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Play Dead (song)

April 26, 2023

"Play Dead" is a song by Icelandic singer-songwriter Björk, released as the only single from the soundtrack of the 1993 crime drama The Young Americans, starring Harvey Keitel. It was not included in the first edition of Debut but was later included as a bonus track, and the album was re-issued in November 1993.[2] The song was written by Jah Wobble, Björk featuring David Arnold, and was produced by Cannon, Arnold, receiving additional production and mixing by Tim Simenon.[3]

"Play Dead"
Single by Björk featuring David Arnold
from the album Music from the film The Young Americans and Debut (re-release edition)
B-side"End Titles/Play Dead"
Released11 October 1993 (1993-10-11)[1]
StudioWhitfield Street Recording (London)
Length3:56
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Björk singles chronology
"Venus as a Boy"
(1993) 		"Play Dead"
(1993) 		"Big Time Sensuality"
(1993)
Music video
"Play Dead" on YouTube

"Play Dead", inspired by the main character of the film, was released on 11 October 1993 and charted within the top 20 in Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. An accompanying music video was released, featuring images from the film. "Play Dead" was included in Björk's 2002 greatest hits album Greatest Hits.

Background and composition

 
"Play Dead"
In this part of the song, Björk reaches high notes on a base of lush strings.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"... I had written a song called 'Play Dead' for my very first film The Young Americans and I wrote that after seeing Tori Amos do a songwriter's showcase in London before she was well known. ... So I went home that night wanting to write a Tori Amos song, and I thumped out what became 'Play Dead'. "[4]

— David Arnold on how Tori Amos inspired the track

The song was co-written by Jah Wobble, Björk featuring David Arnold. Björk was asked to write the melody and lyrics for the song, while Wobble wrote the bass part and Arnold composed the score, which Björk described as a "greatest hits of what's in the film".[5]

Björk described the writing as "very difficult" because "the character in the film was suffering and going through hardcore tough times and at the time I was at my happiest".[5] To help her in the writing, she asked the film's director, Danny Cannon, to write her a whole page of phrases that represented the emotions of the characters in the film, but she used only one line that Cannon wrote: "Sometimes, it's just like sinking", and still she changed it to "It's sometimes just like sleeping" in the actual lyrics.[5]

The song is underscored by moody strings and its lyrics about acting numb to prevent emotional pain. Björk wrote it from the main character's point of view: "In the film, he had a girlfriend who just wanted him to be happy and in love and he just couldn't get his head around it. It was just me trying to imagine what he would say to her. Things he never actually said to her in the film but things he would have said to her".[5]

Produced by David Arnold and Danny Cannon, the song was originally a non-album track recorded for the film The Young Americans and intended as a single-only release, but eventually it was added as a bonus track to international pressings of Björk's album Debut because Björk's manager Derek Birkett convinced her to add the track. Björk also sings on the tracks "Opening Titles" and "Leaving London" on the soundtrack CD of the film. In both the film and soundtrack, "Leaving London" crescendoes into "Play Dead" as a single arrangement. In both the album and the single version, the song is actually a remix by Tim Simenon. After the addition of "Play Dead" on Debut, about 100 people who already owned the album without the bonus track, called the record company and complained, demanding to be given new records as compensation.[6]

The drums which the song is structured by are taken from the beginning of the 1977 song "Footsteps in the Dark" by The Isley Brothers, most famously used on Ice Cube's "It Was A Good Day", which was released earlier that year.

Critical reception

The track was well received by music critics. Derek Birkett described it as "one of the best things Björk’s ever done".[7] Alexis Petridis of Blender stated that it "boasts a chorus that’s both original and implausibly epic".[8] In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton wrote that it is "a haunting beautiful piece of music to rank alongside anything she ever did with the Sugarcubes and becoming a bigger hit than she ever had with her former band in the first place."[9] Pan-European magazine Music & Media noted that "the clamour of Iceland's siren is in the air again, beautifully floating above superb rhythm tracks. Highly original; there's nothing like this on the entire planet."[10] Tom Doyle from Smash Hits gave "Play Dead" four out of five, viewing it as "a grand sweeping groovy orchestral thing which sounds like an unhinged Bono theme and will make the hairs on the back of your neck tingle. Remarkable."[11] The Tech journalist Fred Choi, while reviewing Greatest Hits stated that the song is "compelling but lesser-known".[12] Mal Pearchey of Vox described it as "incredibly sophisticated after the eclectic drama of The Sugarcubes".[7]

