"Cough Syrup" is a song by American alternative rock band Young the Giant from their eponymous debut album. It was composed when the band was named The Jakes, and first appeared on their 2008 EPShake My Hand. Released by Young The Giant as a single in 2011, the song peaked at number three on the BillboardAlternative Songs chart.
"Cough Syrup" predates Young the Giant, when the band was known as The Jakes. The song appeared on the band's 2008 Shake My Hand EP, received regular airplay on KROQ's Locals Only radio program, and won a "Best Song" nomination at the 2009 OC Music Awards.[3][4]
Lead vocalist Sameer Gadhia explained that "Cough Syrup" was written at a time when the band was unsigned, had no money and "didn't really know what to do with [themselves]." The group, he continued, "felt somewhat oppressed by the universal expectation of what to do in Orange County...in suburbia in general. I think we really yearned to break out of that and do something a little bit different." Gadhia said the song is "kind of a cry for help" to "break free, not necessarily from oppression, but the common symptoms of suburbia like boredom, normality and homogeneity."
Bassist Payam Doostzadeh, in a 2011 interview, said that with "Cough Syrup" being the oldest song in Young the Giant's catalog, "it's kind of hard for us to play it." Doostzadeh added, "I mean, we've had it for four years and it's just now getting on the radio? But our fans don't know that."[5]
Music video
The music video for "Cough Syrup" debuted June 21, 2011 on MTV and played at the top of each music hour beginning at 6 a.m.[6][7] Directed by Petro, it features the band in an indoor swimming pool complex along with synchronized swimmers, fish tanks, glitter and fluorescent dyes.[8] According to Gadhia, the band "wanted more of a visual aspect to the music video because "My Body" was more of a narrative. We wanted something that would pop but still make thematic and artistic sense." The video concept, Gadhia said, centered on viscosity, "the friction of fluids and the obstacles that everyone, any object, has to face in order to evolve."[9]
Critical reception
Consequence of Sound's Caitlin Meyer, in a review of the Young the Giant album, wrote of the song: "Mellow guitar and cello contrast the sunny preceding tracks, the lyrics contemplate apathy and misdirection, and yet the chorus is still so compelling that you find yourself humming it hours later."[10] Both Chris Conaton of PopMatters and Eduardo Rivadavia of Allmusic described "Cough Syrup" as being stylistically similar to Coldplay's typical sound.[11][12] Conaton added that the song is "good, but it seems to follow the script on 'how to do anthemic rock' exactly."[11]Rolling Stone's Matt Ross called "Cough Syrup" an "album highlight",[13] while Chris White of musicOMH suggested the song is influenced by Kings of Leon.[14]
Cover versions and remixes
Darren Criss' character Blaine Anderson covered the song on the season three episode of Glee titled "On My Way" during a scene when closeted football player Dave Karofsky attempts suicide after being outed.[15] Young the Giant was satisfied with the song's placement in the show's suicide scene. "I don't think we ever had the intent of the song... in such a serious scene," Gadhia told Billboard. "It's very, very intense, very, very impactful, and we most definitely empathized with that. All of us have been victims of bullying -- and been bullies at some point in time. It's something that hits everyone."[16]
Ra Ra Riot remixed "Cough Syrup" for Young The Giant's Remix EP, released in September 2011.[17]
The song was also covered by Melanie Martinez in Season 3 of the American version of The Voice during the Top 12 Live Performances episode. The song was again covered on The Voice in 2013 by Matthew Schuler, who at the time had gotten the fastest four-chair turn audition in The Voice history with the song.
* Sales figures based on certification alone. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
References
^ . FMQB. Archived from the original on 2013-03-22. Retrieved 2011-11-03.
^. Allaccess.com. Archived from the original on July 10, 2011. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
^Fakorski, Kelly Skye (2011-08-11). "Young the Giant Invites 300 Fans to Join VMAs Performance". The Orange County Register. Retrieved 2011-11-03.
^. OC Music Awards. Archived from the original on 2011-11-18. Retrieved 2011-11-03.
^Freedman, Peter (2011-09-29). "Young the Giant Grows Into Its Name". Dallas Observer. Retrieved 2011-11-03.
