"Maps" is a song by the American indie rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs. It was released on September 22, 2003 by Polydor in the United Kingdom. It was written and composed by the band and features on their debut album, Fever to Tell. The song is an art-punkballad about the relationship between Karen O, frontwoman of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and her then-boyfriend Angus Andrew, frontman of Liars. Some believe the title stands for "My Angus Please Stay", but the band has not confirmed this claim.
The song was initially released in the United Kingdom on September 22, 2003, reaching number 26 on the UK singles chart and number 9 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. It was then released in the United States on February 17, 2004 by Interscope, becoming their first single to appear on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 87. The accompanying music video received extensive play on MTV and four nominations at the 2004 MTV Movie Awards. Music critics praised its sound and Karen O's emotional vocal performance.
"Maps" is considered one of the Yeah Yeah Yeah's signature songs, and is often ranked among the best songs of the decade. It has also been widely sampled and remixed. In 2009, NME ranked it as the "Greatest Alternative Love Song" of all time, and the same publication placed it amongst the "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years" in 2011. In 2011, it placed on Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time list at 386, and in the 2021 edition, it was placed at 101. It experienced renewed recognition when it went viral on YouTube and TikTok in 2024.
Recording
By the year 2002, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were sought after by many record labels who wanted to finance their debut album, Fever to Tell.[5] However, the band financed the record themselves to maintain creative control. "Maps" was among several songs independently produced by the band with Dave Sitek (credited as David Andrew Sitek), whom frontwoman Karen O said was chosen because they "didn't know anyone else."[6]
Lyrically, "Maps" is about the relationship between Karen O and her then-boyfriend Angus Andrew, the frontman of Liars.[4][7] It was solely written by members of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, while the repeated chorus line "They don't love you like I love you" was taken directly from an email Karen O had sent Andrew.[8]
She told Rolling Stone in 2006 that both of their touring schedules were "hectic" and caused a rift in their relationship. She further explained that "The line ‘They don’t love you like I love you’ was like, ‘Why are you over there with them when you should be with me?’ It's about missing someone."[9]
Some have suggested the song title stands for "My Angus Please Stay," although this was never confirmed by the band.[10][11][12]
Release
The song was released in the United Kingdom on September 22, 2003, through Polydor Records;[13] the same label released the song in Australia on October 6, 2003.[14] However, the United States release was delayed because the band were hesitant on "Maps" earning a single release.[6] Interscope would wait until February 17, 2004 to release the song onto US alternative radio.[15]
Music video
The video, directed by Patrick Daughters, shows the band playing in an audition in a high school gymnasium with different light filters changing the color of the room. Karen O's crying in the video 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."[16]
Reception and legacy
"Maps" was met with success, heavily boosting the sales of Fever To Tell and receiving acclaim.[6] Its accompanying music video was played extensively on MTV; this, along with a notable performance by the band at the 2004 MTV Movie Awards, further heightened the single's success.[17] At the ceremony, "Maps" was nominated for Best Art Direction, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, and the MTV2 Award.[18]
In 2009, "Maps" was voted the best alternative love song of all time by NME.[19] The song was also listed at number six on Pitchfork Media's top 500 songs of the 2000s.[20]Rolling Stone ranked it as the 7th best song of the 2000s.[21] On April 7, 2011, Rolling Stone ranked "Maps" number 386 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time;[22] its 2021 list placed it at number 101.[23] In October 2011, NME placed it at number 55 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".[24]NME ranked "Maps" at number 1 on their list of "Indie Weddings Songs: 20 Tracks Perfect For Your First Dance."[25]
That was a conscious move by Max and myself, because we were listening to alternative and indie music ... I said, "Ah, I love this song,' and Max was like, 'If they would just write a damn pop chorus on it!' It was driving him nuts, because that indie song was sort of on six, going to seven, going to eight, the chorus comes ... and it goes back down to five. It drove him crazy. And when he said that, it was like, light bulb. 'Why don't we do that, but put a big chorus on it?" It worked.[27]
"Maps" and "Since U Been Gone" share similar introductions, post-chorus guitar breaks, middle eights, and are both in the key of G major.[28] Karen O said noticing the similarity was "like getting bitten by a poisonous varmint."[29]
"Hold Up," a song recorded by Beyoncé for her 2016 album, Lemonade, contains an interpolation of the "Maps" lyric, "Wait, they don't love you like I love you." Beyoncé sings the line as "Hold up, they don't love you like I love you," which was based on a 2011 tweet from Vampire Weekend frontman Ezra Koenig paraphrasing "Maps." Koenig and Diplo recorded a demo version of "Hold Up" in 2014 including the interpolated line, and when Beyoncé released the song on Lemonade, the three members of Yeah Yeah Yeahs shared in the songwriting credits.[30]
Resurgence in popularity
A sped-up version of "Maps" gained popularity on TikTok in September 2024. 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 in October 2024.[31][32]
1 2 3 "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?
↑ Feldman, Brian (May 30, 2020). "mysteries of the Scatman". bnet.substack.com. Archived from the original on October 31, 2022. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
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