Fuck Them All
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| Single by Mylène Farmer from the album Avant que l'ombre... |
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| Released | March 14 2005 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Format | CD single CD maxi 7" maxi Digital download |
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| Recorded | 2005, France | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Genre | Pop | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Length | 4:30 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Label | Polydor | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Text : Mylène Farmer Music : Laurent Boutonnat |
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| Producer | Laurent Boutonnat | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Certification | Silver France, 2005 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mylène Farmer singles chronology | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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.jpg/200px-Fuck_Them_All_(maxi).jpg)
"Fuck Them All" is a 2005 song recorded by the French artist Mylène Farmer. It was the first single from her sixth studio album, Avant que l'ombre..., and was released on March 14, 2005. This new song, officially presented before the album, was eagerly anticipated by the fans.
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[edit] Background and writing
On December 16, 2004, Mylène gave a press conference to talk about her thirteen concerts at Paris-Bercy in January 2006 and her new album in March 2005, but she said nothing about her next single. As she hadn't released a single since "Pardonne-moi", the third from the compilation Les Mots, in October 2002, this new single was very expected by the fans. Various titles were given in the media : "Aime-moi", "Aime", "Dans ma peau"... But the true single, "Fuck Them All", was announced by Voici, a French magazine, which also revealed the theme of the song : the war of the sexes.[1] Thus, the song's title is in the "Shakespeare's language which the diva hadn't used any more since her 1992 single "Beyond My Control"".[2] At that time, some foolish rumours went round, notably some duets with other artists such as Lara Fabian or Diam's.[3] The single was eventually broadcast for the first time on February 9, 2005 and was also the first Farmer's song to be available for digital download.[4]
As the other singles from Avant que l'ombre..., the text was writing by Mylène Farmer herself, while the music was composed by Laurent Boutonnat. The single's cover was made by Robin. The release was made in two times : first, the CD single on March 14, then the CD maxi and vinyl on which the remixes were available, on April 18. There were three official remix versions : 'mother f... vocal mix' and 'mother f... dub mix', by Joachim Garraud, and 'the martyr's remix', by Y-Front, who had already remixed "Libertine" on the album RemixeS.
The photo on the cover, made by Robin, shows Farmer sitting on the floor on a building roof near the Gare du Nord (Paris).[5] An international CD maxi version was also released but under the title "F**k Them All" to be not censored, with a sticker "Parental advisory - Explicit content".
The song is the second track on the studio album. It was sung at the time of the 2006 Farmer's concerts, and so is also present on the live album Avant que l'ombre... à Bercy (track 9, CD 2, 6:42).
[edit] Music and lyrics
This song is characterized by its music produced from synthetic keyboards - some have criticized his lack of innovation in music -, his musical bridge containing vulgar lyrics (with rap) reminding of Madonna's song "American Life", and choirs of children on guitar riffs.
The song deals with a feminist theme : the war between the sexes. It is a "feminist plea on women's place in History" and the title refers to the "cowardice of men".[6] In the song, Farmer "reverses the roles and presents women as warriors". In the first couplet, she evokes "the role of women in History", recalling that "all the great men had on their side a woman to support, assist and advise them"[7]. However, the singer said that "all that was done at the expense of women and takes for example, Mary, Jesus Christ's mother, a symbol of martyrdom and self-sacrifice". She denounces "the hypocrisy and the chatter of men who think only about power and sex". In the refrain, she advises women to rebel by taking up arms.[8]
In the text, Farmer "is angry with men and the song would be a form of feminist anthem". The combination of an acoustic guitar, electronic beats and synths, in the second part of the song, evokes very strongly what Madonna has produced in recent years, while the ethereal song is typical of Farmer. A rap interlude sang in English launches a few insults sometimes thrown to women, before the final refrain".[9]
[edit] Critical reception
The music and text have divided the fans : some have appreciated, while others do not.
According to the magazine France-Ouest, ""Fuck Them All" is done to revive the provocative aura which is the singer's business". The song "amounts with a bit of confusion, between outrageously precious rhymes and vulgar slogans against the male hegemony". "With a hint of sulphur as a supplement, it is a choir of young boys who sings 'fuck them all' in the refrain.[9] This single was sometimes found "unconvincing".[10] According to the TV Magazine, the single is "catchy both by its provocative title and its lyrics quite bloomed".[11]
[edit] Music video
The videoclip, shot in Romania for two days, cost approximately 150,000 euros. Farmer wrote its scenario and it was directed by Agustin Villaronga, then broadcast on TV from March 9.[12] The video for "Peut-être toi" was originally intended to illustrate this song.[13]
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The scarecrows which feature in this one were made by Martial Leiter, a Swiss artist. Farmer had the idea to contact him after seeing a documentary on France 3 about the exhibition in the open air of scarecrows theoretically representing the human soul in its worst states. She wanted to use them in her videoclip, but Leiter refused to give her those of his exhibition, preferring to create some new scarecrows easier to break.[12] In the music video, they have a black bird skull and wear black veils torn floating in the wind.
