"Superman's Dead" is a song by Canadian alternative rock group Our Lady Peace. It was released on January 16, 1997 as the lead single from their second album Clumsy, preceding the album's release by a week. This has become one of Our Lady Peace's most popular songs in both Canada and the U.S., as well as many other parts of the world.
The song has become the definitive example of Our Lady Peace's staple sound, highlighted by vocalist Raine Maida's unusual yet powerful falsetto. This song, in contrast to some others on the album, contains very heavy electric guitar, especially in comparison to tracks like "4 A.M." and Carnival". It peaked at number 17 on the Canadian RPM Top Singles Chart while spending five weeks at number 2 on the RPM Alternative Chart. In the U.S, it peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Alternative/Modern Rock Chart, while reaching number 14 on the Mainstream Rock Chart. Between 1995 and 2016, "Superman's Dead" was the 15th most played song by a Canadian artist on rock radio stations in Canada.[1]
Our Lady Peace producer Arnold Lanni recalls that late in the recording of Clumsy, he and the band were working on tracking a song called "Hello Oskar", when they decided to take a break for a few minutes.
"From the bathroom I heard Raine playing something on an acoustic guitar. When I came out I asked him what it was. He told me that it was just something he was toying around with. I really liked what he was doing so for the next day or so the band and I worked on developing what became "Superman's Dead." ~Arnold Lanni
Contentedit
"Superman's Dead" was seen by the band as a dark statement on how much television kids watch and the content of it. It looks at the dark expectations that are garnered from media images:
An ordinary girl an ordinary waist
But ordinary's just not good enough today
Raine Maida stated, "I grew up with the old Superman, the black-and-white one. There was something so honest about it, and it's evolved into Beavis and Butt-Head". He also says of youthful TV pleasures, "Their images are defined by television: How they should think or what they should wear. It's kind of sad that way"[2]
Music videosedit
Three music videos have been made for this song - the Canadian version of a child (played by Ryan Dennis) trapped in the box, which was co-directed by George Vale and the band, the U.S. version which featured an unusual array of characters including clowns and goblins, and another U.S. version which simply showed the band playing the song. The original video was filmed in an abandoned warehouse in Toronto. That version premiered on MuchMusic on January 20, 1997.[3] This version also won the award for "Favourite Video" at the 1997 MuchMusic Video Awards. In the U.S. versions, Raine Maida is shown playing the guitar in some parts, while in the original Canadian version he is not. The video peaked at number 1 (for three weeks) on the MuchMusic Video Countdown and finished as the number 2 video of the year on the channel.
Live performancesedit
The first performance of "Superman's Dead" took place on January 13, 1997 at Harbour Station in Saint John, New Brunswick, the first date of the Clumsy tour. Since then it has seldom been excluded from the band's live set. "Superman's Dead" was played live on the Conan O'Brien Show on October 1, 1997.[3]
During concerts, when the song always pauses abruptly for the "Doesn't anybody ever know..." section, the band takes a slight pause, and the audience sings the outro. This can be heard in their live album Live (2003), and many other live concerts.
