.
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Apparently somebody completed the mission.
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And then another subtle change happens. Earlier, the narrator noticed the smile
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on her face. Near the end, the smile is on his face.
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That shift tells you everything. The chase has ended. The narrator got what
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he wanted, and now he's satisfied.
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The music itself. Now, here's what I love about this song. If you completely
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remove the lyrics, this would be a monster deep purple track.
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Richie Blackburn gives the song that heavy guitar presence without rushing it.
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John Lord's keyboards makes everything sound bigger and darker.
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Roger Glover and Eon Pace give the song this massive foundation underneath.
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And Gillian doesn't sing it like it's some goofy novelty song. That's important.
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He commits. The music sounds serious. The lyrics are winking at you.
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The contrast is what makes the whole thing work. It's dirty without sounding
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cheap. Ridiculous without being parody.
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And unmistakably de-purple.
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Bust a window or roll it up. Alright, season 3 means it's time for our final
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question. Are we busting the window or are we rolling that thing right back up?
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For Deep Purple's knocking at your back door, bust in the fucking window.
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Come on, the riff alone deserves property damage.
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This is a classic rock with swagger, musicianship, humor, and enough double
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entrandas to keep this podcast employed for another season.
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Music on center score? Music, 9 out of 10. That classic deep purple sound is all over this thing.
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Vocals, 9 out of 10. Eangelion knows exactly how to sell these ridiculous lyrics
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without turning the song into a joke.
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Lyrics, 9.5 out of 10. Not because they're profound, because they are absolutely
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shameless. Cunning linguist, sir, you knew.
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Replay value, 9 out of 10. This is one of those songs that sounds even better
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once you understand the joke.
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Final music, uncensored podcast score, 9.1 out of 10. And yes, I bust a funky window.
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Outro and there you have it deep purple's knocking at your back door a song
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that starts sounding like a mysterious classic rock and ends with lex explaining
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sexual metaphors to everybody you're welcome,
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but that's exactly why we're here music isn't just melody sometimes there's
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history behind it sometimes there's heartbreak sometimes there's politics sometimes
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there's poetry and sometimes apparently there's somebody knocking at the back door,
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and has been i bust Windows Out Your Car Music Uncensored podcast.
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I'm your host Lex, your married motel diva, your music detective,
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and apparently now your official interpreter of Dirty 1980 Rock Lyrics.
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Thank you for riding with me, thank you for listening, and thank you for continuing
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to make season 3 bigger, louder, and more uncensored.
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Until next time, keep listening, keep questioning the lyrics,
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keep discovering the stories behind the songs, and remember,
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sometimes when somebody says they're knocking at their back door,
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do not open it until you know what they mean.
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I'll see you next time. on the Bust the Windows Out Your Car Music Uncensored
00:13:16.501 --> 00:13:18.089
podcast. Love and beauty to you.