In the music video, we can see first a woman who gallops on a horse in a snowy forest. She comes in a warehouse where a cage surrounded by crows was suspended by chains. There, a woman with short hair and face flayed is trapped. Her eyes are like those of the crows. The first woman enters in the warehouse and stops below this cage that is empty and looks at it. She casts a stone against a wall that reflects her like a mirror and the building collapses. In the snow, she finds a body - the second woman, inanimate and frozen - hidden under a blanket. She closes her eyes and plunges her hands into the body and comes out a sword. She goes into the forest where flying numerous crows and ends up on a snowy plain on which are erected many scarecrows. During the refrains, she uses her sword to destroy scarecrows, rip their sails and breaks the wooden crosses. Scarecrows' eyes weep black blood that turns to crow. Then we understand how the other woman was died : the cage in which she was, had major peaks to its ceiling, and the latter had gradually lowered. Finally, the living woman plants her sword in the snow, then she disappears in the air.[14] Farmer plays the role of the two women.
The videoclip has a high level of symbolism. The video has "undeniable aesthetic qualities" and allows "great freedom of interpretation".[15] The music video, analysed in the French magazine Elle,[16] was disappointing for many fans because of its lack of innovation.[17]
The video and its making of are released in a DVD available on the second edition of the studio album.
During a musical program called Les 100 Meilleurs clips du XXIè siècle aired on MCM on February 25, 2007, this video reached number 1 thanks to the voters of TV viewers.[18]
[edit] Chart performance
In France, the single went straight to number 2 on March 19, 2005, with 26,688 sales[19] (only the CD single was released that week). Elia Habib, a French Charts specialist, said about this high debut : ""Fuck Them All", to succeed in persisting on the podium, will have to count on a broader basis than that of her traditional fans, [because they are] sufficiently numerous to send the single of their idol in the top 10 in its first week of release, but not for keeping it in this one the weeks after, as the last superstar's singles had regularly proved it, except for "Les Mots" and "C'est une belle journée", which were general public hits".[2] Indeed, the following week, the single dropped on 10 and kept on dropping but slowly in its three next weeks. On April 3, it made an enormous jump from #21 to #3 with 14,701 sales,[19] thanks to the releases of the CD maxi and vinyl. After that, it started again to fall every week, and stayed 11 weeks in the top 50 - after all, it was better than the ten weeks for "L'Âme-stram-gram", the first single from the preceding Farmer's studio album, Innamoramento - and left the chart before its 19th week.[20] Certified Silver disc by SNEP, the French certificator, on May 25 (two months after it release),[21] "Fuck Them All" was the 70th best selling single in 2005.[22]
In Belgium, the single entered in the Ultratop 40 Singles Chart on March 24 ; it was number 3, then number 2, its best position, and reached to stay in the top ten for eight weeks. It left the chart on July 2, after having been listed for 14 weeks.[23] According to Ultratop, the Belgium Chart, "Fuck Them All" was the 26th best selling single in 2005.[24]
On March 27, the single debuted at its peak position (#14) in Switzerland, before dropping. However, as in France, it went from 54th to 30th position on May 1 thanks to the CD maxi and vinyl's sales. Then the single took back its descent of the chart, but stabilized in its last weeks. It remained on the chart for a total of 16 weeks ; thus the single was Farmer's longest one running in the Swiss Singles Chart at that time.[25]
[edit] Formats and track listings
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[edit] Versions
- Official versions
| Version | Length | Album | Remixed by | Year | Comment[8] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Album version | 4:34 | Avant que l'ombre... | 2005 | See the previous sections | |
| Single version | 4:32 | 2005 | |||
