Dare (song)

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“Dare”
“Dare” cover
Single by Gorillaz featuring Shaun Ryder
from the album Demon Days
Released August 29, 2005 (UK)
October 4, 2005 (US)
Format CD, Maxi-CD, DVD
Recorded 2004
Genre Dance
Length 4:04
Label Fueled By Ramen
Producer Gorillaz, DJ Danger Mouse
Certification Gold (Australia)[1]
Gorillaz singles chronology
"Feel Good Inc."
(2005)
"Dare"
(2005)
"Dirty Harry"
(2005)

"Dare" ("挑戦 (DARE)" on the single packaging) is a song by Gorillaz and is featured on their 2005 album Demon Days. It was released 29 August 2005 as the second single from the album and became the first Gorillaz single to hit #1 on the UK Singles Chart. On online music stores such as iTunes, the radio edit of the song had been available since 20 June 2005.

"Dare" was released to US airplay in mid-October. On the Billboard Hot 100, it peaked at #87, going on to reach #8 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.

The commentator on the 2006 BRIT Awards said that the song was originally to be called 'It's There' but they changed it because Shaun Ryder's strong Mancunian accent made it sound like he was saying 'It's dare.' Rosie Wilson takes over the role from Miho Hatori, who usually provides the vocals for Noodle.

Contents

[edit] Track listings

[edit] UK releases

  1. "Dare" (featuring Shaun Ryder) – 4:04
  2. "Clint Eastwood" (featuring De La Soul and Bootie Brown, live at Sarm Studios, June 2005) – 5:43
  • CD CDRS6668
  1. "Dare" (featuring Shaun Ryder) – 4:04
  2. "Highway (Under Construction)"
  3. "Dare (Soulwax Remix)"
  • DVD DVDR6668
  1. "Dare" (video)
  2. "Samba at 13"
  3. "People"(an early version of Dare, with the same backbeat, but vocals by only 2D and completely different lyrics)
  4. "Dare" (animatic)

[edit] Australian releases

  1. "Dare"
  2. "Highway (Under Construction)"
  3. "Dare" (Soulwax Remix)
  4. "Dare" (video)
  • Limited edition CD 3404600
  1. "Dare"
  2. "Highway (Under Construction)"
  3. "Dare" (Soulwax Remix)
  4. "Feel Good Inc." (single edit)
  5. "Dare" (video)

[edit] Japan release

  1. "Dare" (featuring Shaun Ryder) – 4:04
  2. "Highway (Under Construction)"
  3. "Dare(Soulwax Remix)" – 5:43
  4. "Clint Eastwood" (featuring De La Soul and Bootie Brown, live at Sarm Studios, June 2005)
  5. "Dare" (video)

[edit] US music download single

  1. "Dare" (Soulwax Remix)

[edit] US iTunes EP

  1. "Dare" (Demon Days Live in Harlem - video)
  2. "Dare" (animatic)
  3. "Clint Eastwood" (featuring De La Soul and Bootie Brown, live at Sarm Studios, June 2005)
  4. "People" ("Dare" demo - audio only)


[edit] Chart positions

Chart (2005) Peak
position
Australian Singles Chart 11
Dutch Singles Chart 98
Irish Singles Chart 2
New Zealand Singles Chart 5
UK Singles Chart 1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 87
U.S. Pop 100 67
U.S. Hot Modern Rock Tracks 8

[edit] Music video

The music video for "Dare" includes an appearance by Shaun Ryder (of Happy Mondays fame, at the request of Damon Albarn) as a giant disembodied head kept alive by machinery in Noodle's closet. In a departure for the band, the song is mostly performed in the video by Noodle, with 2D, Russel, and Murdoc only appearing in short cameos in the video; 2D is seen listening into Noodle's room by pressing his ear to the floor, Russel is shown seated on a toilet reading a newspaper and Murdoc appears at the end of the video lying in bed with Shaun Ryder, who wakes up, apparently having dreamt up the entire sequence of the video. Murdoc tells Ryder to "go back to sleep, honey," after which it is further revealed to be another nightmare dreamt by Murdoc, who also wakes up bolt upright in his own bed gasping and panting. In commentary, Noodle claims that Murdoc initially protested at her doing the entire video by herself, but she countered that she wrote the song and she had seen him show off too much in the "Feel Good Inc." music video - and adds that he was asleep in his Winnebago for the whole of the shoot up until the final scene. The video was directed by Jamie Hewlett and Pete Candeland.

The video was leaked a few days prior to its July 17, 2005 release on the Gorillaz official website. Some say that legal threats were made against the individuals who uploaded the video, but none of these claims can be confirmed. The video was later recalled from other websites and the final scene was tweaked slightly; Murdoc's Confederate Naval Jack flag was replaced with that of the Jolly Roger. (The version with the Naval Jack is played in some countries, including Canada.)

Russel makes a brief appearance in the "Dare" music video
Russel makes a brief appearance in the "Dare" music video

This video calls back to classic horror movies. In the very beginning of the video we see Gorillaz' 'reject false icons' statue, which one may recognize as Pazuzu, the figurine from The Exorcist and son of the devil. Crows are flying around the building, in a tribute to Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. Shaun Ryder is depicted as a Frankenstein-like monster who is brought to life as the music begins. Amongst the contraptions that are part of the life support system appear to be Atari joysticks from the early 1980s. Ryder's head being kept alive is a pun on the movie The Brain That Wouldn't Die. The tube attached to Ryder's cheek switches from side to side as a tribute to the goofs commonly made in early horror movies. When we see Russel sitting on the toilet, he is holding a newspaper with a headline that reads CANNIBAL MASSAKREN, the Danish title of Cannibal Holocaust, and on the back of the newspaper a headline text of the name "Freddie" is seen which is possibly a reference to Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street. The zoom on Noodle's eye at the end of the video is taken directly from Ringu and its American remake, The Ring.

[edit] Trivia

  • The intro to the song makes use of a Shepard tone, to create the auditory illusion of a continually ascending tone.
  • The main vocals are by Noodle, making this the one of the few songs she's been credited for her vocals and the first where she gets credit for the full vocals.
  • Shaun Ryder's head can be seen in Noodle's room at the Kong.
  • 2D provides backing vocals, however to blend his vocals with Noodle's, his voice was toned down to be slightly covered up by Noodle. 2D full vocalization can be heard on the Dare DFA Mix available on the Dare Promo Album.
  • The song is featured in the third sequence of Taylor Knox's surfing video Campaign 2, which is held by Joel Parkinson.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Preceded by
"The Importance of Being Idle" by Oasis
UK number one single
September 10, 2005
Succeeded by
"Don't Cha" by Pussycat Dolls featuring Busta Rhymes
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