^"Our Lady Peace Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
^"Our Lady Peace Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
^"Our Lady Peace Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
External linksedit
"Superman's Dead" Official music video (U.S. version) on YouTube
January 01, 1970
superman, dead, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, december, 2. 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 Superman s Dead news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2020 Learn how and when to remove this message Superman s Dead is a song by Canadian alternative rock group Our Lady Peace It was released on January 16 1997 as the lead single from their second album Clumsy preceding the album s release by a week This has become one of Our Lady Peace s most popular songs in both Canada and the U S as well as many other parts of the world Superman s Dead Single by Our Lady Peacefrom the album ClumsyReleasedJanuary 16 1997Recorded1996GenreAlternative rockLength4 16LabelColumbiaSongwriter s Raine Maida Mike TurnerProducer s Arnold LanniOur Lady Peace singles chronology Naveed 1996 Superman s Dead 1997 Clumsy 1997 Music video Superman s Dead on YouTube The song has become the definitive example of Our Lady Peace s staple sound highlighted by vocalist Raine Maida s unusual yet powerful falsetto This song in contrast to some others on the album contains very heavy electric guitar especially in comparison to tracks like 4 A M and Carnival It peaked at number 17 on the Canadian RPM Top Singles Chart while spending five weeks at number 2 on the RPM Alternative Chart In the U S it peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Alternative Modern Rock Chart while reaching number 14 on the Mainstream Rock Chart Between 1995 and 2016 Superman s Dead was the 15th most played song by a Canadian artist on rock radio stations in Canada 1 Contents 1 Background and writing 2 Content 3 Music videos 4 Live performances 5 Single releases 6 Charts 7 References 8 External linksBackground and writing editOur Lady Peace producer Arnold Lanni recalls that late in the recording of Clumsy he and the band were working on tracking a song called Hello Oskar when they decided to take a break for a few minutes From the bathroom I heard Raine playing something on an acoustic guitar When I came out I asked him what it was He told me that it was just something he was toying around with I really liked what he was doing so for the next day or so the band and I worked on developing what became Superman s Dead Arnold LanniContent edit Superman s Dead was seen by the band as a dark statement on how much television kids watch and the content of it It looks at the dark expectations that are garnered from media images An ordinary girl an ordinary waist But ordinary s just not good enough today Raine Maida stated I grew up with the old Superman the black and white one There was something so honest about it and it s evolved into Beavis and Butt Head He also says of youthful TV pleasures Their images are defined by television How they should think or what they should wear It s kind of sad that way 2 Music videos editThree music videos have been made for this song the Canadian version of a child played by Ryan Dennis trapped in the box which was co directed by George Vale and the band the U S version which featured an unusual array of characters including clowns and goblins and another U S version which simply showed the band playing the song The original video was filmed in an abandoned warehouse in Toronto That version premiered on MuchMusic on January 20 1997 3 This version also won the award for Favourite Video at the 1997 MuchMusic Video Awards In the U S versions Raine Maida is shown playing the guitar in some parts while in the original Canadian version he is not The video peaked at number 1 for three weeks on the MuchMusic Video Countdown and finished as the number 2 video of the year on the channel Live performances editThe first performance of Superman s Dead took place on January 13 1997 at Harbour Station in Saint John New Brunswick the first date of the Clumsy tour Since then it has seldom been excluded from the band s live set Superman s Dead was played live on the Conan O Brien Show on October 1 1997 3 During concerts when the song always pauses abruptly for the Doesn t anybody ever know section the band takes a slight pause and the audience sings the outro This can be heard in their live album Live 2003 and many other live concerts Single releases editCanadian CD Single Superman s Dead Maida Turner 4 16 Let You Down Maida 3 15 Starseed Live 4 50 Acoustic Single Superman s Dead Acoustic Maida Turner 5 12 Innocent Acoustic 4 18 Austrian Single Superman s Dead Maida Turner 4 16 Let You Down Maida 3 15 US GER Promo CD Superman s Dead Maida Turner 4 16 Car Crash Maida Turner 5 07 French Single Superman s Dead 4 19 Let You Down 3 52 United Kingdom Single Superman s Dead 4 19 Let You Down 3 55 Starseed 4 04Charts editChart 1997 Peakposition Canada Top Singles RPM 4 17 Canada Rock Alternative RPM 5 2 US Radio Songs Billboard 6 74 US Alternative Airplay Billboard 7 11 US Mainstream Rock Billboard 8 14References edit NIELSEN MUSIC amp BILLBOARD PRESENT CANADA 150 CHARTS PDF bdsradio com p 13 Retrieved January 12 2020 Lyons John Image Conscious Our Lady Peace Concerned By TV s Effect On Kids Winnipeg Free Press January 30 1997 A4 a b Anon 1997 News Archive Ourladypeace com at the Internet Archive Retrieved September 18 2009 Top RPM Singles Issue 3176 RPM Library and Archives Canada Retrieved May 2 2021 Top RPM Rock Alternative Tracks Issue 9808 RPM Library and Archives Canada Retrieved May 2 2021 Our Lady Peace Chart History Radio Songs Billboard Retrieved May 2 2021 Our Lady Peace Chart History Alternative Airplay Billboard Retrieved May 2 2021 Our Lady Peace Chart History Mainstream Rock Billboard Retrieved May 2 2021 External links edit Superman s Dead Official music video U S version on YouTube Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Superman 27s Dead amp oldid 1224351956, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
