But It's Better If You Do
| "But It's Better If You Do" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Panic! at the Disco | ||||
| from the album A Fever You Can't Sweat Out | ||||
| Released | May 16, 2006 | |||
| Format | CD | |||
| Recorded | Dang! Studios (Lewisville, Texas) | |||
| Genre | Baroque pop, pop punk | |||
| Length | 3:25 | |||
| Label | Fueled by Ramen, Decaydance | |||
| Writer(s) | Ryan Ross, Brendon Urie, Spencer Smith | |||
| Producer(s) | Matt Squire | |||
| Panic! at the Disco singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"But It's Better If You Do" is the third single by Panic! at the Disco, from their 2005 debut album A Fever You Can't Sweat Out.
Song information
Written by Ryan Ross and released on May 4, 2006 as a CD single, "But It's Better If You Do" is the third single to be released by Panic! at the Disco, and the second with an accompanying video.
"It's a song about being in a strip club but not actually liking being in there. So I wanted it to be about the sort of complex inner-monologue," he said. "It's not completely fiction, though. It's based on a scenario when I was going through a breakup with a girl. Because in reality, I don't like strip clubs. I think they're kinda perverted", says Ryan Ross. Ross went on to say, "When I wrote it, I never thought about it being played in strip clubs. But I guess it would be kind of a change from what they usually play in there", he said. "It would be a surreal experience, for sure. I think the tempo is too fast, though. So maybe someone would have to do a chopped-and-screwed version or something."[1]
This was the last video to feature Brent Wilson on bass.
Title
The title is a quote from the film Closer in which the character portrayed by Natalie Portman says, "Lying is the most fun a girl can have without taking her clothes off... but it's better if you do". "Lying Is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off" is also the title of another song by Panic! at the Disco. In the UK iTunes the title is "But It's Better When We Do".
Music video
At the beginning of the song's music video, the song playing in the background is "Intermission", the song preceding "But It's Better If You Do" on the A Fever You Can't Sweat Out CD.
The music video begins with a black-and-white introduction of a man (played by the band's lead singer, Brendon Urie), arguing with his girlfriend. She is worried about him always singing at illegal strip clubs; he says he doesn't go to illegal strip joints, but he goes anyway.
The music video continues with the song in the overview of the strip joint. Urie performs onstage with the other members of Panic! at the Disco and a Las Vegas showgirls dance group. Urie sees a woman who seems to be unusually interested in him. They retreat to a private room. The two begin to kiss and Urie removes his mask. The woman likewise removes her mask to reveal that she was in fact his girlfriend. His girlfriend slaps him and turns to leave. As she gains headway, however, the police bust into the club and arrest her. Urie brawls with the chief, but is apprehended. They both are put into a police car, smirk knowingly at one and another, and the scene fades in the same black-and-white color as the intro.
The video for "But It's Better If You Do" debuted on Total Request Live daily countdown on June 29, 2006 at No. 8 and was directed by Shane Drake.
Track listing
- UK CD/Digital (May 2006)
- "But It's Better If You Do"
- "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" (91X Acoustic Session)
- UK 7" poster bag (May 2006)
- A. "But It's Better If You Do"
- B. "The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage" (Tommie Sunshine Brooklyn Fire Remix)
- UK 7" colored vinyl (May 2006)
- A. "But It's Better If You Do"
- B. "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" (iTunes Session)
- WMI CD (October 2006)
- "But It's Better If You Do"
- "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" (91X Acoustic Session)
- WMI CD/Digital (September 2006)
- "But It's Better If You Do"
- "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" (91X Acoustic Session)
- "Lying Is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off" (Live in Denver)
Chart performance
Following its release in the United States, the song debuted at No. 4 on Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, before dropping to No. 8 on the chart dated September 23, 2006. It peaked at No. 81 on the Pop 100 chart, and No. 74 on the Hot Digital Songs chart.
In Europe, the song had better success. On the UK Singles Chart, it peaked at No. 23; and, in the Netherlands, it peaked at No. 89 on the Dutch Singles Chart. The single also reached No. 1 on the UK Rock Chart on May 14, 2006. "But It's Better If You Do" also found success in the Oceanic regions; on the Australian Singles Chart, it peaked at No. 15, and on the New Zealand Singles Chart, it reached No. 10.
References
- ↑ "Panic! At The Disco May Have Written Next Stripper Anthem". MTV. Retrieved November 2, 2007.