Do or Die (Super Furry Animals song)

Last updated
"Do or Die"
Sfa-doordie.jpg
Single by Super Furry Animals
from the album Guerrilla
Released17 January 2000
Recorded Real World Studios, Box, Wiltshire
Genre Alternative rock
Length1:59
Label Creation Records
Songwriter(s) Super Furry Animals
Producer(s) Super Furry Animals
Super Furry Animals singles chronology
"Fire in My Heart"
(1999)		"Do or Die"
(2000)		"Ysbeidiau Heulog"
(2000)

"Do or Die" is the eleventh single by Super Furry Animals. It was the third and final single to be taken from the Guerrilla album and was the band's last release for Creation Records. The track reached number 20 in the UK Singles Chart after its release on 17 January 2000. [1] The group had originally wanted to release "Wherever I Lay My Phone (That's My Home)" as the final single from Guerilla but Creation instead chose "Do or Die", a decision which the band claimed not to understand.

Contents

Although "Do or Die" features "daft lyrics", its name was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi's Quit India speech which called for Indians to "Do or Die" to end British Imperial rule in the country. [2] [3] Critical reaction was largely positive with the song being named 'Single of the Week' by the Melody Maker and appearing at number 55 in the NME's single of the year list for 2000 despite an earlier claim by the magazine that there was "no need whatsoever" to release the track as a single. [4] The music video for "Do or Die" was directed by Jake & Jim and features live action footage of the group's heads on brightly coloured cartoon bodies.

Themes and recording

According to Gruff Rhys "Do or Die" has a "ridiculously positive outlook" and was written in an attempt to "kickstart [the band] back into gear" after a bad period in the singer's life. [3] The track is a "driving song" and features sampled car noises so that "even if you're not in a car it feels like you are". [3] Although Rhys has called the track a "dumb pop song" with "really daft" lyrics, he has also claimed that the title was inspired by the Quit India speech made by Mahatma Gandhi on 8 August 1942 at the Gowalia Tank in Bombay in which Gandhi called for his countrymen to "Do or Die" and use non-violent resistance to end British Imperial rule in India. Rhys has stated that he feels the fact that "five-year-olds" can jump up and down to the song, singing "Gandhi lyrics", is important, as it contrasts with the "self-important ... pompous" lyrics of singers such as Jim Morrison and Robert Plant. [2] [3] The track was recorded in the middle of 1998 at Real World Studios, Box, Wiltshire, along with the rest of Guerrilla , and was produced by Super Furry Animals. [5] [6]

Composition

Gnome-mime-sound-openclipart.svg
"Do or Die" (1999)
Short sample from "Do or Die" featuring the track's instrumental passage and chorus. The clip illustrates the melody played by the lead guitar and keyboard, which also features in the track's intro, and the high harmony backing vocals which accompany chief vocalist Gruff Rhys during the chorus.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Do or Die" is 1 minute and 59 seconds long and is in the key of A major. [7] [8] The instruments used on the track are tuned slightly sharper than standard. [8] The song begins with an intro featuring a lead guitar and keyboard melody, which plays twice, accompanied by a rhythm guitar riff alternating between A and D chords, drums and bass. [8] The track breaks down to just rhythm guitar, drums and bass for the first verse which begins after 13 seconds. The first chorus begins after 23 seconds with a distorted guitar playing the chord sequence D5, C5, B♭5 and A5 twice while Rhys sings "If we do or die we should try, if we don't try I say bye-bye, and if I say bye-bye, I'll wonder why we didn't try to do or die" backed by high harmony backing vocals and occasional keyboard noises. [8] The song breaks down again for a second verse before the second chorus enters at 46 seconds. An instrumental passage follows with the lead guitar and keyboard reprising the melody which plays during the intro. The instrumental leads into a double chorus. At the end of the final chorus the track crescendos, with Rhys singing "yeah, yeah, yeah" and all instruments with the exception of the keyboard coming to an abrupt silence after 1 minute and 43 seconds. Keyboard noises continue and gradually fade out until the track ends. [8]

