The Scientist (song)

"The Scientist"
Single by Coldplay
from the album A Rush of Blood to the Head
B-side "1.36"
"I Ran Away"
Released 4 November 2002 (UK)
15 April 2003 (US)
Format CD, DVD, 7"
Recorded 2001
Genre Alternative rock
Length 5:09 (album version)
4:26 (radio edit)
Label Parlophone (UK)
Capitol (US)
Writer(s) Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion, Chris Martin
Producer Ken Nelson
Coldplay
Certification Gold (RIAA)
Coldplay singles chronology
"In My Place"
(2002)		 "The Scientist"
(2002)		 "Clocks"
(2003)

"The Scientist" is the second single from English alternative rock band Coldplay's second album, A Rush of Blood to the Head. The song was written collaboratively by all the band members for the album. It is built around a piano ballad, with its lyrics telling the story about a man's desire to love and an apology. The song was released in the United Kingdom as the second single from A Rush of Blood to the Head and reached number 10 in the UK Charts. It was released in the United States as the third single and reached number 18 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks.

Critics were positive towards "The Scientist" and complimented the song's piano ballad and falsetto. Several remixes of the track exist, and its riff has been widely sampled. The single's music video won three MTV Music Video Awards, for the video's use of reverse narrative. The song was also featured on the band's 2003 live album Live 2003.

Contents

Background

Vocalist Chris Martin wrote "The Scientist" after listening to George Harrison's "All Things Must Pass."[1] In an interview with Rolling Stone, Martin revealed that while working on the band's second album, A Rush of Blood to the Head, he knew that the album was missing something.[2] One night, during a stay in Liverpool,[3] Martin found an old piano that was out of tune. He wanted to work on Harrison's song, "Isn't It a Pity," but he could not manage to do so. When the song came to Martin, he asked that the recorder be turned on.[2] He concluded by saying that he came across this chord sequence and noted that the chord was "lovely."[4] Martin recorded the vocals and piano takes in a studio in Liverpool.[5]

When asked about the development of the song, during a track-by-track reveal, Martin said: "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."[6]

However, the liner notes from A Rush of Blood to the Head stated: "The Scientist is Dan." 'Dan' refers to Dan Keeling, the A&R man who signed the band to Parlophone.[6]

Composition

The song is a piano-driven ballad;[7] the song also contains a piano riff. Chris Martin opens the song and is joined by the rest of the band after the first chorus. The song begins with a three-chord piano melody, with Martin singing. The track also includes a string arrangement.[8] Towards the end of the song, an electric guitar can be heard.

The lyrics to the song allude to a man's powerlessness in the face of love.[9][10] The song implies that he wants to go "back to the start."[11] The first lines of the first verse emphasize in an apology: "Come up to meet you/tell you I'm sorry/you don't know how lovely you are."[12] The song's title also alludes to science in question in verse three: "I was just guessing at numbers and figures/pulling the puzzles apart/questions of science, science and progress."[12]

Release

Chris Martin playing "The Scientist" on his piano during the band's 2005 Twisted Logic Tour

Coldplay released "The Scientist" in Europe on 4 November 2002 as the album's second single. The single was pressed with two B-sides: "1.36" and "I Ran Away."[13] Across the US, while preparing for the song as the album's second release, the band's US label felt the song failed to "provide enough of a blood rush for American listeners"; instead, they released "Clocks" as the second single in the US.[14] The single's cover, created by Sølve Sundsbø,[15] as with the album's and its other singles, features drummer Will Champion. The song was released on 15 April 2003 in the US.[14]

"The Scientist" appeared on Australia Singles Chart at number 40 on 1 November 2003.[16] It appeared on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks at number 18.[17] The song peaked at number six at Canada Singles Chart and Latvian Airplay Top on 19 July 2003.[16][18] The song peaked at number 10 in UK Top 75 on 17 November 2002.[19][20]

Reception

Critics were positive towards the song. Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone, in his review of the album wrote: "The fantastic piano ballad 'The Scientist' ... [has] a cataclysmic falsetto finale that could raise every hair on the back of your neck."[21] Nick Southall of Stylus magazine wrote: "The piano that chimes through 'The Scientist' is captured perfectly, the warm depression of each individual key caught rather than a shrill ringing as is so often the case."[22] Ian Watson of NME wrote: "'The Scientist' is a song inexorably linked with the endless night sky and the secret hopes and regrets of a hundred thousand strangers."[23]

