"Crack the Shutters" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Snow Patrol | ||||
from the album A Hundred Million Suns | ||||
B-side | "Cubicles" | |||
Released | 12 December 2008 | |||
Recorded |
| |||
Genre | Pop rock | |||
Length | 3:20 | |||
Label | Fiction, Interscope | |||
Songwriter(s) | Gary Lightbody, Nathan Connolly, Paul Wilson, Jonny Quinn, Tom Simpson | |||
Producer(s) | Jacknife Lee | |||
Snow Patrol singles chronology | ||||
|
"Crack the Shutters" is a song from Northern Irish/Scottish alternative rock band Snow Patrol's fifth album A Hundred Million Suns . It was released as the follow-up single to "Take Back the City" on different dates in December 2008 depending on the region, and was the second single taken from the album. The lyrics were written by Gary Lightbody and the music was composed by Snow Patrol. The song was described by lyricist Lightbody as the purest love song he'd ever written. The single was received generally positively by music critics, the lyrics and vocals being praised in particular.
The single was quite successful in the charts, charting in the Top 20 in the Netherlands. Though it also entered the Top 30 in Sweden and Germany, it topped the Billboard Triple A chart. "Crack the Shutters" is also the name of a photography exhibition held by Bradley Quinn which primarily featured his photos taken at Snow Patrol concerts.
"This is the purest love song I've ever written. Even more so than "Chasing Cars". It's luxuriating in the beauty and wonder of someone you love with all your heart."
—Gary Lightbody [1]
The song came into being when Gary Lightbody was "tinkering" with the piano with some ideas the band had, and played the first bars of the song. The band laid the song in the studio the same day, which came out quite "fully formed". The initial version of the song has the same structure as the version that appears on the album. The lyric 'crack the shutters open wide' was the first that came to Lightbody, who further commented that it's "the most natural song on the album, it's about the most natural thing in the world". [2]
At the time of the release of the album, SP.com posted a section featuring lead singer and lyricist Gary Lightbody discussing the new songs, which was initially a Lightbody interview to RTÉ. [1] About "Crack the Shutters", he said it was the purest love song he'd ever written. [1] The album A Hundred Million Suns is noted for its positive lyrics, as Lightbody was best known before for break-up songs. [3] The song is the one of many positive songs that Lightbody wrote for the album. [3] In an interview with The Sunday Times, he said, "The problem I've always had with writing about love is that you don't really stop and think about it when it's occurring. This time, I made myself think about it – how to fit it into words. The new lyrics took a lot longer than usual, but I'm proud of them." [3] Lightbody credited producer Jacknife Lee with helping him with lyric writing. He praised him further, adding that it was Lee who taught him the importance of the lyrics sounding as good as they're well written. [3]
The song became a fan favorite on the Taking Back the Cities Tour. [4] SP.com organized a competition for fans to design the artwork for the single. The only rule was to have "Snow Patrol" and "Crack the Shutters" on the artwork. The winning entry was used on the official website only remix version of the single and the band themselves chose the winner. [5] The song was placed on BBC Radio 2's "A List" playlist for the week commencing 6 December 2008, and subsequently got played twenty times a week. [6] The song has also been featured on the 90210 episode "Help Me, Rhonda", [7] which aired on 3 February 2009. [8] Additionally, the band donated the song to be used in the soundtrack for a promotional video for the "Not in My Name" campaign. [9]
The single was released in two physical formats: a CD single and a 7-inch vinyl. The CD single, which saw a full release featured a new song, the previously unreleased b-side "Cubicles". [4] The 7-inch vinyl, which had a limited release featured a cover of Elbow's "One Day Like This", recorded on Jo Whiley's "Live Lounge on Tour". The pressing was limited to 500 copies, and was only available at HMV Music Stores. [4] An iTunes Store bundle included the single and the "Haunts Remix" of the song. [10] Another iTunes single was the "Kid Glove Remix" of the track. [11] Both singles were made available digitally on 14 December 2008. [10] [11] The physical single was released on 12 December in Ireland, [12] 15 December in the UK, [13] and 16 December in Australia [14] and Germany, [15] and 19 December in the Netherlands. [16]
Critical reception towards the single was generally positive. Yahoo! Music's Jairne Gill reviewed the single positively, giving it seven stars out of ten. In spite of this, he criticized Snow Patrol for "established the kind of ruthless commercial formula more commonly associated with corporations like Microsoft or Starbucks." He also said that "the first single back is always a semi-rocky, fidgety beast - as if to reassure people they are still an indie band at heart, you know - and is swiftly followed by a big, sweltering, lovelorn ballad designed to make housewives melt and bring US television executives in search of a season finale running to them with blank cheques." He went on to say that the song was rather lovely. He praised the guitar and glockenspiel in the song, and called the chorus "a warm hug". He also felt that vocalist Gary Lightbody's feelings sound genuine in the song. [17] The Sunday Mail's Avril Cadden, though called the song "nothing new and typical Snow Patrol", but defended it, saying that it has "a cracking tune and the best from that album." To her, Snow Patrol were "back on form". She further praised the song, calling it "rousing and effective". She also called the lyrics "heartfelt" and the vocals "emotive", which "give you a warm glow". She awarded the single four stars out of five. [18] The Daily Record's John Dingwall also gave the single four stars out of five. He called the album "brilliant" and the song "cleverly-written". He felt the delivery of the vocals was "perfect" and Gary Lightbody's "emotive vocals" provided "the icing on the cake." [19]
