| "Red Flag" | ||||||||
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| Single by Billy Talent | ||||||||
| from the album Billy Talent II | ||||||||
| Released | September 11, 2006 | |||||||
| Genre | Punk rock, post-hardcore | |||||||
| Length | 3:16 | |||||||
| Label | Wea/Atlantic | |||||||
| Writer(s) | Billy Talent | |||||||
| Producer | Gavin Brown | |||||||
| Billy Talent singles chronology | ||||||||
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"Red Flag" is the second single released from the Canadian rock group Billy Talent's second album, Billy Talent II. The single was released on September 11, 2006 in the United Kingdom.[1]
Red Flag was originally released in 2005 as a part of the soundtracks of a number of Electronic Arts video games, including NHL 06, Burnout Revenge, Burnout Legends, and SSX On Tour. As well, a leaked demo of the song made its way across the internet. This demo was released by Atlantic Records on the Black Sampler II. The album version is different from the earlier release, with the bridge and refrain having been changed. It has also been used in the soundtrack for the 2007 movie TMNT.
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The music video for this song, directed by Floria Sigismondi – known for her work with artists such as Sigur Rós and Björk[2] – began shooting on 21 July 2006, and first began playing in the United Kingdom, on 20 August 2006 (on Scuzz), and debuted in Canada on MuchMusic the following day.
The video depicts a spontaneous revolution by the youth. It begins with a group of school children locked inside a school, screaming "we want out!". Finally, they break through the handcuffed doors, and proceed to run around the school and surrounding area, covering various symbols of authority and luxury – including a CCTV camera, a barbecue, a boat, a car, gas pumps and eventually the town hall – with red flags. As they run through the town, more people join in. Finally, they arrive at city hall where the members of Billy Talent are performing, and which has been covered with red flags. Most children begin to mosh to the song, while others continue to run around, covering things with red flags. One of the children throws history books into the crowd, destroying them. The video ends with the children standing under a red sky, with pages of the books falling behind them, all wearing Soviet GP-5 gas masks. Voices chanting "we want out!" can also be heard at the end of the video.
This video has inspired "Teenagers", by My Chemical Romance.
On 102.1 the edge's 200 best songs of the millennium Red Flag came in at number 145.
| Chart (2006) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart | 49 |
| German Singles Chart | 34 |
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