Release and critical reception

The Super Furry Animals had originally intended to issue the song "Wherever I Lay My Phone (That's My Home)" as the third single from Guerrilla but, on returning from an American tour in 1999, found that their record company, Creation, had not done any work regarding the release. Returning from a tour of Europe later the same year the band discovered that both their record label and record plugging company had folded and that Creation made the decision, first to release "Night Vision" instead of "Wherever I Lay My Phone (That's My Home)", and then to replace "Night Vision" with "Do or Die" as the last single from Guerrilla. Singer Gruff Rhys has expressed dissatisfaction with this choice, claiming that he is not sure how the decision was made and that he wanted "Wherever I Lay My Phone (That's My Home)" to be released as he "quite fancied the idea of a novelty hit". [2] However, the group ultimately felt "Wherever I Lay My Phone (That's My Home)" could not be issued in any case following the December 1999 release of "I Wanna 1-2-1 With You" by Jimmy Cauty's Solid Gold Chartbusters, which was "based on the same Nokia ringtone". [2] [9]

"Do or Die" was issued on CD, cassette and 7" on 17 January 2000, the band's last release for Creation, and reached number 20 in the UK Singles Chart. [1] The track became the shortest song ever to be performed on the BBC's Top Of The Pops programme when the group appeared on the show to promote the single's release. [10] The track was included on the band's 'greatest hits' compilation album Songbook: The Singles, Vol. 1 , issued in 2004. [11]

"Do or Die" was awarded 'Single of the Week' in the January 19–25, 2000 issue of the Melody Maker by guest reviewers Pär Wiksten and Christina Bergmark from The Wannadies who gave the track "all the points we can afford" and claimed that it ends perfectly. [12] The NME described the song as "not the best track from ... Guerrilla, but then not the worst either" and claimed that it was mostly of note because it was the second single by Super Furry Animals to be less than two minutes long following 1996's "God! Show Me Magic". [4] Despite stating that there was "no need whatsoever" for the release, the NME ranked "Do or Die" at number 55 in their single of the year list for 2000. [4] [13] In a 2005 review of the reissued Guerrilla , Pitchfork described the track as "near-perfect sunny pop" while, in an earlier review of Songbook: The Singles, Vol. 1, the website called "Do or Die" "proggy quasi-Britpop" and likened its guitar part to "Jessica" by The Allman Brothers Band. [14] [15] Also reviewing Songbook..., the BBC described "Do or Die" as one of several "great hairy rock outs" on the record, The Washington Post called it "straightforward pop-punk" and Drowned in Sound labelled it a "guitar-laden sugar rush". [16] [17] [18] Website Cokemachineglow likened the track to the work of The Stooges. [19] Pitchfork claimed that the single's b-sides, the "inescapably sha-la-la-ing 'Colorblind'" and the "piano-accented bounder" "Missunderstanding (sic)", pale beside "Do or Die" and the other tracks on Guerilla although they "do manage to scratch the itch for more SFA". [14]

Accolades

PublicationCountryAccoladeYearRank
Melody Maker United Kingdom Single of the week January 19–25 [12] 2000–
NME Singles of 2000 [13] 200055
Q 1010 Songs You Must Own!: Q50 – #4: Short & to the Point [20] 2004*

* denotes an unordered list

Music video

The video for "Do or Die" features Super Furry Animals playing along to the track in a room in a cartoon house. Brightly coloured animations of the group's bodies and surroundings are mixed with live action footage of their heads and instruments. This screenshot shows, from left to right, singer Gruff Rhys, drummer Dafydd Ieuan and guitarist Huw Bunford. Do-Or-Die-SFA-Screenshot.jpg
The video for "Do or Die" features Super Furry Animals playing along to the track in a room in a cartoon house. Brightly coloured animations of the group's bodies and surroundings are mixed with live action footage of their heads and instruments. This screenshot shows, from left to right, singer Gruff Rhys, drummer Dafydd Ieuan and guitarist Huw Bunford.

A promotional music video was produced to accompany the release of "Do or Die" as a single. The video was directed by Jake & Jim who also directed the video for the group's previous single, "Fire in My Heart". [21]

The video begins with the camera zooming in through the door of a cartoon house in the desert to reveal Super Furry Animals playing along to the track in a room. The band's heads and instruments are live action footage, filmed in London, while their bodies and surroundings are brightly coloured animations. [2] [22] During the first verse, shots of the group playing the track in the room are intercut with images of band members on cartoon surfboards superimposed onto real life footage of giant waves. This process is repeated during the second chorus, with the video cutting between shots of the band playing in the room and images of the band superimposed onto live footage of tornados. After 1 minute and 4 seconds images of the group's heads being swept along in a lava flow are intercut with the band playing along with the track in the now red room with lava visible through the windows. Snow then begins to fall in the room and the video cuts to shots of the group escaping an avalanche in a bobsled. [22] As the track ends the lightbulb in the room begins to swing frantically and Super Furry Animals are bathed in a green "radioactive or alien glow". [22] A shot of the house in front of a nuclear explosion cuts to footage of the band frozen mid-word, with the camera moving through 360 degrees to reveal them as two dimensional cutouts. [22] The "Do or Die" music video was named as 'Video of the week' in the 12–18 January issue of Melody Maker and was included on the DVD release of the band's greatest hits album, Songbook: The Singles, Vol. 1 . [21] [22]