^. FMQB. 2011-06-20. Archived from the original on 2012-03-21. Retrieved 2011-11-03.
^Roa, Ray (2011-06-21). "Video: Young The Giant – 'Cough Syrup'". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 2011-11-03.
^Newman, Jason (2011-06-21). "Video Premiere: Young The Giant, 'Cough Syrup'". MTV. Retrieved 2011-11-03.
^ "The Grammys At Lollapalooza With Young The Giant And DJ Lady D". Grammy.com. 2011-08-22. Retrieved 2011-11-03.
^Meyer, Caitlin (2010-12-21). "Album Review: Young the Giant – Young the Giant". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 2011-11-03.
^ abConaton, Chris (2011-02-21). "Young the Giant: Young the Giant". PopMatters. Retrieved 2011-11-03.
^Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Young the Giant - Young the Giant Album Review". Allmusic (Rovi Corporation). Retrieved 2011-11-03.
^Ross, Matt (2011-05-05). "Reviews: Young the Giant - Young the Giant". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2011-11-03.
^White, Chris. "Young The Giant - Young The Giant : Album Reviews". musicOMH. Retrieved 2011-11-03.
^Votta, Rae (2012-02-21). "'Glee's Max Adler on Karofsky's Suicide Attempt in Bold Episode". Billboard (Nielsen Company). Retrieved 2012-04-04.
^Graff, Gary (2012-02-22). "Young the Giant Happy With 'Glee' Moment". Billboard (Nielsen Company). Retrieved 2012-04-04.
^Kaufman, Gil (2011-09-21). "Young The Giant Psyched About Their VMA Bump". MTV. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
^"Young the Giant Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
^"Young the Giant Chart History (Canada Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
^"Archivio - Top Digital Download - Classifica settimanale WK 15 (dal 09-04-2012 al 15-04-2012)" (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Archived from the original on October 26, 2013. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
^"Young The Giant - Cough Syrup" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
^"Young The Giant – Cough Syrup" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
^"Young the Giant Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
^"Young the Giant Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
^"Young the Giant Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
^"Young the Giant Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
^"Young the Giant Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
^"Best of 2011 - Alternative Songs 21-30". Billboard.com. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
^"Classifica annuale 2012 (dal 02.01.2012 al 30.12.2012)" (in Italian). FIMI. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
^"Best of 2012 - Alternative Songs 11-20". Billboard.com. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
^"Best of 2012 - Rock Songs 21-30". Billboard.com. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
^"Canadian single certifications – Young the Giatnt – Cough Syrup". Music Canada.
^"Italian single certifications – Young the Giant – Cough Syrup" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Select "2012" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Cough Syrup" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
cough, syrup, song, 1996, song, butthole, surfers, electriclarryland, medicine, cold, medicine, cough, syrup, song, american, alternative, rock, band, young, giant, from, their, eponymous, debut, album, composed, when, band, named, jakes, first, appeared, thei. For the 1996 song by Butthole Surfers see Electriclarryland For the medicine see Cold medicine Cough Syrup is a song by American alternative rock band Young the Giant from their eponymous debut album It was composed when the band was named The Jakes and first appeared on their 2008 EP Shake My Hand Released by Young The Giant as a single in 2011 the song peaked at number three on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart Cough Syrup Single by Young the Giantfrom the album Young the GiantReleasedJuly 12 2011 radio 1 2 Recorded2008GenreIndie rock alternative rockLength4 10LabelRoadrunnerSongwriter s Sameer Gadhia Jacob Tilley Eric Cannata Francois Comtois Ehson HashemianProducer s Joe Chiccarelli Young the GiantYoung the Giant singles chronology My Body 2011 Cough Syrup 2011 Apartment 