Nick Levine of Digital Spy, however reviewed the single negatively, giving it two stars out of five. He wrote that the single sounded similar to their earlier work, and that it "chugs along from intimate, piano-driven verses to choruses that are supposed to coax the mobile phones out of punters' pockets at their arena gigs." He criticized the chorus for not being "as rousing as it thinks it is". He ended saying fans should rather buy Take That's album The Circus instead. [20]
The song was named the "Record of the Week" in the Netherlands for week two of 2009. The single peaked at number 43 on the UK Singles Chart, making it the band's first single to miss the UK Top 40 since the original release of "Spitting Games", back in 2003. The single lasted eight weeks in the UK Top 75 and ten weeks in the UK Top 100. [21] However, the song was a success in the Netherlands, reaching number 14, as did Snow Patrol's other most successful Dutch single: "Shut Your Eyes" but charting five weeks less than the latter. [22] Furthermore, the single topped the Triple A chart in the United States, a feat previously achieved by "Take Back the City", the previous single released from A Hundred Million Suns. [23] Till date, the single has spent a total of seventy weeks on record charts around the world. [24]
The music video for the song was shot after the band finished the Take Back the Cities whistle-stop tour. [25] It was produced by Suza Horvat [26] and directed by Kevin Godley. [27] The video opens with the band playing the opening bars of the song on their respective instruments.
Gary Lightbody is then shown singing the lyrics with the camera focused on his lips. The camera zooms out, slowly revealing his full face. As the song reaches its chorus, the camera zooms out quickly to show the whole band and a crowd of people are shown running past. The people disappear as the chorus ends. Till the next chorus, there are interspersed shots of all five band members.
The second chorus again shows a crowd of people running past the band. As the second chorus nears its end, a crowd of people are shown approaching the band with flashlights in their hands. The shots then shown of the band performing appear as if it is a live performance in an arena. The band goes on to finish the song, and the video ends with a shot of Lightbody resting on his microphone.
|
|
Snow Patrol
Other personnel
Chart (2008–2009) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [31] | 57 |
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [32] | 32 |
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [33] | 42 |
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia) [34] | 19 |
Canada Digital Songs ( Billboard ) [35] | 58 |
European Hot 100 Singles ( Billboard ) [36] | 65 |
Germany (Official German Charts) [37] | 28 |
Ireland (IRMA) [38] | 32 |
Japan (Japan Hot 100) [39] | 67 |
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [22] | 14 |
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [40] | 36 |
Scotland (OCC) [41] | 31 |
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [42] | 29 |
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [43] | 72 |
UK Singles (OCC) [44] | 43 |
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles ( Billboard ) [45] | 11 |
US Adult Alternative Songs ( Billboard ) [46] | 1 |
US Adult Pop Airplay ( Billboard ) [47] | 37 |
Chart (2009) | Position |
---|---|
US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard) [48] | 2 |
Chart (1995–2021) | Position |
---|---|
US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard) [49] | 60 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [50] | Gold | 35,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [51] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Date | Format | Ref(s). |
---|---|---|---|
Ireland | 12 December 2008 | Compact disc | [12] |
Various | 14 December 2008 | iTunes | [10] [11] |
United Kingdom | 15 December 2008 | Compact disc, 7-inch vinyl | [13] |
Australia | 16 December 2008 | Compact disc | [14] |
Germany | [15] | ||
Netherlands | 19 December 2008 | [16] |
"Crack the Shutters" is also the name of an exhibition held at the annual Trans Festival, organized by the Urban Arts Academy. [52] Held at Gallery 2 [53] of the Waterfront Hall in Belfast on 8 July 2009 until the end of the month, the exhibition featured photographer Bradley Quinn's series of Snow Patrol concert photos, both onstage and offstage. [52] [54] Bradley is the brother of Snow Patrol drummer Jonny Quinn and was classmates with Gary Lightbody in school. [53] He has known the band members from before the band existed and was the one who took their first press shots. [53]
Along with tour diaries and music videos, the exhibition showcased the sixteen-minute animation for "The Lightning Strike", which the band has been playing at recent concerts like the Taking Back the Cities Tour. [52] Indie rock group Cashier No. 9, who supported Snow Patrol during their UK & Ireland Arena Tour of February–March 2009 also played a concert, which was open to all ages. [52] To mark the event, SP.com organized a competition to give away five signed and unframed limited edition prints of Bradley's work. [55] Fans were required to email in their details to participate. [56]
Snow Patrol are a Northern Irish-Scottish rock band formed in 1994 in Dundee, Scotland. The band consists of Gary Lightbody, Nathan Connolly, and Johnny McDaid ; Lightbody is the band's sole remaining original member.