Track listing

All songs by Super Furry Animals.

  1. "Do or Die" – 2:04
  2. "Missunderstanding (sic)" – 3:22
  3. "Colorblind" – 3:34

Personnel

Singles chart position

ChartPeak
position
UK Singles Chart 20 [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super Furry Animals</span> Welsh rock band

Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band formed in Cardiff in 1993. For the duration of their professional career, the band consisted of Gruff Rhys, Huw Bunford, Guto Pryce, Cian Ciaran, Dafydd Ieuan. An earlier incarnation of the band featured actor Rhys Ifans on lead vocals.

<i>Guerrilla</i> (album) 1999 studio album by Super Furry Animals

Guerrilla is the third studio album by Welsh rock band Super Furry Animals. The record was released on 14 June 1999 by Creation Records and peaked at number 10 in the UK Albums Chart. Guerrilla was conceived as a commercial 'pop' album and was produced by the band themselves, as regular producer Gorwel Owen felt exhausted after a busy schedule working for other bands. Recording took place at Real World Studios, Box, Wiltshire in mid-1998 with the group experimenting with a sampler for the first time and writing a number of songs in the studio. The band tried to create a 45-minute long, immediate sounding record, and therefore chose the upbeat songs from the 25 tracks which were recorded during sessions for the album. Guerrilla was chosen as the album's title as a pun on the group's name.

<i>Mwng</i> 2000 studio album by Super Furry Animals

Mwng is the fourth studio album by Welsh rock band the Super Furry Animals, and the first by the group to have lyrics written entirely in the Welsh language. Mwng was released on 15 May 2000 on the band's own record label, Placid Casual, following the demise of their former label, Creation. The album includes the single "Ysbeidiau Heulog", and reached number 11 on the UK Albums Chart following its release—the first Welsh-language album to reach the top 20. This success led to Mwng being mentioned in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom by Elfyn Llwyd, who described the record as a celebration of a "new wave of confidence in the Welsh nation".

<i>Love Kraft</i> 2005 studio album by Super Furry Animals

Love Kraft is the seventh studio album by Welsh indie rock band Super Furry Animals, released on 22 August 2005 through Epic Records in the United Kingdom. The album was recorded in Spain with producer Mario Caldato Jr and was something of a departure for the band, with all members contributing songs and lead vocals alongside Gruff Rhys who had been main songwriter for the Super Furries until this point. In selecting tracks for Love Kraft a conscious effort was made by the band not to choose songs on their individual merit but rather to pick those which went well together in order to create as cohesive an album as possible. The album's name was taken from a sex shop, Love Craft, near the Cardiff offices of the Super Furries' management team and is also a nod to American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft.

<i>Ice Hockey Hair</i> 1998 EP by Super Furry Animals

Ice Hockey Hair is an EP by the Welsh alternative rock band Super Furry Animals, released in 1998. The record contains four songs which the band felt did not fit in with either their previous album, 1997's Radiator, or its follow-up Guerrilla. The title track refers to an alternative name for the mullet hairstyle. The EP's opening song, "Smokin'", was commissioned by British television station Channel 4 for a programme about sloth presented by Howard Marks. "Ice Hockey Hair" was later included on 'greatest hits' compilation Songbook: The Singles, Vol. 1, issued in 2004, while "Smokin'" appeared on 1998's B-side and rarities compilation Out Spaced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The International Language of Screaming</span> 1997 single by Super Furry Animals

"The International Language of Screaming" is the second single from Super Furry Animals' album Radiator. It reached #24 on the UK Singles Chart on its release in July 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demons (Super Furry Animals song)</span> 1997 single by Super Furry Animals

"Demons" is the fourth and final single from Super Furry Animals' album Radiator. It reached #27 on the UK Singles Chart on its release in November 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Lites</span> 1999 single by Super Furry Animals