In 2003, "The Scientist" was featured on Coldplay's live album Live 2003.[24] The song was covered live by Aimee Mann and released on a special edition of her album Lost in Space.[25] Natasha Bedingfield, Eamon and Avril Lavigne covered the song on Jo Whiley's Live Lounge radio show.[26][27][28] 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.[29][30] The British female quartet All Angels did a choral arrangement of the song on their album "Into Paradise," which was released in November 2007.[31] The chords to this song are replicated by Sum 41 in their song "Pieces."[32] In addition, the American television show MADtv did a parody of the video, called "The Narcissist."[33] The track was featured in the 2004 film Wicker Park.[34][35]

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. In order for Martin to appear to be mouthing the lyrics in the reversed footage, he had to learn to sing the song backwards, which took him a month to do.[36]

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.[36] It was directed by Jamie Thraves.[36] The video premiered on 14 August 2002.[37] It depicts Martin walking in reverse through a city, out into the suburbs and eventually the woods, picking up various pieces of a suit as he goes. Upon arriving at his car, he 'gets in' and passes out as his girlfriend, lying on the ground in front of the car, is shown reversely flying out of the car. The car backs out of the woods and through a broken barrier, which mends itself upon the car's passing. As the video closes, they are shown driving back up the road. It is revealed that Martin's girlfriend took off her seat belt prior to the car accident, leading to her tragic death.[36] Irish actress Elaine Cassidy is also featured in the video.[36]

In 2003, "The Scientist" won multiple MTV Video Music Awards for Best Group Video, Best Direction, and Breakthrough Video.[38] It was also nominated at the 2004 Grammy Awards for Best Short Form Music Video but lost to Johnny Cash's video for "Hurt".[39]

Track listing

  1. "The Scientist" - 5:11
  2. "1.36" - 2:05
  3. "I Ran Away" - 4:26

DVD

  1. "The Scientist" (Edit)
  2. "The Scientist" (video running backwards)
  3. "Lips Like Sugar" (Live)

Charts

Chart (2002) Peak
Position
Canadian Singles Chart 6
Australia ARIA Singles Chart 40[40]
Dutch Singles Chart 20
Italy Singles Chart 23
Irish Singles Chart 15
UK Singles Chart 10
US Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks 18
Chart (2009) Peak
Position
Swiss Singles Chart 84[40]