Final Straw is the third studio album and major-label debut by Northern Ireland rock band Snow Patrol, released on 4 August 2003 in the United Kingdom and Ireland and in 2004 in the United States. The album is notable for bringing the band their first mainstream success outside of their native countries of Northern Ireland and Scotland. In the 14 months following its release, a total of 5 singles were drawn from it. It is the first album to feature lead guitarist Nathan Connolly and the last to feature bassist Mark McClelland.
Eyes Open is the fourth studio album by Northern Irish-Scottish alternative rock band Snow Patrol. Produced by Jacknife Lee, it was released in the UK on 1 May 2006, and 9 May 2006 in the US. It was the band's first album without bassist Mark McClelland and the first to feature bassist Paul Wilson and keyboardist Tom Simpson. Recording for the album took place between October and December 2005 at Grouse Lodge Studios in Ireland, The Garage in Kent, and The Garden and Angel Recording Studios, both in London.
"Run" is a song by Northern Irish-Scottish alternative rock band Snow Patrol from their third studio album, Final Straw (2003). It was released in the United Kingdom on 26 February 2004 as the second single from the album. The song was conceived in 2000 by frontman Gary Lightbody after an accident he had during a bender. "Run" is described as a Britpop power ballad. It received critical acclaim, and was compared to Coldplay's "Yellow".
"Chocolate" is a song by UK alternative rock band Snow Patrol. It was released as the third single from their third studio album, Final Straw. The music for the track was written by all four members of the band, while the lyrics are by lead vocalist Gary Lightbody.
"You're All I Have" is a song by Northern Irish alternative rock band Snow Patrol. It was released on 24 April 2006 as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Eyes Open (2006). The song was used by RTÉ sport to promote the return of The Sunday Game for the 2006 GAA Championships. It became the band's second big hit after the success of "Run" in 2004, peaking at number seven on the UK Singles Chart.
Gareth John Lightbody is an Irish musician from Northern Ireland. He is best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band Snow Patrol. He has also founded the musical supergroups The Reindeer Section and Tired Pony.
"Signal Fire" is a song from Irish alternative rock band Snow Patrol, appearing on the soundtrack of the film Spider-Man 3, released on 24 April, 30 April, 2 May and 14 May 2007, depending on the region. It was the only single released from the soundtrack. It was recorded at Grouse Lodge and was produced by long-time Snow Patrol producer Jacknife Lee. The song was also initially offered to Shrek the Third.
The discography of Snow Patrol, an alternative rock band, consists of seven studio albums, thirty-two singles, eight extended plays, three compilation albums and one live DVD. Snow Patrol was formed in 1994 by Gary Lightbody, Michael Morrison and Mark McClelland under the name Shrug. They released an extended play (EP) titled The Yogurt vs. Yogurt Debate. Morrison left in 1995, and the band changed their name to Polarbear. Under this name they released their other EP, Starfighter Pilot, on the Electric Honey label. Drummer Jonny Quinn joined in 1997 and the band signed to Jeepster Records the same year. They then underwent their final name change to Snow Patrol. The band's first two studio albums: Songs for Polarbears and When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up were released in 1998 and 2001 respectively, but failed to do well commercially. Subsequently, the band was dropped by the label.
A Hundred Million Suns is the fifth album by Scottish-Northern Irish alternative rock band Snow Patrol. The album was written by Snow Patrol and was produced by longtime producer Jacknife Lee, who has previously produced albums for Bloc Party, R.E.M., and U2. The songs were recorded through the summer of 2008 in Hansa Studios in Berlin and Grouse Lodge Studios in Ireland. The album was released in Ireland on 24 October 2008, on 25 October in Australia, on 27 October in the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe and in the US on 28 October.