2012 Contents 1 Origins and lyrics 2 Music video 3 Critical reception 4 Cover versions and remixes 5 Charts and certifications 5 1 Weekly charts 5 2 Year end charts 5 3 Certifications 6 References 7 External linksOrigins and lyrics Edit Cough Syrup predates Young the Giant when the band was known as The Jakes The song appeared on the band s 2008 Shake My Hand EP received regular airplay on KROQ s Locals Only radio program and won a Best Song nomination at the 2009 OC Music Awards 3 4 Lead vocalist Sameer Gadhia explained that Cough Syrup was written at a time when the band was unsigned had no money and didn t really know what to do with themselves The group he continued felt somewhat oppressed by the universal expectation of what to do in Orange County in suburbia in general I think we really yearned to break out of that and do something a little bit different Gadhia said the song is kind of a cry for help to break free not necessarily from oppression but the common symptoms of suburbia like boredom normality and homogeneity Bassist Payam Doostzadeh in a 2011 interview said that with Cough Syrup being the oldest song in Young the Giant s catalog it s kind of hard for us to play it Doostzadeh added I mean we ve had it for four years and it s just now getting on the radio But our fans don t know that 5 Music video EditThe music video for Cough Syrup debuted June 21 2011 on MTV and played at the top of each music hour beginning at 6 a m 6 7 Directed by Petro it features the band in an indoor swimming pool complex along with synchronized swimmers fish tanks glitter and fluorescent dyes 8 According to Gadhia the band wanted more of a visual aspect to the music video because My Body was more of a narrative We wanted something that would pop but still make thematic and artistic sense The video concept Gadhia said centered on viscosity the friction of fluids and the obstacles that everyone any object has to face in order to evolve 9 Critical reception EditConsequence of Sound s Caitlin Meyer in a review of the Young the Giant album wrote of the song Mellow guitar and cello contrast the sunny preceding tracks the lyrics contemplate apathy and misdirection and yet the chorus is still so compelling that you find yourself humming it hours later 10 Both Chris Conaton of PopMatters and Eduardo Rivadavia of Allmusic described Cough Syrup as being stylistically similar to Coldplay s typical sound 11 12 Conaton added that the song is good but it seems to follow the script on how to do anthemic rock exactly 11 Rolling Stone s Matt Ross called Cough Syrup an album highlight 13 while Chris White of musicOMH suggested the song is influenced by Kings of Leon 14 Cover versions and remixes EditDarren Criss character Blaine Anderson covered the song on the season three episode of Glee titled On My Way during a scene when closeted football player Dave Karofsky attempts suicide after being outed 15 Young the Giant was satisfied with the song s placement in the show s suicide scene I don t think we ever had the intent of the song in such a serious scene Gadhia told Billboard It s very very intense very very impactful and we most definitely empathized with that All of us have been victims of bullying and been bullies at some point in time It s something that hits everyone 16 Ra Ra Riot remixed Cough Syrup for Young The Giant s Remix EP released in September 2011 17 The song was also covered by Melanie Martinez in Season 3 of the American version of The Voice during the Top 12 Live Performances episode The song was again covered on The Voice in 2013 by Matthew Schuler who at the time had gotten the fastest four chair turn audition in The Voice history with the song Charts and certifications EditWeekly charts Edit Weekly chart performance for Cough Syrup Chart 2011 12 PeakpositionCanada Canadian Hot 100 18 82Canada Rock Billboard 19 16Italy FIMI 20 11Netherlands Dutch Tipparade 40 21 2Netherlands Single Top 100 22 95US Billboard Hot 100 23 95US Adult Alternative Songs Billboard 24 18US Alternative Airplay Billboard 25 3US Hot Rock amp Alternative Songs Billboard 26 9US Adult Top 40 Billboard 27 28Year end charts Edit 2011 year end chart performance for Cough Syrup Chart 2011 PeakpositionUS Alternative Songs Billboard 28 302012 