Dark Desert Heat
"Vanilla World" thumps along with the smooth dark heat of a nighttime drive through the desert. The defining sound is Desert Poets Moving Company (DPMV)'s drummer's tom-toms, driving the song's beat forward like thunder. Second to the drums are DPMV's rockstar lead vocalist and southwestern guitar. The angsty rebellious spirit of "Vanilla World" almost belongs in a Quentin Tarantino movie, playing out of the stereo speakers of seductive gangsters and Southern California road warriors. "Mama said, Mama said, 'Oh girl, keep those men at bay/ Mama said, mama said, 'Oh girl, they'll give you nothing but pain/ Mama said, mama said, 'Oh girl, why are you living this way? / Mama said, Mama said, 'Oh girl, you should be ashamed!"