Music video

 
Screenshot from the music video

The accompanying music video for "Play Dead" was directed by Danny Cannon, who also directed The Young Americans. In the video, Björk performs the song in an empty bar that is shown in the film. Her footage is intercut with scenes from the film that range from tenderness to violence. It was criticised because of its simplicity, with some pointing out it lacks the visual characteristics of other Björk videos. The video has been said to follow "the trends of MTV".[13]

Live performances

Björk performed the song in selected dates of her Debut Tour, and usually sang it during her Homogenic Tour, accompanied by a larger ensemble of strings. Björk's performance at the Union Chapel with the Brodsky Quartet was met with enthusiasm by The Guardian journalist Maddy Costa, that described the performance as a "Heavenly Experience" and, commenting the song's performance, stated that "reclaiming "Play Dead" from ad-land, the subdued volume and the Brodskys’ bristling tone brought out the fierceness of Björk’s words".[14]

Björk also performed the song during her Vespertine World Tour. The song has not been performed live since then.

Track listings

A. "Play Dead" (Tim Simenon 7-inch remix) – 4:00
B. "Play Dead" (Tim Simenon orchestral mix) – 4:01
  1. "Play Dead" (Tim Simenon 7-inch remix) – 3:57
  2. "Play Dead" (Tim Simenon orchestral mix) – 4:01
  3. "Play Dead" (Tim Simenon 12-inch remix) – 5:26
  4. "End Titles/Play Dead" (original film mix) – 3:52
  • UK and Australian CD single[19]
  1. "Play Dead" (Tim Simenon 7-inch remix) – 3:57
  2. "Play Dead" (Tim Simenon orchestral mix) – 4:01
  3. "Play Dead" (Tim Simenon 12-inch remix) – 5:26
  4. "Play Dead" (Tim Simenon instrumental) – 3:57
  5. "End Titles/Play Dead" (original film mix) – 3:52

Charts

Covers

A cover of the song appears on the special edition of the album Into by the Finnish band the Rasmus. It is available on many of their singles as well, including "Madness". In 2007, The Swedish band Pain covered the song on the album Psalms of Extinction.

Usage in media

A modified version of the song was also used in 1995 on the launch advert for the new Vauxhall Vectra, with the tagline "Designed for the next millennium".[36]

References

  1. ^ "Single Releases" (PDF). Music Week. 9 October 1993. p. 27. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  2. ^ . Archived from the original on 2 May 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  3. ^ . Archived from the original on 2 October 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  4. ^ "Interview with David Arnold".
  5. ^ a b c d . Archived from the original on 14 December 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  6. ^ . Archived from the original on 27 August 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  7. ^ a b Pearchey, Mal (1 December 1993). "New Björk, New Björk". Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  8. ^ Petridis, Alexis (11 May 2002). "Björk : Greatest Hits". Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  9. ^ Masterton, James (17 October 1993). "Week Ending October 23rd 1993". Chart Watch UK. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  10. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. 11 December 1993. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  11. ^ Doyle, Tom (15 September 1993). "New Singles". Smash Hits. p. 51. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  12. ^ Choi, Fred (5 November 2002). "Reinspiring Awe and Devotion". Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  13. ^ "Bjork and Her Music Videos: Visual Poetry". Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  14. ^ Costa, Maddy (11 December 1999). "A Heavenly Experience". Archived from the original on 18 July 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  15. ^ Play Dead (UK 7-inch single sleeve). Björk, David Arnold. Island Records. 1993. IS 573, 862 620-7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. ^ Play Dead (UK & Australian cassette single sleeve). Björk, David Arnold. Island Records. 1993. CIS 573, 862 620-4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  17. ^ Play Dead (European CD single liner notes). Björk, David Arnold. Mother Records. 1993. 859 893-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  18. ^ Play Dead (Japanese CD single liner notes). Björk, David Arnold. Mother Records. 1993. POCP-1385.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  19. ^ Play Dead (UK & Australian CD single disc notes). Björk, David Arnold. Island Records. 1993. CID 573, 862 621-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  20. ^ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 13 Mar 1994". ARIA. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  21. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  22. ^ "Bjork / David Arnold – Play Dead" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  23. ^ Danish Singles Chart. 14 January 1994.
  24. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 45. 6 November 1993. p. 17. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  25. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Björk". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 31. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  26. ^ "Bjork / David Arnold – Play Dead" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  27. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (25.11.1993 - 01.12.1993)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 25 November 1993. p. 20. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  28. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Play Dead". Irish Singles Chart.
  29. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 3, 1994" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  30. ^ "Bjork / David Arnold – Play Dead" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  31. ^ "Bjork / David Arnold – Play Dead". VG-lista.
  32. ^ "Bjork / David Arnold – Play Dead". Singles Top 100.
  33. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  34. ^ "Jaarlijsten 1994" (in Dutch). Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  35. ^ "Årslista Singlar, 2994" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  36. ^ "Original Vectra Advert". YouTube. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2011.

