Star Guitar

"Star Guitar"
Single by The Chemical Brothers
from the album Come with Us
Released	14 January 2002 (2002-01-14)
Format	CD, 12", DVD
Recorded	2002
Genre	Big beat, chill-out
Length	6:54 (original version) 6:27 (album version) 3:59 (edit)
Label	Freestyle Dust (UK) Astralwerks (US)
Producer(s)	The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers singles chronology
"It Began in Afrika" (2001) "Star Guitar" (2002) "Come with Us"/"The Test" (2002)

"Star Guitar"
Single by Shinichi Osawa
from the album The One
Released	2007
Format	12", CD
Recorded	2007
Genre	Electro
Length	5:55
Label	Rhythm Zone (JP) Dim Mak (US)
Writer(s)	Thomas Owen Rowlands, Edmund John Simons
Producer(s)	Shinichi Osawa
Shinichi Osawa singles chronology
"Our Song" (2007) "'Star Guitar" (2008) "Push" (2008)

"Star Guitar" is the second single from The Chemical Brothers 2002 album Come with Us. The song reached number eight in the UK Singles Chart, number two on the American dance chart and number one in the UK Dance Chart.^[1]

Structure

"Star Guitar" is approximately 126 beats per minute and in the key of F major.

The song contains a four measure-long acoustic guitar sample from the beginning of the David Bowie song, "Starman," ^{[citation needed]} hence the name, "Star Guitar." This sample is repeated throughout the majority of the track, with various musical elements playing off of it as a main theme. The song also contains an electronic sample of "Fly to Venus" by Electronic System.

Video

The music video, directed by Michel Gondry, features a continuous shot filmed from the window of a speeding train passing through towns and countryside; however, the buildings and objects passing by appear exactly in time with the various beats and musical elements of the track. The video is based on DV footage Gondry shot while on vacation in France; the train ride between Nîmes and Valence was shot ten different times during the day to get different light gradients. The Pont du Robinet as well as Pierrelatte's station can be seen. Gondry had experimented with a different version of the same effect in his video for Daft Punk's "Around the World", where he had represented each element of the music with a dancer.

Gondry actually plotted out the synchronization of the song on graph paper before creating the video, eventually "modelling" the scenery with oranges, forks, tapes, books, glasses and tennis shoes.

Track listing

UK/Europe CD

1. "Star Guitar (Edit)" – 4:00
2. "Base 6" – 6:34
3. "Star Guitar (Pete Heller's Expanded Mix)" – 8:30

US/Japan CD

1. "Star Guitar (Edit)" – 4:00
2. "Star Guitar" – 6:55
3. "Star Guitar (Pete Heller's Expanded Mix)" – 8:30
4. "Star Guitar (Pete Heller's 303 Dub)" – 7:23
5. "Base 6" – 6:34

UK 12"

1. "Star Guitar"
2. "Star Guitar (Pete Heller's Expanded Mix)"

UK DVD

1. "Star Guitar" video – 4:00
2. "Star Guitar" – 6:34
3. "Star Guitar (Pete Heller's 303 Dub)" – 7:23

Cover versions

An electro house style cover of the track, featuring vocals by Au Revoir Simone, was featured in Shinichi Osawa's 2007 album The One and was also released as a single, with remixes by The Brookes Brothers, Streetlife DJs, Jaymo, The Japanese Popstars and Cagedbaby.

"Star Guitar" was featured in the beginning of Steve Angello's 2009 track "Monday".

Release history

References

External links

• Full lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics