| "Chemtrails" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Beck | ||||
| from the album Modern Guilt | ||||
| B-side | "Vampire Voltage No. 6" | |||
| Released | June 22, 2008 | |||
| Format | Digital download, 7" | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock, Dream pop | |||
| Length | 4:39 | |||
| Label | DGC Records | |||
| Writer(s) | Beck Hansen | |||
| Producer | Danger Mouse | |||
| Beck singles chronology | ||||
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"Chemtrails" is a 2008 single by American musician Beck. The song, taken from his eighth studio album Modern Guilt, was released digitally on June 22, 2008.
The artwork for the single uses a design based on Houndstooth patterning.
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"Chemtrails" was premiered by Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1 on May 19, 2008.[3] The song was made available to stream from Beck's official website and his MySpace.[3][4] The song was available to download on June 22, 2008, or a day later in the United States, as well as a pre-order of Modern Guilt.[5][6] The song's title refers to the chemtrail conspiracy theory, as do the lyrics: "I can't believe/What we've seen outside/You and me/Watching the jets go by".[7]
The critical reception for "Chemtrails" was generally positive. Kitty Empire of The Observer compared the "beautiful" song to a clash between The Beatles and My Bloody Valentine.[8] USA Today featured the song on its weekly playlist, complimenting Beck's "eerie falsetto over slow-building industrialized Radiohead-like ambience."[9] Billboard said that "Beck's falsetto singing rides along a bouncing bassline and crashing drums, with Danger Mouse's trademark production touches filing [sic] the crannies."[3] The song was described as "trippy" by MTV News.[10] "Chemtrails" received high praise for "its woozy textures ... with Beck's distracted vocal and a busy drum track complementing each other perfectly."[11] James Lawrenson, writing for ClickMusic, said the song was "like a more electrified Sea Change, ambient and slightly sombre, but beautiful nonetheless." The review described the song's "synth washes and sparse instrumentation" as creating "an airy, atmospheric feel."[12]
The song was inspired by the song "The Four Horsemen" by Aphrodite's Child.
As promotion for the album, limited edition copies of a "Chemtrails" 7" were distributed to independent record stores and were given to customers upon purchase of the album. The b-side is a song entitled "Vampire Voltage No. 6." Copies made in the UK were pressed on glow-in-the-dark white vinyl, while copies made for the US were pressed on standard black vinyl.[13]
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