"Maps" is a song by the American indie rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the ninth track on their debut studio album, Fever to Tell (2003). It was released by Polydor in the United Kingdom in September 2003 and by Interscope in the United States in February 2004. The song was written and composed by the band, who co-produced it with David Andrew Sitek. An art-punksoul ballad, "Maps" explores themes about heartbreak and missing someone, inspired by a troubled relationship lead singer Karen O was in. The title is alleged to be an acronym for "My Angus Please Stay", though the band has not addressed this.
"Maps" helped Yeah Yeah Yeahs enter the mainstream, and has been regarded as the band's signature song. It has become inspirational to other artists, and remains an essential work of the garage rock and post-punk movements of the early 2000s. Billboard magazine believed "Maps" changed "the relationship between pop and indie", and writers at NME called it the greatest alternative love song. It has appeared on critics' rankings of the best songs of both the decade and of all time.
"Maps" was conceived when Karen O heard a riff played on a whim by Nick Zinner in the band's home. She recalled, "I was walking past his door, I heard the sample and came in and I was like, 'What is that?' And then five minutes later I was singing basically the lyrics to it and then it was there, It was like one of those songs that wrote itself in like five minutes."[3] All three members received songwriting credits.[3][4]
The lyrics were inspired by Karen O's relationship with then-boyfriend Angus Andrew, the frontman of Liars, during a tumultuous point due to their "hectic" touring schedules.[11] She intended to create a "love song that stands the test of time" about "missing someone".[11][12] The repeated chorus line, "They don't love you like I love you", comes from an email she had sent Andrew.[13]
It is often suggested that "Maps" is an acronym for "My Angus Please Stay," although this has never been addressed by the band.[14]
Reception
"Maps" was released in the United Kingdom on September 22, 2003, through Polydor Records;[15] the same label released it in Australia on October 6, 2003.[16] The band were hesitant to release it in the United States, leading Interscope Records to delay its release to February 17, 2004.[2][17] The song was a commercial breakthrough for Yeah Yeah Yeahs and tripled the sales of Fever to Tell.[2] It reached number 26 on the UK singles chart, number 35 on the Scottish Singles and Albums Charts, and became their first entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 87; it also peaked at number nine on the US Alternative Airplay chart. In 2023, it was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
"Maps" received critical acclaim. AllMusic's Tom Maginnis greatly praised the song and wrote, "Never bowing to conventionality in song structure or sonic texture, the band refuse to revert to anything as traditional as strummed guitar chords, instead weaving a delicate web of pointillist guitars and tribal drumming together with Karen O[sic] subdued vocal performance into a subtle, stunning gem."[18] In his review of Fever to Tell, Eric Carr of Pitchfork deemed "Maps" said Zinner's guitars were "easily his best to date" and Karen O's vocals "drip genuine, regretful emotion [...] the emotive response it produces is very real, and that means a lot."[19] Writing for Variety magazine, David Sprague likened "Maps" to a "Diane Warren-penned punk power ballad" and said the song "revealed enough dogged determination to suggest they’ll be just as tough to push around (in the 2000s garage rock and post-punk revivals)."[20]
The music video for "Maps" was directed by Patrick Daughters, his first of many for the band.[21] It depicts the band playing in an audition in a high school gymnasium with different light filters changing the color of the room; Karen O is memorably seen crying in the video, which was not staged. She explains: "They were real tears. My boyfriend at the time (Andrew) was supposed to come to the shoot – he was three hours late and I was just about to leave for tour. I didn't think he was even going to come and this was the song that was written for him. He eventually showed up and I got myself in a real emotional state."[22]
"Maps" became Yeah Yeah Yeahs's signature song and cemented their status in the 2000s garage rock and post-punk revivals.[3][26] Emma Madden of Billboard believed the song and its music video "helped change the way we view the relationship between pop and indie", writing that "Those real tears, sweaty hair and desperate insistence of "Wait! They don't love you like I love you" became a source of true human emotion that pop records have been co-opting since its release in 2003."[23]BBC Radio 6 Music described its influence as "vast" and "genre-spanning", having "left an indelible mark on the music industry."[3] In a podcast for Rolling Stone, Brittany Spanos called it a "pop crossover moment, joining the lexicon of great and timeless rock and roll love songs."[27] Reflecting on the song's impact, Karen O said, "It's a love song, and there’s just not a lot of bands that have one of their biggest songs as a love song. So I'm pretty stoked about that".[3]
In September 2024, a sped-up version of "Maps" gained popularity on TikTok. A dance was created along with it where it used different contexts of wanting someone to stop and listen to them. As a result, the song charted at number one on the US TikTok Billboard Top 50 the following month.[42][43]
Accolades
Pitchfork ranked "Maps" at number six on their 2009 list of the "Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s".[44]NME deemed "Maps" the best alternative love song of all time in 2011;[45] the same publication ranked it at number 55 on its list of "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years" that same year.[46]Rolling Stone ranked it at number seven on their "100 Best Songs of the 2000s" list and number 386 on their "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list, both in 2011;[47][48] the 2021 revision of the latter moved it to number 101.[49]Rolling Stone also ranked it second on their list of "The 250 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century So Far" in 2025.[50]
↑"100 Best Songs of the 2000s". Rolling Stone. June 17, 2011. Archived from the original on December 27, 2021. Retrieved November 4, 2022. How often do we get a fiery soul ballad and an art-punk classic in the same song?
↑Suarez, Jessica (November 13, 2009). "Yeah Yeah Yeahs: iTunes Originals Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 14, 2026. Their [Yeah Yeah Yeahs'] best song here and everywhere else, is still 'Maps', a song that's come to stand for YYYs [Yeah Yeah Yeahs] in a way that transcends even a 'signature song'--more than a hit, it's bound to the band DNA.
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