| Instrumental | 4:34 | Laurent Boutonnat | 2005 | This instrumental version is identical to the album version, but piano and guitars are added. | |
| The martyr's remix | 5:26 | Y-Front | 2005 | This version, containing the whole of the lyrics, has hard rock sonorities with many guitar riffs in the refrains. The rap bridge from the original version is sampled at the beginning of the remix. | |
| Mother f... dub mix | 7:55 | Joachim Garraud | 2005 | All lyrics from the original version are deleted ; there are only some "Fuck them all" shouted throughout the remix. The musical introduction lasts four minutes. | |
| Mother f... vocal club mix | 8:34 | Joachim Garraud | 2005 | Devoted to the nightclubs, this techno version has a musical introduction which lasts about four minutes, then Farmer almost sings a cappella. | |
| Live version (recorded in 2006) | 6:42 | Avant que l'ombre... à Bercy | 2006 | See Avant que l'ombre... à Bercy (tour) |
- Unofficial mentionable fan remixes[26]
- Chyld's patriarchy mix (7:23)
- S.-Jees blood and tears dub (5:25)
- The desperate mind mix - by Wouf (7:00)
- Axl C. goes clubbin' mix (6:47)
[edit] Credits and personnel
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[edit] Certifications and sales
| Country | Certification | Sales certified | Physical sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | Silver[21] | 100,000 | 92,906+[27] [19] |
[edit] Charts
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[edit] References
- ^ "Fuck Them All" Mylenefarmeriscalled.net (Retrieved December 18, 2007)
- ^ a b "Chartoscopie : Mylène et Ilona mènent la danse" Chartsinfrance.net (Retrieved December 18, 2007)
- ^ "Fuck Them All" Sans-logique.com (Retrieved December 18, 2007)
- ^ Mylène Farmer de A à Z, Florence Rajon, 2005, MusicBook Ed., p. 48
- ^ "Mylène Farmer, l'icône", Jukebox, n°253, p. 8 Devant-soi.com (Retrieved May 13, 2008)
- ^ "Mylène Farmer, l'icône", Jukebox, n°253, p. 7 Devant-soi.com (Retrieved May 13, 2008)
- ^ Mylène Farmer Influences, Benoît Cachin, 2006, Mascara Ed., p. 38,39 (ISBN 978-2351440261)
- ^ a b Le Dictionnaire des Chansons de Mylène Farmer, Benoît Cachin, 2006, Tournon Ed., p. 107-111
- ^ a b Ouest-France (Caen), February 24, 2005, "Le tube ? - Mylène Farmer : "Fuck Them All"", Philippe Richard Milenia.ifrance.com (Retrieved February 22, 2008)
- ^ "Ouest France", April 5, 2005, "Dans le monde sensuel de Mylène Farmer", Michel Troadec Devant-soi.com (Retrieved March 20, 2008)
- ^ TV Magazine No. 18378, March 13-19, 2005, "Mylène Farmer : un single surprenant", Nathalie Chuc Milenia.ifrance.com (Retrieved February 22, 2008)
- ^ a b "Fuck Them All", videoclip Mylenefarmeriscalled.net (Retrieved December 17, 2007)
- ^ Mylène Farmer, le culte - L'envers du décor, Sophie Khairallah, 2007, Why Not Ed., p. 44
- ^ Mylène Farmer - La part d'ombre, Caroline Bee, Antoine Bioy & Benjamin Thiry, 2005, Archipel Ed., p. 142-143
- ^ L'Intégrale Mylene Farmer, Erwan Chuberre, 2007, City Ed., p. 140 (ISBN 978-2-35288-108-7)
- ^ Elle, "Mylène Farmer, son clip décrypté" Devant-soi.com (Retrieved March 20, 2008)
- ^ France Soir, April 4, 2005, "Mylène Farmer fuit la lumière", Richard Gianorio Devant-soi.com (Retrieved March 20, 2008)
- ^ Mylène Farmer, rétrospective 2007Mylene.net (Retrieved January 11, 2008
- ^ a b c 2005 weely selling singles Chartinfrance.net (Retrieved December 17, 2007)
- ^ a b "Fuck Them All", French SNEP Singles Chart Lescharts.com (Retrieved December 17, 2007)
- ^ a b 2005 certifications Disqueenfrance.com (Retrieved December 17, 2007)
- ^ a b 2005 French Singles Chart Ifop.com (Retrieved December 17, 2007)
- ^ a b "Fuck Them All", Belgian (Wallonia) Ultratop 40 Singles Chart Ultratop.be (Retrieved January 3, 2007)
- ^ a b 2005 Belgian Singles Chart Skynet.be (Retrieved December 17, 2007)
- ^ a b "Fuck Them All", Swiss Top 100 Singles Chart Hitparade.ch (Retrieved December 17, 2007)
- ^ Mentionable fan remixes Libnet.wuggleworld.com
- ^ 2005 Best selling singles Fanofmusic.free.fr (Retrieved December 17, 2007)
- ^ Euro 200 Apcchart.com (Retrieved May 17, 2008)
- ^ a b c "Fuck Them All", in European and World Charts Top40-charts.com (Retrieved May 13, 2008)
- ^ a b Russian Airplay Chart Tophit.ru (Retrieved December 19, 2007)
