Brendan's Death Song
"Brendan's Death Song" | ||||
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Warner Bros. | ||||
Songwriter(s) | Anthony Kiedis, Flea, Chad Smith, Josh Klinghoffer | |||
Producer(s) | Rick Rubin | |||
Red Hot Chili Peppers singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Brendan's Death Song" on YouTube |
"Brendan's Death Song" is a song by the Red Hot Chili Peppers from their 2011 album I'm with You and was released as the album's fifth and final single on June 11, 2012 through digital download. A two-track CD single was released in Germany on August 24, 2012.
Song background
The song is about
According to a July 2011 interview with singer Anthony Kiedis, Mullen died on the first day of rehearsals for the album. Kiedis said he received a text message about the death and he informed the band when he got to rehearsals. Without talking, the band quickly started to play music and the jam, which was the basis for the song, came right away. Kiedis stated that the song has the feel of a death march but ultimately "the song is more of a celebration than a bummer." Kiedis describes his favorite part of the song being the bridge, which is much darker and there is a feeling of falling into the unknown abyss of dying.[2] The guitarist Josh Klinghoffer described the song as being part acoustic mourning, part galloping hard-rock send-off.[3]
Despite getting no radio airplay, fans voted the song tenth best of the year in the Rolling Stone Top 10 Reader's Poll of 2011. In an interview with Billboard, published March 6, 2012, Chad Smith announced the song would be the band's next single.[4]
Structure
The song is written in 4/4, beginning with an acoustic guitar introduction, which is then sung over by vocalist
Music video
The video was directed by Marc Klasfeld, who also directed the music videos for "The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie" and "Monarchy of Roses". The band shot scenes for the video in New Orleans on May 21, 2012 and through their website, invited fans to be part of the video by sending in their photo and information.[5][6]
The main concept for the video was to shoot it in a
The video made its premiere on June 28, 2012 at
Live performances and promotion
Despite being a single, the song has only been performed four times live with Kiedis often struggling on some of the lyrics.
Formats and track listings
Radio promo single[10]
- "Brendan's Death Song" (radio edit)
- Promo single[11]
- "Brendan's Death Song" (album version)
- "Brendan's Death Song" (radio edit)
- "Brendan's Death Song" (instrumental)
German single[12]
- "Brendan's Death Song"
- "Goodbye Hooray" (live; recorded on May 2, 2012 in Bell Centre, Montreal)
Personnel
Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Anthony Kiedis – lead vocals
- Josh Klinghoffer – guitar, backing vocals
- Flea – bass
- Chad Smith – drums
Additional musicians
Use in media
Portions of the song can be heard on Top Gear's India Special.
References
- ^ "Brendan's Death Song is about the following: - Red Hot Chili Peppers RHCP Fansite Forum News Source". Stadium-arcadium.com. Retrieved 2011-06-21.
- ^ "Photographic image : Anatomy of a song" (PNG). Anthonykiedis.net. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
- ^ "Rock & Roll" (PDF). Download.wbr.com. p. Cover. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-07-25. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
The Radical Rebirth of the Red Hot Chili Peppers
- ^ "Chad Smith Billboard Interview March 6th 2012. John Frusciante not attending Hall of Fame". Stadium-arcadium.com. 2012-03-06. Archived from the original on 2012-04-10. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
- ^ "New Orleans Music Video Shoot - RHCP News". Redhotchilipeppers.com. Archived from the original on 2012-06-30. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
- ^ "Diretor do novo vídeo para Brendan's Death Song é Marc Klasfeld | RHCP BRASIL". Redhotchilipeppers.com.br. Archived from the original on 2012-06-22. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
- ^ Stadium-Arcadium.com on May 22, 2012 (2012-05-23). "Brendan's Death Song Music Video Shoot Red Hot Chili Peppers New Orleans May 21st 2012". Stadium-arcadium.com. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Brendan's Death Song - RHCP News". Redhotchilipeppers.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-12. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
- ^ "Twitter / RHCPchad: @StraussFox ..keep an eye". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
- ^ "Red Hot Chili Peppers - Brendan's Death Song". ultratop.be. Retrieved 2012-11-01.
- ^ "Red Hot Chili Peppers Brendan's Death Song Promo CD RARE Chilli I'M with You". eBay. 2012-08-08. Retrieved 2012-11-01.
- ^ "Brendan'S Death Song (2track) [Single]". amazon.de. Retrieved 2012-07-12.