"Northern Lites" is the ninth single by Super Furry Animals. It was the first single to be taken from the Guerrilla album and reached number 11 in the UK Singles Chart after its release on 10 May 1999. The song was written by singer Gruff Rhys and was inspired by the El Niño phenomenon. The track's title refers to the Aurora Borealis, a natural light display which the band were convinced they had seen prior to the song being written. Rhys wrote the melody for "Northern Lites" several years before it was completed but only decided on a calypso style after he wrote the lyrics. The steel drums on the track are played by keyboardist Cian Ciaran and were added on the spur of the moment after the group saw them "lying around" Real World Studios during recording.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fire in My Heart</span> 1999 single by Super Furry Animals

"Fire in My Heart" is the tenth single by Welsh rock band the Super Furry Animals. It was the second single to be taken from the group's 1999 album Guerrilla, and reached number 25 in the UK Singles Chart after its release on 9 August 1999. The track, originally titled "Heartburn", has been described by the band's singer Gruff Rhys as a country and western song with lyrics that offer "soul advice".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ysbeidiau Heulog</span> 2000 single by Super Furry Animals

"Ysbeidiau Heulog" is the twelfth single by Super Furry Animals. It was the only single to be taken from the album Mwng and was released as a limited edition 7" vinyl on the band's own Placid Casual label on 1 May 2000. It was the band's first single to chart outside the UK Singles Top 75 peaking at number 89. The Welsh language song has been described by singer Gruff Rhys as "throwaway pop" and likened to the music of ELO, The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band and Os Mutantes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juxtapozed with U</span> 2001 single by Super Furry Animals

"Juxtapozed with U" is the thirteenth single by Super Furry Animals. It was the first single to be taken from the Rings Around the World album and reached number 14 on the UK Singles Chart on its release in July 2001. The song was initially conceived as a duet but, after both Brian Harvey and Bobby Brown turned the band down, lead singer Gruff Rhys sang the entire track, using a vocoder on the verses to imitate another person. Musically "Juxtapozed with U" has echoes of Philadelphia soul and the "plastic soul" of David Bowie's album Young Americans and was inspired by the Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder track "Ebony and Ivory". Rhys has claimed that he sees "Juxtapozed with U" as "fairly subversive" because its polished pop style was in stark contrast to the "macho" guitar music the band felt was prevalent in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">(Drawing) Rings Around the World</span> Single by Super Furry Animals

"(Drawing) Rings Around the World" is a song by Super Furry Animals and was the second single taken from the band's fifth album, Rings Around the World. The track reached number 28 on the UK Singles Chart on release in October 2001. Singer Gruff Rhys has described the song as being about "rings of communication around the world. All the rings of pollution".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">It's Not the End of the World?</span> 2002 single by Super Furry Animals

"It's Not the End of the World?" is a song by Welsh band Super Furry Animals. It was the last single to be released from the Rings Around the World album and reached number 30 on the UK Singles Chart on its release in January 2002. Singer Gruff Rhys has variously described the track as being about the extinction of mankind and as "a romantic song about growing old".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Retriever (song)</span> 2003 single by Super Furry Animals

"Golden Retriever" is a song by Super Furry Animals. It was the first single to be issued from the album Phantom Power and reached number 13 on the UK Singles Chart on its release in July 2003. The song is about the relationship between singer Gruff Rhys's girlfriend's two dogs and was written in the same key, with the same guitar tuning and around the same time as several other songs from Phantom Power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hello Sunshine (Super Furry Animals song)</span> 2003 single by Super Furry Animals

"Hello Sunshine" is a song by the Welsh band Super Furry Animals from their album Phantom Power. It was the seventeenth single released by the group and reached number 31 on the UK Singles Chart in October 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lazer Beam</span> 2005 single by Super Furry Animals

"Lazer Beam" is a single by Super Furry Animals. It was the only single to be released from the Love Kraft album and reached #28 in the UK Singles Chart. The song is "about making your own reality" and tells the story of aliens coming down to earth to shoot humans with laser beams which "make them intelligent rather than being jerks". Some of singer Gruff Rhys's lyrics were lifted from a speech made by Tony Blair at the Labour Party Conference in 2004.

