"My Favourite Game" | ||||
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Single by the Cardigans | ||||
from the album Gran Turismo | ||||
B-side |
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Released | 14 September 1998 [1] | |||
Studio | Country Hell (Skurup, Sweden) | |||
Genre | Alternative rock | |||
Length | 3:36 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | ||||
The Cardigans singles chronology | ||||
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Audio sample | ||||
The Cardigans - "My Favourite Game" | ||||
Music video | ||||
"My Favourite Game" on YouTube |
"My Favourite Game" is an alternative rock song written by Peter Svensson and Nina Persson for Swedish band the Cardigans' fourth studio album, Gran Turismo (1998). The song is the album's eighth track and was released as its first single on 14 September 1998. Lyrically,it is about a failing relationship and the attempt made to better the significant other or save people from themselves. "My Favourite Game" found minor international success,reaching number three in Sweden and number 14 in the UK. It also charted within the top 40 in several European countries and New Zealand. While it failed to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100 and its radio counterpart,it peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.
The accompanying music video was directed by Jonas Åkerlund and features Persson joydriving on a desert road. It caused controversy due to its imagery of car crashes and reckless driving,and resulted it being recut to tone down the violence and appear on music channels. The song is featured in the 1999 video game Gran Turismo 2 . [2]
"My Favourite Game" was written by guitarist Peter Svensson and lead singer Nina Persson during the recording sessions of the band's fourth studio album Gran Turismo between May and July 1998. The song,like the other songs from the album,was recorded in Tore Johansson's newly developed Country Hell recording studio in Skurup,Sweden. [3] Persson started with the chorus,which "married the music so quickly that you couldn't tear them apart". Afterwards she wrote verses to "give the chorus meaning",which enabled her to "cram in a lot of lyrics into the verses" in contrast to other Cardigans songs with fewer lyrics such as "Erase/Rewind". [4]
Before recording on the song commenced,Svensson presented the song to producer Tore Johansson by playing the track on acoustic guitar. Although the song was originally taking shape as a slow country/rock shuffle, [5] similar in style to Neil Young's "Old Man", [6] the tempo was doubled upon request of Tore Johansson. [5] Svensson declared that this helped as the band knew the song "was a single,but it wasn't working at first" under "the shuffle beat at half the tempo". [7] Soon after changing the musical direction of the song,its distinctive guitar hook evolved. [3]
Both the drum and guitar parts were recorded in a "'70s-style dry room" [3] while the vocals were recorded in the attic of the studio. [5]
Even though the drums were recorded using analogue tape compression,the rest of the song's production,including the "fat fuzzy bass line" and the coda,was completed using Pro Tools 24. [3]
"My Favourite Game" is an alternative rock song composed in the key of C Minor. [8] It is written in common time and moves at 143 beats per minute. [8] The song is not written in standard verse-chorus form [8] and its instrumentation includes guitar,bass and organ.
The lyrics deal with a failing relationship,summed up by Persson as "fucking up in love",and the subsequent desire to change the loved one "to suit themselves better or save people from themselves". [9] Svensson commented how this concept "isn't always a good idea,like when women stay in a relationship with a man that beats them because they think he'll be better someday". [7] The song is driven by its two-note guitar riff which is the basis of the "electro-rock powerhouse". [6] Its verses are significantly faster than the slow,bass-heavy chorus where the drums run at half-time. [3]
Chuck Taylor of Billboard wrote,"This first single from the Swedish outfit's upcoming fourth studio album,"Gran Turismo",is already gaining ground in the U.K. and looks poised to find favor stateside,first at modern rock,then adult top 40 and triple-A. Don't expect the cutesy overtones of "Lovefool";this track is consistent with the band's more typical rock-fueled roots. Led by a pumped electric guitar hook,fuzzy bass,and a distinctive,pleading vocal from lead singer Nina Persson,the song effuses an overall groovy vibe that should help its crossover to the mainstream side. This record does take a couple spins to get the overall feel,but it's worth the ride once you give it a whirl around the block." [10]
Worldwide,"My Favourite Game" was the most commercially successful single from Gran Turismo. Peaking at number sixteen in America,it became the album's only single and the band's second single to enter the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks since their breakthrough hit,Lovefool that peaked at number nine. In Sweden,it debuted at number twenty-one on the Swedish Top 100 Singles Chart and peaked at number three in November 1998. It spent at total of eighteen weeks in the chart. [11] In the United Kingdom,it debuted and peaked at number 14 on the UK Singles Chart.
