First of the Year (Equinox)

"First of the Year (Equinox)"
Single by Skrillex
from the album More Monsters and Sprites
Released June 7, 2011
Format Digital download
Recorded 2011
Genre Dubstep[1]
Length 4:22
Label Big Beat
Producer(s) Skrillex
Certification Platinum (RIAA)
Skrillex Singles chronology
"Get Up!"
(2011)		 "First of the Year (Equinox)"
(2011)		 "Ruffneck (Full Flex)"
(2011)

"First of the Year (Equinox)" is a song by American electronic dance music producer Skrillex. It was released on June 7, 2011 as the lead single from his third EP, More Monsters and Sprites. The song has since become a moderate commercial success, peaking within the charts of the United States, Australia, Canada, Norway and Sweden.[2][3][4] A music video directed by Tony Truand, produced by HK Corp, premiered on August 10, 2011, and was nominated at the 54th Grammy Awards for Best Short Form Music Video. The music video was nominated for the MTV Video Music Award for Best Electronic Dance Music Video and it won the award for Best Visual Effects in a Video at 2012 MTV Video Music Awards.

Music video

The official music video for the song was made available for download on iTunes on August 10, 2011.[5] The video was produced by French company HK Corp and directed by Tony Truand. It was released on Skrillex's official YouTube channel on August 17, 2011 and has accumulated more than 138 million views.[6]

The video focuses on a child predator who follows a young, innocent-seeming girl as she skips down the street. As she descends into an underground area, he pulls out a cloth with chloroform. Just as he is about to attack, she screams "Call 911 now!" and begins utilizing telekinetic powers to manipulate the man's body. She raises him into the air and contorts his body into a variety of positions, slamming him against walls and shooting black smoke into and through his body. It is revealed that a dark figure, reminiscent of The Greys, is directly behind her making identical gestures to the child. The child's eyes turn the same color black as the figure. The suggestion is that the child is in fact some kind of avatar/golem being used by the creature to lure and punish pedophiles. Ultimately the child makes a final twisting motion with her hands, indicating she has killed the man. She is then shown using her finger to add a pitch black mark to a tally on the wall, adding another victim of her justice to the count.

Critical reception

Spin complimented the video, saying "It's one thing to empathize with at-risk kids, or to speak up for them generally, but Skrillex takes it a step further -- and then further still -- in this stunning new video for the track 'First of the Year (Equinox).'" And went on to say "But in this clip, the song's melodic preamble also serves as an ominous backdrop for a creepy, would-be predator who's lurking outside a playground where young children are frolicking. The day is overcast, but something much darker is in the air, as a little girl leaves and the man stalks after her. When she unexpectedly skips off to a dark, abandoned warehouse, he continues to follow, eventually entering a room where she's standing alone, holding a telephone receiver. The keyboards suddenly fade into a glitchier groove, and then, at the 1:25 mark, well, you gotta see for yourself."[7]

The music video was nominated for Best Short Form Music Video at the 54th Grammy Awards. The video was nominated for the MTV Video Music Award for Best Electronic Dance Music Video and it won the award for Best Visual Effects in a Video at 2012 MTV Video Music Awards, awarded to VFX supervisors the Deka Brothers. The video is featured in "Werewolves of Highland", the first episode of season 8 of Beavis and Butt-head. The song is also used by Argentinian TV channel TV Pública to promote the matches of the 2012 Torneo Inicial.

Charts

Chart (2011–12) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[8] 84
scope="row" Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[9] 7
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[10] 88
scope="row" France (SNEP)[11] 187
scope="row" Norway (VG-lista)[12] 14
scope="row" Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[13] 19
US Billboard Hot 100[10] 85

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
United States (RIAA)[14] Platinum 1,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ Jeffries, David. "More Monsters & Sprites - Skrillex". AllMusic. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
  2. ↑ http://australian-charts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Skrillex
  3. ↑ http://acharts.us/performer/skrillex
  4. ↑ http://norwegiancharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Skrillex
  5. ↑ "First of the Year (Equinox)". iTunes. 2011-08-10. Retrieved 2011-09-21.
  6. ↑ "First Of The Year (Equinox) - Skrillex [OFFICIAL]". YouTube. 2011-08-17. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
  7. ↑ "Skrillex Premieres Mind-Blowing New Video". Spin. 2011-08-19. Retrieved 2011-09-21.
  8. ↑ "The ARIA Report: Issue 1114 (Week Commencing 4 July 2011)" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. p. 2. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Skrillex – First Of The Year (Equinox)" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Skrillex – Awards". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Skrillex – First Of The Year (Equinox)" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Skrillex – First Of The Year (Equinox)". VG-lista. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Skrillex – First Of The Year (Equinox)". Singles Top 60. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
  14. ↑ "American single certifications – Skrillex – Ball". Recording Industry Association of America. 2015. Retrieved June 12, 2013. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH