Velocity Girl (song)
"Velocity Girl" is a song by British alternative rock band Primal Scream, originally released as the B-side to their second single, "Crystal Crescent", in 1986. Shortly preceding its release, Primal Scream’s frontman, Bobby Gillespie, left his post as the drummer of The Jesus and Mary Chain, recording only one album with them, the influential noise pop release Psychocandy (1985). Disentangled from their major label "whirlwind", he resumed activity with the lesser known Primal Scream, proceeding to, as Pitchfork Media later described it, "reduce the pop song to its subatomic essence: quick, breezy, quirky, and above all, exquisitely small" with "Velocity Girl". The band also recorded a slightly longer version with a second verse for Janice Long in July 1986. The song was partly inspired by the actress, model and Warhol superstar Edie Sedgwick. The NME magazine decided to include it as the first track on their C86 cassette later on in 1986, a collection of tracks from indie bands from British independent record labels. The cassette turned out to be very popular and influential, being later released as a separate, coupon-attained vinyl album and inspiring the nickname "C86" for mid-1980s indie pop music with an emphasis on jangle guitars. Pitchfork