The music video for "My Favourite Game" was directed by Swedish director Jonas Åkerlund. It was filmed over a three-day shoot in the Mojave Desert near Barstow,California,at a reported cost of £220,000. [12] [13] Nina Persson reported on requiring oxygen several times during the shoot,saying the 110 °F (43 °C) temperature was "hot enough for a Swede to fall down." [9]
The video opens with a scene of lead singer Nina Persson,at the side of a desert road,trying to find a suitable rock. Meanwhile,the radio DJ,who is heard from the car radio,warns drivers that desert temperatures are very hot that day so they must remember to drive safely. When Persson finds a rock,she walks over to her car,a dark blue 1974 Cadillac Eldorado convertible, [14] places it on the accelerator to keep the pedal down and drives off as the song begins. During the video,she weaves back and forth onto the wrong side of the road,forcing many other drivers off the road and causing some to crash in the process. At one point in the video,she throws the Felix the Cat stuffed toy out of the car which was then run over by another car. In some versions of the video,the Felix the Cat doll is blurred out. At one stage of the video,she is also depicted using her feet to steer the steering wheel. There is a large and colourful tattoo on Persson's arm that was added for the video which can be seen rubbing off on the car seat as the video progresses. She also drives at pedestrians causing them to jump out of the way while driving through a small town. At the beginning of the last chorus,she turns the car around and drives back down the road where she caused so much destruction. Towards the end of the song,she stands up in the car seat,leaving the car driving seemingly in a steerless mode and heading into a collision course with an oncoming van,containing the other members of the Cardigans,with drummer Bengt Lagerberg as the driver. While the van's occupants react in horror,she calmly stretches out her arms and makes a cruciform for a moment before the two vehicles collide as the song ends. The DJ sounds the State Patrol's warning "on a high-speed out-of-control vehicle on Route 666" and passes on to commercial.
There are four different outcomes of the car crash at the end of the uncensored video. In ending one,Persson's body goes flying out of her car into the air and over the van roof where she is then depicted as being dead on the road. In ending two,she also flies over the van roof,except she tries to pick herself off the ground but gets knocked out by the rock that was used to keep the car pedal down. In ending three,she also flies out of the car and over the van roof except she manages to pick herself up from the ground and walks away from the accident,and wipes the blood away from her face (this version is censored). In ending four,Persson is depicted being decapitated by the top of her car windscreen and a mannequin head is seen in the next shot,rolling along the road. In the fifth edition,it is censored all out,along with the car crashes,and Nina still is in the car,bloodless,driving and nodding along to the radio.
The music video caused much controversy when it was first released. Many European channels,including MTV UK,only played an edited version of the video where all of the car crashes and depictions of reckless driving were removed despite director Jonas Åkerlund's attempts to meet the censorship standards by making five differently edited cuts of the video with varying degrees of violence and blood. [15] The reason MTV UK rejected the video was because of fears that the video could encourage joyriding and cause car accidents amongst teenage drivers,so ending five was most played on MTV UK. [16] A more graphic cut was shown on the Cardigans website on a one-time-only basis four days before the single's release. [9] But,in the U.S.,the music channels were noticeably less restrictive as many of them either played the completely uncensored version of the video or a slightly censored version with only a few of the car crashes removed. [ citation needed ]
Despite the controversy,the music video managed to debut at number twenty-nine on MuchMusic's Countdown in October 1998 and peaked at number twenty-three on 27 November. [17] [18] Also,the video has appeared on many "Greatest Music Video" lists including ranking at 68 in Slant Magazine's "100 Greatest Music Videos" sharing the position with U.N.K.L.E's "Rabbit in Your Headlights", [19] and ranking 95 in Channel 4's "100 Greatest Pop Videos". [20]
All songs were written by Nina Persson and Peter Svensson except "Sick &Tired",written by Magnus Sveningsson and Svensson.
|
|
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Sweden (GLF) [42] | Gold | 15,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [43] | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref(s). |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sweden | 14 September 1998 | CD | Stockholm | [1] |
United States | 28 September 1998 |
| Mercury | |
Japan | 30 September 1998 | CD | Stockholm | [44] |
United Kingdom | 5 October 1998 |
|
| [1] [45] |
United States | 27 October 1998 | Mercury | [1] |
The Cardigans are a Swedish rock band formed in Jönköping, Sweden, in 1992 by guitarist Peter Svensson, bassist Magnus Sveningsson, drummer Bengt Lagerberg, keyboardist Lars-Olof Johansson and lead singer Nina Persson. Post-hiatus shows since 2012 have been with Oskar Humlebo on guitar instead of Svensson.
A Camp is the solo side project of Nina Persson, vocalist for the Swedish indie pop band The Cardigans, her husband, composer Nathan Larson, and former Atomic Swing guitarist Niclas Frisk. Persson formed A Camp when The Cardigans took a break after several years of touring and the recording of their 1998 album Gran Turismo. A Camp recorded and released two albums, in 2001 and 2009, after which the project has been inactive.
Gran Turismo is the fourth studio album by Swedish band the Cardigans, released internationally on 19 October 1998 and in November 1998 in the United States. It features a darker and more moody type of music, mixed with more electronic sounds.
First Band on the Moon is the third studio album by the Cardigans. It features the international single "Lovefool". It was first released on 12 August 1996 and internationally on 6 September 1996.