"Chasing Cars" is a song by Northern Irish-Scottish alternative rock band Snow Patrol. It was released as the second single from their fourth studio album, Eyes Open (2006). It was released on 6 June 2006, in the United States and 24 July 2006, in the United Kingdom. The song gained significant popularity in the US after being featured in the second season finale of the medical drama Grey's Anatomy, which aired on 15 May 2006.
"Take Back the City" is a song from alternative rock band Snow Patrol's fifth album A Hundred Million Suns. It was released as the lead single from the album on different dates in October 2008, depending on the region. The lyrics were written by Gary Lightbody and the music was composed by Snow Patrol. The song has positive lyrics, and is about Lightbody's love for Belfast. The song has been officially remixed once, by Lillica Libertine, and it appeared as a B-side to the single.
"If There's a Rocket Tie Me to It" is a song by alternative rock band Snow Patrol. It is the opening track on their fifth album A Hundred Million Suns, and was released as its third single on 8 March 2009. The music was composed by Snow Patrol, with frontman Gary Lightbody writing the lyrics. The song is a departure from Lightbody's frequent attempts at diagnosing his less positive personal issues, which often focus on his romantic breakups, and instead celebrates a newfound love outside human relationships.
"One Day Like This" is the second single from English band Elbow's fourth studio album, The Seldom Seen Kid, released on 2 June 2008 on two 7-inch vinyl records and one CD single.
"The Planets Bend Between Us" (or "The Planets Bend Between Us (For You)") is a song from alternative rock band Snow Patrol's fifth album A Hundred Million Suns. It was released as the follow-up single to "If There's a Rocket Tie Me to It" on 24 May 2009. It was the fourth single taken from the album. The lyrics were written by Gary Lightbody and the music was composed by Snow Patrol. The song is about Lightbody's beach house in Belfast. The single featured a re-working of the album version and was released as a digital download only. It was later included on the band's 2009 compilation album Up to Now.
"Just Say Yes" is a song by Northern Irish alternative rock band Snow Patrol, released as the single to follow "The Planets Bend Between Us" in October–November 2009, depending on the region. The song, produced by Jacknife Lee, is one of the three new songs, and the lead single from the compilation Up to Now. The lyrics were written by Gary Lightbody and the music was composed by Snow Patrol. "Just Say Yes" has its origins as a song written for pop singer Gwen Stefani, who rejected it. Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls was then given permission by Lightbody to record it for her solo debut album, which was later shelved.
Up to Now is the first compilation album by alternative rock band Snow Patrol. The album features tracks spanning Snow Patrol's fifteen-year music career, including tracks from The Reindeer Section, a side-project/supergroup involving musicians from all over Scotland. The album was released in early November 2009, primarily as a two-disc set and a three-disc digipak format containing one DVD of bonus material. A limited edition heavyweight box was also sold. Three new songs were released on the album. One of these was "Just Say Yes", the lead single taken from the compilation. The solo re-recording of "An Olive Grove Facing the Sea" was released as the album's second single. In Netherlands, Belgium and Finland "Run" was re-released in a version called "Run " in January 2010.
"Called Out in the Dark" is a song by Scottish-Northern Irish rock band Snow Patrol. The track was released as the first single from the band's sixth studio album Fallen Empires on 2 September 2011. It was made available both independently and on an EP with three other tracks from Fallen Empires. "Called Out in the Dark" was shortlisted for Meteor Choice Music Prize Irish Song of the Year 2011. A version of the track also exists which is remixed by Norman Cook.
"The Last Time" is a song by Taylor Swift featuring Gary Lightbody, taken from Swift's fourth studio album, Red (2012). Swift wrote the track with Lightbody and Jacknife Lee; the latter two are members of the rock band Snow Patrol. A power ballad, the song sees Swift's and Lightbody's characters expressing their perspectives on a failed relationship, torn between heartbreak and forgiveness. The production combines alternative rock and folk over dramatic string instruments and an orchestral background in the refrain. "The Last Time" was released in the United Kingdom on November 4, 2013, as a single from Red.
Wildness is the seventh studio album by Northern Irish-Scottish rock band Snow Patrol. The album was released on 25 May 2018. It is their first album with Johnny McDaid as a full member of the band, after his involvement as a guest musician and songwriter on Fallen Empires and participation in its tour. It was also the last Snow Patrol album with longtime members Paul Wilson and Jonny Quinn, who both left the band in September 2023.