Misery Business

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“Misery Business”
“Misery Business” cover
Single by Paramore
from the album Riot!
B-side "Stop This Song (Love Sick Melody)"
"My Hero"
"Sunday Bloody Sunday"
Released June 18, 2007
Format CD, 2x 7" vinyls (UK only) and Promo CD
Recorded 2007
Genre Punk pop
Emo rock
Alternative rock
Power pop
Length 3:32 (album version)
3:18 (radio edit)
Label Fueled by Ramen
Writer(s) Hayley Williams
Producer David Bendeth
Certification Gold (RIAA)[1]
Paramore singles chronology
"All We Know"
(2006)
"Misery Business"
(2007)
"Hallelujah"
(2007)
Alternate cover
Alternate cover

"Misery Business" is the first single from Paramore's second album, RIOT!. "Misery Business" was the third Paramore video to be directed by Shane Drake, and was nominated for the "Best Video" award at the Kerrang! Awards 2007, but lost to Fall Out Boy's "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race".[2] "Misery Business" is also featured on the soundtrack to the EA Sports video game NHL 08.

Contents

[edit] Chart performance

On the week ending June 21, 2007, "Misery Business" managed to debut at #99 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Misery Business" is the first charting single for the group in the United States. In the following week the song went up 13 positions to reach #86. Due to increased digital downloads during the month of August 2007, most notably during the latter half of the month, it re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 during the chart week of September 1, 2007 at number #34, which was its peak until the chart week of January 5, 2008, when the song reached #31. Its current peak is #26. It also peaked at #3 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart. On the iTunes chart it has reached 7th (as of August 18th) The single will be re-released in the UK according to Record Store, It was re released February 11, 2008 and includes 3 vinyls.

The single, to date, has peaked at #17 on the UK Singles Charts. It is also the group's first charting single in the UK as well.

"Misery Business" has also debuted on the Dutch Top 40 peaking at #28 and in Finlands top 30 at #23. It peaked in the German Top 40 at #12 which was the band's highest chart performance in Germany.

The Alternative Press named "Misery Business" 2007 Video of the Year.

It has since received wide airplay.

[edit] Music video

A music video was filmed on April 15, 2007 in Los Angeles, and features a school and a band performance. It is directed by Shane Drake who also directed the videos for "Pressure" and "Emergency".It stars Amy Paffrath as the mean girl.

The music video starts out with the band playing the song with an assortment of "RIOT!"s in the background. It switches from the band playing to a high school, where a girl in a blue dress and heavy makeup walks in. The girl pushes the school cheerleaders aside her as she walks into the hallway. She cuts off a girl's braid with scissors, grinning at the girl while showing it to her. Later, as she is walking down the hall, a boy comes out of the Nurse's Station with his arm in a sling. She proceeds to push him into the wall, further injuring him. The band plays more, and the girl walks up on a girl and a boy together, obviously in love. She pushes the girl's face out of the way, and goes into a passionate kiss with the boy, then leaves, smiling. It switches again to the band playing, then the band comes out of a classroom together. Hayley (Williams) and the girl confront each other in the hall. Hayley reaches into the girl's bra and pulls out silicon pads, then uses a towel and wipes the girl's makeup off, exposing her for what she is. The video ends as the band finishes the song.

FBR+ also released an alternate cut of the video that removes the high school clips and features only performance segments.[3]

The music video has over 24 million views on Youtube and had great success on TRL.

The video for the re-release was an re-edited version of the original, instead casting the members as the high school students.

[edit] Concept and blasphemy post

The origin of the song is ambiguous and Williams has given conflicting explanations. The Fueled By Ramen website reports that Williams wrote the song based on feedback the band received after a question she posted on their live journal asking what people were ashamed of.[3] However on the band's Livejournal Williams claims the song was written about a past experience involving a male friend who she felt was being manipulated by a girl, and later on when Williams and her friend began to date, she penned the lyrics to "finally explain my side of the story and feel freed of it all".[4] Later, Williams addressed the lyrics in the chorus:

But God does it feel so good
'Cause I got him where I want him now
And if you could then you know you would
'Cause God it just feels so
It just feels so good

Williams felt that some might find the use of God "casually. in vain, to be blunt" as blasphemy, and as a Christian, she doesn't want "to be held responsible for causing a lot of people to use my God's name in vain."[4] She posted an explanation and apology on the band's LiveJournal.

[edit] Track listing

A CD single and two 7" Vinyls were released in the UK on 18 June. The CD single features a brand new song, "Stop This Song (Love Sick Melody)", and the two vinyls feature two covers: an electronic remix of "My Hero" by the Foo Fighters, and "Sunday Bloody Sunday" by U2. The Chinese release features a cover version of "Space And The Woods" by Late Of The Pier.

U.S. CD single
  1. "Misery Business" - 3:18
  2. "Stop This Song (Love Sick Melody)" - 3:23
  3. "Crushcrushcrush"
Vinyl 1
  1. "Misery Business" - 3:18
  2. "My Hero" (electronic mix) - 3:39
Vinyl 2
  1. "Misery Business" - 3:18
  2. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" - 4:20
Australian CD single
  1. "Misery Business" - 3:18
  2. "My Hero (electronic mix)" - 3:39
  3. "Stop This Song (Love Sick Melody)" - 3:23

[edit] Charts

Chart (2007/2008) Peak
position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart[5] 65
Colombia Top 100 Colombia [6] 37
Brazilian Singles Chart[7] 67
French Top 100 Airplay[8] 83
Canadian Hot 100Chart[9] 67
German Single Chart[10] 79
Chilean Singles Chart[11] 21
Columbian Singles Chart [12] 28
Dutch Singles Chart[13] 28
UK Singles Chart[13] 17
Portuguese Single Charts[14] 24
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[13] 26
U.S. Billboard Pop 100[15] 25
U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream[16] 12
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks[17] 31

[edit] References

[edit] External links