The Scientist (song)
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| “The Scientist” | |||||
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| Single by Coldplay from the album A Rush of Blood to the Head |
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| Released | November 4, 2002 (UK) November 11, 2002 (US) |
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| Format | CD, DVD, 7" | ||||
| Recorded | 2001 | ||||
| Length | 5:09 | ||||
| Label | Parlophone R6588 (UK) Capitol (US) |
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| Producer | Ken Nelson Coldplay |
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| Coldplay singles chronology | |||||
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| A Rush of Blood to the Head track listing | |||||
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"The Scientist" is the second single from Coldplay's second album, A Rush of Blood to the Head. Regional singles included Europe and Canada. Promos were released for the UK and U.S..
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[edit] Production
The song is a piano-driven ballad; Chris Martin opens the song and is joined by the rest of the band after the first chorus. Martin was inspired to write "The Scientist" after listening to George Harrison's "All Things Must Pass".[1] The song also alludes to the short story "The Birthmark" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, in which a scientist forgets about the love of his life due to his devotion to science. He then realises his mistake when it is already too late, as her death now haunts him.[citation needed]
The song was covered live by Aimee Mann and released on a special edition of her album Lost in Space. Natasha Bedingfield, Eamon and Avril Lavigne covered the song on Jo Whiley's Live Lounge radio show. Also, Belinda Carlisle did a live rendition on the ITV1 reality show Hit Me Baby One More Time and Johnette Napolitano included the song on her album Scarred. The British classical female quartet All Angels did a choral arrangement of the song on their album "Into Paradise" which was released in November, 2007. In addition, the television show MAD TV did a parody of the video, called "The Narcissist".
The single cover features drummer Will Champion, art-directed by Sølve Sundsbø.
During live performances of "The Scientist", the outro is reversed and looped by the sound mixer upon the band ending the song. The band then take out digital cameras and take pictures of that night's audience and sometimes give the cameras to audience members after they're finished with them. It is often a highlight of Coldplay's concerts.
[edit] Track listing
- "The Scientist" - 5:11
- "1.36" featuring Tim Wheeler from Ash on guitar - 2:05
- "I Ran Away" - 4:26
[edit] DVD
- "The Scientist (Edit)"
- "The Scientist (Edit)" (video running backwards)
- "Lips Like Sugar" (live)
[edit] Music video
The music video for "The Scientist" was very popular with its reverse narrative. The same concept was previously used for Spike Jonze's 1996 music video for The Pharcyde's "Drop". This reverse style was first seen in the video for the song "The Second Summer of Love" by Scottish band Danny Wilson in 1989, and can also be seen in Enigma's "Return to Innocence", Jack Johnson's video for "Sitting, Waiting, Wishing", Dashboard Confessional's video for "Don't Wait", Beyoncé Knowles' video for "Me, Myself and I", Modest Mouse's "Little Motel" and Mute Math's "Typical". It took Chris Martin a month to learn to sing the song backwards.[2]
The video was filmed at various locations, including London and the Bourne Woods, Surrey before the first leg of the A Rush of Blood to the Head tour. It was directed by famed director Jamie Thraves, best known for his work on Radiohead's enigmatic "Just" video. Though it was filmed in England, the car driven in the music video features a Wyoming license plate which had a design that was in use from 1983 to 1988 (although the car itself is right-hand drive). The vehicle in the video was a BMW E28 5-series, manufactured from 1982 to 1988.
Irish actress Elaine Cassidy is also featured in the video.
In 2003, "The Scientist" won multiple MTV Video Music Awards for Best Group Video, Best Direction, and Breakthrough Video. It was also nominated at the Grammy Awards for Best Music Video:Short Form.
[edit] Chart positions
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia Singles Chart | 40 |
| Canada Singles Chart | 6 |
| Latvian Airplay Top | 6 |
| Peru Top 40 Singles | 1 |
| UK Top 75 | 10 |
[edit] Quotes
Chris Martin on "The Scientist": "That's just about girls. It's weird that whatever else is on your mind, whether it's the downfall of global economics or terrible environmental troubles, the thing that always gets you most is when you fancy someone."[3]
However, inside the cover to A Rush of Blood to the Head it is stated: "The Scientist is Dan." 'Dan' refers to Dan Keeling, the A&R man who signed the band to Parlophone.
[edit] Notes
The chords to this song are replicated by Sum 41, in their song "Pieces" and the opening chords to the Crowded House song 'Pour Le Monde'.
"The Scientist" is sampled in the 2007 song "Silent" by The Field (musician). The song has been covered by Natasha Bedingfield, Aimee Mann, Avril Lavigne and Eamon in BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge.
[edit] References
- ^ VH1.com: Coldplay — Going Out of My Head
- ^ The Story Behind Coldplay's 'The Scientist'. Retrieved on August 1, 2006.
- ^ Coldplay E-Zine: Issue 6 (PDF file)
- Roach, Martin (2003). Coldplay: Nobody Said It Was Easy. Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-9810-8.
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Official Fansite
- Coldplay Wiki
- 'The Scientist' Lyrics
- 'The Scientist' Voted Coldplay fans' favourite song
- 'The Scientist' on YouTube
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