External links

    April 26, 2023
    play, dead, song, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, play, dead, song, news, newspapers, books, scholar. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Play Dead song news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2019 Learn how and when to remove this template message Play Dead is a song by Icelandic singer songwriter Bjork released as the only single from the soundtrack of the 1993 crime drama The Young Americans starring Harvey Keitel It was not included in the first edition of Debut but was later included as a bonus track and the album was re issued in November 1993 2 The song was written by Jah Wobble Bjork featuring David Arnold and was produced by Cannon Arnold receiving additional production and mixing by Tim Simenon 3 Play Dead Single by Bjork featuring David Arnoldfrom the album Music from the film The Young Americans and Debut re release edition B side End Titles Play Dead Released11 October 1993 1993 10 11 1 StudioWhitfield Street Recording London Length3 56LabelIsland MotherSongwriter s Bjork David Arnold Jah WobbleProducer s David Arnold Danny Cannon Tim SimenonBjork singles chronology Venus as a Boy 1993 Play Dead 1993 Big Time Sensuality 1993 Music video Play Dead on YouTube Play Dead inspired by the main character of the film was released on 11 October 1993 and charted within the top 20 in Denmark Iceland Ireland the Netherlands Norway Sweden and the United Kingdom An accompanying music video was released featuring images from the film Play Dead was included in Bjork s 2002 greatest hits album Greatest Hits Contents 1 Background and composition 2 Critical reception 3 Music video 4 Live performances 5 Track listings 6 Charts 6 1 Weekly charts 6 2 Year end charts 7 Covers 8 Usage in media 9 References 10 External linksBackground and composition Edit Play Dead source source In this part of the song Bjork reaches high notes on a base of lush strings Problems playing this file See media help I had written a song called Play Dead for my very first film The Young Americans and I wrote that after seeing Tori Amos do a songwriter s showcase in London before she was well known So I went home that night wanting to write a Tori Amos song and I thumped out what became Play Dead 4 David Arnold on how Tori Amos inspired the track The song was co written by Jah Wobble Bjork featuring David Arnold Bjork was asked to write the melody and lyrics for the song while Wobble wrote the bass part and Arnold composed the score which Bjork described as a greatest hits of what s in the film 5 Bjork described the writing as very difficult because the character in the film was suffering and going through hardcore tough times and at the time I was at my happiest 5 To help her in the writing she asked the film s director Danny Cannon to write her a whole page of phrases that represented the emotions of the characters in the film but she used only one line that Cannon wrote Sometimes it s just like sinking and still she changed it to It s sometimes just like sleeping in the actual lyrics 5 The song is underscored by moody strings and its lyrics about acting numb to prevent emotional pain Bjork wrote it from the main character s point of view In the film he had a girlfriend who just wanted him to be happy and in love and he just couldn t get his head around it It was just me trying to imagine what he would say to her Things he never actually said to her in the film but things he would have said to her 5 Produced by David Arnold and Danny Cannon the song was originally a non album track recorded for the film The Young Americans and intended as a single only release but eventually it was added as a bonus track to international pressings of Bjork s album Debut because Bjork s manager Derek Birkett convinced her to add the track Bjork also sings on the tracks Opening Titles and Leaving London on the soundtrack CD of the film In both the film and soundtrack