The Metro (song)
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| “The Metro” | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Berlin from the album Pleasure Victim |
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| Released | 1983 | ||||
| Format | 7" vinyl, 12" vinyl | ||||
| Recorded | 1982, Los Angeles | ||||
| Genre | New Wave / Synth-pop / Dance / Rock | ||||
| Length | 4:07 | ||||
| Label | Geffen | ||||
| Writer(s) | John Crawford | ||||
| Producer | Daniel R. Van Patten | ||||
| Berlin singles chronology | |||||
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"The Metro" is a New Wave song written by John Crawford for his band, Berlin. A hard-rock version was performed by System of a Down and the song has also been covered by Alkaline Trio, +44 (Live only), Sleepthief, I Am Spoonbender, Bella Morte, Hannah Fury, John Frusciante and most recently Finnish band I Walk the Line.
The song first appeared on Berlin's breakthrough album Pleasure Victim, released on the independent label Enigma in 1982 and re-released on Geffen in 1983. "The Metro" became the third single from the album, and the second to appear on the Geffen label. It was produced and engineered (as was most of the album) by the band's then-drummer and drum programmer, Daniel Van Patten.
The Berlin recording is known as epitomizing the New Wave genre for showing the genre for what it essentially was, a blending of Punk Rock and Pop, with heavy use of the Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 Synthesizer keyboard[1]. Terri Nunn said the song, which was a breakthrough hit for Berlin, "defined us and defined that period of music."[2]
The song's music video was their first MTV hit, in heavy rotation on the young channel in its second and third year. Directed by Dominic Orlando, it was filmed at GMT Studios in West Los Angeles, California (1983). Terri Nunn only sang two lyrics on camera: "I remember hating you for loving me" and "Sorry." The video became a part of the "Berlin Video 45" Geffen-VHS home video, released in 1984.
The single surpassed the Hot 100 peak of their previous cult hit, "Sex (I'm A)...", going to #58, and it remains their third-highest charting single in the U.S. A dance remix of the song received club play in 1983.
Subsequent remixes have been done of Berlin's song, including one by Sigue Sigue Sputnik. A revamped Berlin lineup, led by the original group's Teri Nunn, re-recorded the song around 2000, this version receiving several remixes as well. An acoustic version was made available exclusively on iTunes. One of their signature songs, it was among those performed by a reunion of the original line-up for a live show at The Roxy in Los Angeles which was the culmination of an episode of VH-1's Bands Reunited.
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[edit] System of a Down version
"The Metro" was System of a Down's first cover, performed in 1995 on their Untitled 1995 Demo Tape. This version of the song was slowed to a crawl and had a dark moody sense of playing. Re-recorded by the band for their Demo Tape 4 in 1997, it became less moody and truer to the Berlin original, as the tempo was increased. A third version was sped up greatly and Daron Malakian lent his vocals in parts, appearing on System of a Down's Lonely Day as "Metro". That version also appears on the soundtracks for Dracula 2000 and Not Another Teen Movie. An unofficial video was available on the band's website. Malakian has said on many occasions that his band could have done the song better; whether this means a new version is unknown, although the chances are low because the band is on 'indefinite hiatus'.
[edit] Alkaline Trio version
The Alkaline Trio cover keeps the pace of Berlin's original as well as kept the Trio's own melody within the song.
[edit] I Am Spoonbender version
The I Am Spoonbender version of this song exactly replicates the sounds and production style of the original, but completely changes the words and title to become "Where Do Words Go?" IAS leader Dustin Donaldson states their intention: "By changing only the words and by musically rendering an exact replica, it forces notions of illusion/reality. It is an alternate-reality experience of the song. Therefore it isn't really a 'cover', so to speak—it is a 'Teletwin' of the original." It was released on the 1999 EP Teletwin.