<i>Slow Life</i> 2004 EP by Super Furry Animals

Slow Life is an EP by the Welsh alternative rock band Super Furry Animals, released in 2004. The EP was made available as a free download and also saw a limited CD release, bundled with remix album Phantom Phorce. Lead track "Slow Life" appeared on the 2003 album Phantom Power and was originally composed as a purely electronic song by keyboardist Cian Ciaran several years earlier. The band were keen to finish the track and Ciaran encouraged them to jam over his original version—this jam was then edited and made into the finished song. The track "Motherfokker" is a collaboration between the Super Furry Animals and rap group Goldie Lookin Chain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Run-Away (Super Furry Animals song)</span> 2007 single by Super Furry Animals

"Run-Away" is a song by Super Furry Animals and the second single taken from their 2007 album, Hey Venus!. The song is an homage to the 'Wall of Sound' production made famous by Phil Spector, particularly in his work with 1960s girl groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Gift That Keeps Giving</span> 2007 single by Super Furry Animals

"The Gift That Keeps Giving" is a song by Super Furry Animals taken from their 2007 album, Hey Venus!. It was given away as a free download single from the band's official website on Christmas Day 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super Furry Animals discography</span> Music discography

The discography of Super Furry Animals, a Welsh indie rock band, consists of nine studio albums, four extended plays, twenty three singles and three video albums. Super Furry Animals were formed in 1993 in Cardiff, Wales by Gruff Rhys, Huw Bunford, Guto Pryce, Cian Ciaran and Dafydd Ieuan.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Roberts, David, ed. (2003). British Hit Singles (16th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Ltd. p. 452. ISBN   0-85112-190-X.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Bresnark, Robin (Jan 19–25, 2000). "'I like the idea of creating cultural havoc'". Melody Maker : 28–30.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Beaumont, Mark (June 12, 1999). "Underground control". Melody Maker : 17.
  4. 1 2 3 Piers, Martin (22 January 2000). "Singles". NME : 32–33.
  5. ↑ Guerrilla (CD booklet). Super Furry Animals. London: Creation Records. 1999. p. 1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. ↑ Male, Andrew (June 1999). "The Wind of Strange". Select . EMAP: 72–79.
  7. ↑ Sullivan, Denise (c. 1999). "Guerilla". Allmusic . Retrieved 2010-08-06.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Super Furry Animals Songbook. London: Wise Publications. c. 2005. pp. 26–27. ISBN   0-7119-3888-1.
  9. ↑ Long, April (22 January 2000). "The Fan-ish Inquisition". NME : 16–18.
  10. ↑ Sabbagh, Dan (2008-11-15). "Top of the Pops to return – as public service TV". The Times . Retrieved 2010-02-24.
  11. ↑ Songbook: The Singles, Vol. 1 (CD). Super Furry Animals. New York: Epic Records. 2004. back cover.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. 1 2 Beaumont, Mark (Jan 19–25, 2000). "Singles". Melody Maker : 56–57.
  13. 1 2 "NME's Top 100 Singles Of The Year". NME : 76. 23–30 December 2000.
  14. 1 2 Hogan, Marc (2005-06-06). "Super Furry Animals: Fuzzy Logic / Radiator / Out Spaced / Guerilla / Mwng". Pitchfork Media . Retrieved 2010-08-11.
  15. ↑ Hogan, Marc (2005-01-30). "Super Furry Animals Songbook: The Singles Volume One". Pitchfork Media . Retrieved 2010-08-11.
  16. ↑ Jenkins, Mark (2005-11-04). "Super Furry Animals..." The Washington Post . Retrieved 2010-08-14.
  17. ↑ Wade, Ian (2003-07-18). "Super Furry Animals Songbook Volume 1 Review". BBC . Retrieved 2010-08-06.
  18. ↑ Ferguson, Thomas (2004-10-04). "Super Furry Animals Songbook Vol. 1". Drowned in Sound . Archived from the original on 2012-10-07. Retrieved 2010-08-14.
  19. ↑ Peter, Hepburn (2005-06-15). "Super Furry Animals: Fuzzy Logic/Radiator/Outspaced/Guerilla/Mwng Reissue". Cokemachineglow. Archived from the original on 2010-09-14. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
  20. ↑ "1010 Songs You Must Own!: Q50 – #4: Short & to the Point". RockListMusic. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
  21. 1 2 Songbook: The Singles, Vol. 1 (DVD). Super Furry Animals. New York: Epic Records. 2004. p. back cover.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 "Video of the week". Melody Maker : 9. Jan 12–18, 2000.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.