See also


References

  1. ↑ "Coldplay — Going Out of My Head". VH1. 2002-08-13. http://www.vh1.com/artists/interview/1456997/08132002/coldplay.jhtml. Retrieved 2008-08-30. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Scaggs, Austin (2005-06-16). "Q&A: Chris Martin". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/coldplay/articles/story/7381688/qa_chris_martin. Retrieved 2008-08-30. 
  3. ↑ Oldham, James (July 2002). "Coldplay Yellow Fever". Auckland, New Zealand Newspaper. 
  4. ↑ "ShakenStir Interview about A Rush of Blood to the Head (September 2002)" (Internet Archive). ShakenStir. http://coldplaying.com/index.php?name=Sections&req=viewarticle&artid=37&page=1. Retrieved 2008-09-01. 
  5. ↑ "Coldplay — The Scientist". BBC Music. BBC. 2002-11-18. http://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/music/2002/11/18/the_scientist.shtml. Retrieved 2008-09-01. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Coldplay E-Zine: Issue 6" (PDF). Coldplay.com. http://www.coldplay.com/content/ezine/documents/ezine6.pdf. Retrieved 2008-08-30. 
  7. ↑ Parker, Nigel (2002-08-23). "Coldplay's Rush is near-flawless". BBC News (BBC). http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/entertainment/2209693.stm. Retrieved 2009-04-29. 
  8. ↑ Denning, Adrian. "Coldplay album reviews". Adrian Denning.com. http://www.adriandenning.co.uk/coldplay.html. Retrieved 2008-09-01. 
  9. ↑ Gray, Christopher (2002-10-04). "Phases and Stages — Record Review". The Austin Chronicle. http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/review?oid=oid%3A104046. Retrieved 2008-09-01. 
  10. ↑ "The State of Coldplay". Q. August 2002. 
  11. ↑ Cheal, David (2006-10-12). "Perfect Playlist: Coldplay". The Daily Telegraph: 030. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "The Scientist Lyrics". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/lyrics/coldplay/the_scientist/14623073/lyrics.jhtml. Retrieved 2008-09-01. 
  13. ↑ "Coldplay Scientist B-Sides". Yahoo! Music. Yahoo!. http://music.yahoo.com/release/7336828. Retrieved 2008-09-01. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Wiederhorn, Jon (2002-10-15). "Coldplay Singer Questions Whether He's The Devil". MTV News. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1458121/20021014/coldplay.jhtml. Retrieved 2008-07-15. 
  15. ↑ "Sølve Sundsbø's best shot". The Guardian. guardian.co.uk. 2008-02-14. http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2008/feb/14/photography.art. Retrieved 2008-09-01. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Coldplay — The Scientist at Top40-Charts". Top 40-Charts. http://top40-charts.com/song.php?sid=5549&sort=chartid. Retrieved 2008-09-03. 
  17. ↑ "Artist Chart History — Coldplay". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.vnuArtistId=401639&model.vnuAlbumId=754845. Retrieved 2008-09-02. 
  18. ↑ (Latvian) "Latvian Airplay Top 500 of 2003". Lanet. http://www.lanet.lv/news/airplay/2003/2003.html. Retrieved 2008-09-03. 
  19. ↑ Jones, Alan (2008-03-12). "The 20 biggest selling albums of the 21st Century". Music Week. http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?storycode=1033488. Retrieved 2008-09-02. 
  20. ↑ "Official UK Top 75: 17/11/02". Vibe Waves. 2002-11-17. http://vibewaves.brinkster.net/uk/top40/nov02/17.html. Retrieved 2008-09-02. 
  21. ↑ Sheffield, Rob (2002-08-26). "A Rush Of Blood To The Head". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/171751/review/5943034/arushofbloodtothehead. Retrieved 2008-08-30. 
  22. ↑ Southall, Nick (2002-09-01). "Coldplay — A Rush Of Blood To The Head Review". Stylus. http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/coldplay/a-rush-of-blood-to-the-head.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-30. 
  23. ↑ Watson, Ian (2002-10-31). "Coldplay: The Scientist". NME. http://www.nme.com/reviews/coldplay/6803. Retrieved 2008-08-30. 
  24. ↑ Magill, Jeff (2003-11-21). "Review: Mighty rush from world's best band". Europe Intelligence Wire. http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-19465398_ITM. Retrieved 2009-09-29. 
  25. ↑ "Blender:The 500 greatest songs since you were born". Blender. http://www.blender.com/guide/articles.aspx?ID=1771. Retrieved 2008-08-30. 
  26. ↑ "Natasha Bedingfield "The Scientist"". Imeem. http://www.imeem.com/joancarmel/music/Mj6K4G-U/natasha_bedingfield_the_scientist_coldplay_cover/. Retrieved 2008-09-03. 
  27. ↑ "Run For Cover(s): Letters A to E". Feedshow. 2005-07-02. http://reader.feedshow.com/show_items-feed=2a0cbb34ffab32f621b6922971894762. Retrieved 2008-09-03. 
  28. ↑ "Avril Lavigne "The Scientist" - Coldplay Cover". Mixtape Maestro. 2007-07-09. http://mixtapemaestro.blogspot.com/2007/07/avril-lavigne-scientist-coldplay-cover.html. Retrieved 2008-09-03. 
  29. ↑ "Living Legends Music: Belinda Carlisle". Living Legends. http://www.livinglegendsmusic.com/library.php?personID=1366. Retrieved 2008-09-03. 
  30. ↑ Semioli, Tom (2007-05-29). "Johnette Napolitano — Running Scarred". Amplifier Magazine. http://www.amplifiermagazine.com/amplified/johnette_napolitano.php. Retrieved 2008-09-03. 
  31. ↑ Jewers, Jack (2007-11-21). "All Angels, Into Paradise". BBC Music. BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/release/9cmq/. Retrieved 2008-09-03. 
  32. ↑ "Coldplay vs. Sum 41 ANTI-plug". Newmoanyeah. 2005-01-24. http://www.newmoanyeah.com/2005-plugs/012405_coldplay_vs_sum_41.php. Retrieved 2008-09-03. 
  33. ↑ "MADtv (season 9)". Mad TV. Fox. 2003-11-01. No. 905, season 9. 60 minutes in.
  34. ↑ Wicker Park. [DVD]. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. 2005. 
  35. ↑ "The Scientist by Coldplay". Song Facts. http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=2887. Retrieved 2008-08-30. 
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 36.2 36.3 36.4 Kaufman, Gil (2006-08-01). "The Story Behind Coldplay's 'The Scientist'". MTV News. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1472164/20030529/coldplay.jhtml?headlines=true. Retrieved 2009-09-21. 
  37. ↑ "Coldplay — The Scientist". Mvdbase.com. http://www.mvdbase.com/video.php?id=6215. Retrieved 2008-09-03. 
  38. ↑ "Old and new battle for MTV awards". BBC News. BBC. 2003-07-27. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3094049.stm. Retrieved 2008-08-31. 
  39. ↑ Sal Cinquemani and Eric Henderson. "Forecast: 46th Annual Grammy Awards". Slant. http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/features/grammyforecast2004.asp. Retrieved 2008-08-31. 
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 "Coldplay — The Scientist worldwide chart positions and trajectories". aChart.us. http://acharts.us/song/2410. Retrieved 2009-10-22. 

Notes

External links

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