Leaving London crescendoes into Play Dead as a single arrangement In both the album and the single version the song is actually a remix by Tim Simenon After the addition of Play Dead on Debut about 100 people who already owned the album without the bonus track called the record company and complained demanding to be given new records as compensation 6 The drums which the song is structured by are taken from the beginning of the 1977 song Footsteps in the Dark by The Isley Brothers most famously used on Ice Cube s It Was A Good Day which was released earlier that year Critical reception EditThe track was well received by music critics Derek Birkett described it as one of the best things Bjork s ever done 7 Alexis Petridis of Blender stated that it boasts a chorus that s both original and implausibly epic 8 In his weekly UK chart commentary James Masterton wrote that it is a haunting beautiful piece of music to rank alongside anything she ever did with the Sugarcubes and becoming a bigger hit than she ever had with her former band in the first place 9 Pan European magazine Music amp Media noted that the clamour of Iceland s siren is in the air again beautifully floating above superb rhythm tracks Highly original there s nothing like this on the entire planet 10 Tom Doyle from Smash Hits gave Play Dead four out of five viewing it as a grand sweeping groovy orchestral thing which sounds like an unhinged Bono theme and will make the hairs on the back of your neck tingle Remarkable 11 The Tech journalist Fred Choi while reviewing Greatest Hits stated that the song is compelling but lesser known 12 Mal Pearchey of Vox described it as incredibly sophisticated after the eclectic drama of The Sugarcubes 7 Music video Edit Screenshot from the music video The accompanying music video for Play Dead was directed by Danny Cannon who also directed The Young Americans In the video Bjork performs the song in an empty bar that is shown in the film Her footage is intercut with scenes from the film that range from tenderness to violence It was criticised because of its simplicity with some pointing out it lacks the visual characteristics of other Bjork videos The video has been said to follow the trends of MTV 13 Live performances EditBjork performed the song in selected dates of her Debut Tour and usually sang it during her Homogenic Tour accompanied by a larger ensemble of strings Bjork s performance at the Union Chapel with the Brodsky Quartet was met with enthusiasm by The Guardian journalist Maddy Costa that described the performance as a Heavenly Experience and commenting the song s performance stated that reclaiming Play Dead from ad land the subdued volume and the Brodskys bristling tone brought out the fierceness of Bjork s words 14 Bjork also performed the song during her Vespertine World Tour The song has not been performed live since then Track listings Edit7 inch and cassette single 15 16 A Play Dead Tim Simenon 7 inch remix 4 00 B Play Dead Tim Simenon orchestral mix 4 01European and Japanese CD single 17 18 Play Dead Tim Simenon 7 inch remix 3 57 Play Dead Tim Simenon orchestral mix 4 01 Play Dead Tim Simenon 12 inch remix 5 26 End Titles Play Dead original film mix 3 52UK and Australian CD single 19 Play Dead Tim Simenon 7 inch remix 3 57 Play Dead Tim Simenon orchestral mix 4 01 Play Dead Tim Simenon 12 inch remix 5 26 Play Dead Tim Simenon instrumental 3 57 End Titles Play Dead original film mix 3 52Charts EditWeekly charts Edit Chart 1993 1994 PeakpositionAustralia ARIA 20 21 65Belgium Ultratop 50 Flanders 22 33Denmark IFPI 23 16Europe Eurochart Hot 100 24 37Finland Suomen virallinen lista 25 20Germany Official German Charts 26 41Iceland Islenski Listinn Topp 40 27 18Ireland IRMA 28 18Netherlands Dutch Top 40 29 10Netherlands Single Top 100 30 11Norway VG lista 31 10Sweden Sverigetopplistan 32 7UK Singles OCC 33 12 Year end charts Edit Chart 1994 PositionNetherlands Dutch Top 40 34 132Sweden Sverigetopplistan 