year end chart performance for Cough Syrup Chart 2012 PeakpositionItaly FIMI 29 72US Alternative Songs Billboard 30 15US Hot Rock Songs Billboard 31 29 Certifications Edit Region Certification Certified units salesCanada Music Canada 32 Gold 40 000 Italy FIMI 33 Platinum 30 000 United States RIAA 34 2 Platinum 2 000 000 Sales figures based on certification alone Sales streaming figures based on certification alone References Edit Modern Rock Available for Airplay Archive FMQB Archived from the original on 2013 03 22 Retrieved 2011 11 03 Top 40 Mainstream Radio Adds July 12 2011 Allaccess com Archived from the original on July 10 2011 Retrieved January 8 2012 Fakorski Kelly Skye 2011 08 11 Young the Giant Invites 300 Fans to Join VMAs Performance The Orange County Register Retrieved 2011 11 03 2009 Awards OC Music Awards Archived from the original on 2011 11 18 Retrieved 2011 11 03 Freedman Peter 2011 09 29 Young the Giant Grows Into Its Name Dallas Observer Retrieved 2011 11 03 Quick Hits MuchMusic Video Awards Selena Gomez AC DC amp Metallica Coldplay Cake Amy Winehouse Against Me Carnival Of Madness tour Red Bull Riot Fest POPPED Festival Young The Giant Mr Big Jimi Hendrix FMQB 2011 06 20 Archived from the original on 2012 03 21 Retrieved 2011 11 03 Roa Ray 2011 06 21 Video Young The Giant Cough Syrup Consequence of Sound Retrieved 2011 11 03 Newman Jason 2011 06 21 Video Premiere Young The Giant Cough Syrup MTV Retrieved 2011 11 03 The Grammys At Lollapalooza With Young The Giant And DJ Lady D Grammy com 2011 08 22 Retrieved 2011 11 03 Meyer Caitlin 2010 12 21 Album Review Young the Giant Young the Giant Consequence of Sound Retrieved 2011 11 03 a b Conaton Chris 2011 02 21 Young the Giant Young the Giant PopMatters Retrieved 2011 11 03 Rivadavia Eduardo Young the Giant Young the Giant Album Review Allmusic Rovi Corporation Retrieved 2011 11 03 Ross Matt 2011 05 05 Reviews Young the Giant Young the Giant Rolling Stone Retrieved 2011 11 03 White Chris Young The Giant Young The Giant Album Reviews musicOMH Retrieved 2011 11 03 Votta Rae 2012 02 21 Glee s Max Adler on Karofsky s Suicide Attempt in Bold Episode Billboard Nielsen Company Retrieved 2012 04 04 Graff Gary 2012 02 22 Young the Giant Happy With Glee Moment Billboard Nielsen Company Retrieved 2012 04 04 Kaufman Gil 2011 09 21 Young The Giant Psyched About Their VMA Bump MTV Retrieved 2012 04 04 Young the Giant Chart History Canadian Hot 100 Billboard Retrieved June 10 2022 Young the Giant Chart History Canada Rock Billboard Retrieved June 10 2022 Archivio Top Digital Download Classifica settimanale WK 15 dal 09 04 2012 al 15 04 2012 in Italian Federation of the Italian Music Industry Archived from the original on October 26 2013 Retrieved October 26 2013 Young The Giant Cough Syrup in Dutch Dutch Top 40 Retrieved 10 June 2022 Young The Giant Cough Syrup in Dutch Single Top 100 Retrieved June 10 2022 Young the Giant Chart History Hot 100 Billboard Retrieved June 10 2022 Young the Giant Chart History Adult Alternative Songs Billboard Retrieved June 10 2022 Young the Giant Chart History Alternative Airplay Billboard Retrieved June 10 2022 Young the Giant Chart History Hot Rock amp Alternative Songs Billboard Retrieved June 10 2022 Young the Giant Chart History Adult Pop Songs Billboard Retrieved June 10 2022 Best of 2011 Alternative Songs 21 30 Billboard com Retrieved January 23 2013 Classifica annuale 2012 dal 02 01 2012 al 30 12 2012 in Italian FIMI Retrieved 10 June 2022 Best of 2012 Alternative Songs 11 20 Billboard com Retrieved January 16 2013 Best of 2012 Rock Songs 21 30 Billboard com Retrieved January 16 2013 Canadian single certifications Young the Giatnt Cough Syrup Music Canada Italian single certifications Young the Giant Cough Syrup in Italian Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana Select 2012 in the Anno drop down menu Select Cough Syrup in the Filtra field Select Singoli under Sezione American single certifications Young the Giant Cough Syrup Recording Industry Association of America Retrieved October 28 2020 External links EditWatch the Cough Syrup video on YouTube Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Cough Syrup song amp oldid 1134296233, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