35 84Covers EditA cover of the song appears on the special edition of the album Into by the Finnish band the Rasmus It is available on many of their singles as well including Madness In 2007 The Swedish band Pain covered the song on the album Psalms of Extinction Usage in media EditA modified version of the song was also used in 1995 on the launch advert for the new Vauxhall Vectra with the tagline Designed for the next millennium 36 References Edit Single Releases PDF Music Week 9 October 1993 p 27 Retrieved 20 June 2021 Debut UK CD first edition Archived from the original on 2 May 2013 Retrieved 28 December 2011 Debut Liner Notes Archived from the original on 2 October 2012 Retrieved 28 December 2011 Interview with David Arnold a b c d Play Dead Archived from the original on 14 December 2012 Retrieved 28 December 2011 Bjork Play dead Archived from the original on 27 August 2014 Retrieved 28 December 2011 a b Pearchey Mal 1 December 1993 New Bjork New Bjork Retrieved 28 December 2011 Petridis Alexis 11 May 2002 Bjork Greatest Hits Retrieved 28 December 2011 Masterton James 17 October 1993 Week Ending October 23rd 1993 Chart Watch UK Retrieved 12 September 2021 New Releases Singles PDF Music amp Media 11 December 1993 Retrieved 21 November 2019 Doyle Tom 15 September 1993 New Singles Smash Hits p 51 Retrieved 15 December 2022 Choi Fred 5 November 2002 Reinspiring Awe and Devotion Retrieved 28 December 2011 Bjork and Her Music Videos Visual Poetry Retrieved 28 December 2011 Costa Maddy 11 December 1999 A Heavenly Experience Archived from the original on 18 July 2012 Retrieved 28 December 2011 Play Dead UK 7 inch single sleeve Bjork David Arnold Island Records 1993 IS 573 862 620 7 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link Play Dead UK amp Australian cassette single sleeve Bjork David Arnold Island Records 1993 CIS 573 862 620 4 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link Play Dead European CD single liner notes Bjork David Arnold Mother Records 1993 859 893 2 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link Play Dead Japanese CD single liner notes Bjork David Arnold Mother Records 1993 POCP 1385 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link Play Dead UK amp Australian CD single disc notes Bjork David Arnold Island Records 1993 CID 573 862 621 2 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart Week Ending 13 Mar 1994 ARIA Retrieved 25 February 2016 Ryan Gavin 2011 Australia s Music Charts 1988 2010 Mt Martha VIC Australia Moonlight Publishing Bjork David Arnold Play Dead in Dutch Ultratop 50 Danish Singles Chart 14 January 1994 Eurochart Hot 100 Singles PDF Music amp Media Vol 10 no 45 6 November 1993 p 17 Retrieved 25 March 2018 Pennanen Timo 2021 Bjork Sisaltaa hitin 2 laitos Levyt ja esittajat Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1 1 1960 30 6 2021 PDF in Finnish Helsinki Kustannusosakeyhtio Otava p 31 Retrieved 22 June 2022 Bjork David Arnold Play Dead in German GfK Entertainment charts Islenski Listinn Topp 40 25 11 1993 01 12 1993 Dagbladid Visir in Icelandic 25 November 1993 p 20 Retrieved 4 February 2018 The Irish Charts Search Results Play Dead Irish Singles Chart Nederlandse Top 40 week 3 1994 in Dutch Dutch Top 40 Bjork David Arnold Play Dead in Dutch Single Top 100 Bjork David Arnold Play Dead VG lista Bjork David Arnold Play Dead Singles Top 100 Official Singles Chart Top 100 Official Charts Company Retrieved 23 October 2015 Jaarlijsten 1994 in Dutch Stichting Nederlandse Top 40 Retrieved 29 November 2019 Arslista Singlar 2994 in Swedish Sverigetopplistan Retrieved 23 February 2021 Original Vectra Advert YouTube Archived from the original on 13 December 2021 Retrieved 28 December 2011 External links EditPlay Dead webpage Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Play Dead song amp oldid 1144842541, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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