Long Gone Before Daylight is the fifth studio album by Swedish rock band the Cardigans. Released in Japan on 19 March 2003 and in Europe from 24 March by Stockholm Records, it was their first studio album since the release of Gran Turismo in 1998, during which time band members released numerous solo works under assumed aliases: Peter Svensson issued Paus' sole, self-titled album in 1998. This was followed by the release of the self-titled record from Nina Persson's A Camp in 2001, and bassist Magnus Sveningsson's I Sing Because of You in 2002.
Emmerdale is the debut studio album by Swedish pop rock band The Cardigans. It was originally released in Sweden by Trampolene Records on 18 February 1994, and on 24 September 1994 in Japan. It was later reissued in Europe in January 1999 and in Canada in May the same year. A special U.S. version was released in August 1999 by Minty Fresh Records and features a bonus disc of songs from The Cardigans' second album Life. These songs were not released in the U.S. edition of said album and were previously unavailable on any U.S. release. The album was named after the British television soap opera of the same name.
Super Extra Gravity is the sixth and final studio album by Swedish band the Cardigans. It was produced by Tore Johansson, who last worked with the Cardigans on Gran Turismo and later with the band Franz Ferdinand. The album was released in Germany and Ireland on 14 October 2005 and in the UK on 17 October 2005. A Japanese edition was later released. The first single released was "I Need Some Fine Wine and You, You Need to Be Nicer". The second single was "Don't Blame Your Daughter (Diamonds)". It was said that "Godspell"—the lyrics of which reference a conservative religious mentality common to the band's hometown of Jönköping—was to be the third single, but plans for its release fell through.
Life is the second studio album of The Cardigans. It was released worldwide in 1995 and was an international success, especially in Japan, where it achieved platinum status. Outside of Sweden and Japan, it was released as their first album: a compilation of tracks from both Emmerdale and Life. It was released in the United States under the label Minty Fresh Records.
"Burning Down the House" is a song by new wave band Talking Heads, released in July 1983 as the first single from their fifth studio album Speaking in Tongues.
"Lovefool" is a song written by Peter Svensson and Nina Persson for Swedish rock band the Cardigans' third studio album, First Band on the Moon (1996). It was released as the album's lead single on 10 August 1996 in Japan. In the United States, the song was serviced to radio two days later. A few months after its release, the track was included in the Baz Luhrmann film Romeo + Juliet, helping the song gain international recognition.
"Your Love Alone Is Not Enough" is a song by Welsh rock group Manic Street Preachers. It is a duet with Nina Persson, lead singer of Swedish band the Cardigans. Released on 23 April 2007 as the second single from the album Send Away the Tigers, it peaked at number two in the United Kingdom, number one in Scotland, and in the top 10 in Ireland and Norway.
The Cardigans are a band from Sweden. They have released six studio albums, which in total have sold about 15 million copies worldwide. This is a list of their album and single releases.
"Rise & Shine" is a song by Swedish band the Cardigans. It first appeared in 1992 on a limited edition 7-inch EP, The World According To..., and was the first Cardigans recording to feature Nina Persson as lead vocalist. Due to the positive response to the track, Persson became the group's permanent lead singer, and the song was re-recorded and released as the first single from their debut 1994 album Emmerdale. It was later re-recorded again for their second album Life and was re-released throughout Europe to promote the international version of the album.
"Erase/Rewind" is a song written by Peter Svensson and Nina Persson for the Cardigans' fourth studio album, Gran Turismo (1998). The song is the album's second track and was released as its second single in January 1999, reaching number three in Iceland, number seven in Italy and the United Kingdom, and number 12 in Sweden. It was featured in the 1999 film The Thirteenth Floor during the ending credits. It was also featured in the 1999 film Never Been Kissed when Josie dances with her prom date Guy.
"Hanging Around" is a song written by Peter Svensson and Nina Persson for the Cardigans' 1998 album Gran Turismo. The song is the album's sixth track, and was released as its third single on 12 July 1999, and charted at number 17 on the UK Singles Chart. The music video was directed by Sophie Muller, and is based on the 1965 Roman Polanski film, Repulsion, with Nina Persson playing the role of 'Carol'.
"Love Me" is a song by Canadian singer Justin Bieber. It was written by Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Peter Svensson and Nina Persson, and produced by DJ Frank E. The song was released exclusively to iTunes as the first promotional single from Bieber's debut studio album, My World, on October 26, 2009.
"Sick & Tired" is a song by Swedish band the Cardigans, written by Peter Svensson and Magnus Sveningsson, and produced by Tore Johansson. It was released in September 1994 by Trampolene as the third single from their debut album, Emmerdale (1994), in Sweden and as their first single in Japan the following month. The song was subsequently included on the international release of their second album, Life (1995), and issued as its first single in March 1995. A reissue later the same year became the group's first top-40 hit in the United Kingdom. In February 1996, it reached number one in Iceland, staying at the summit for four weeks. A music video was produced to promote the single, directed by Swedish director Björn Lindgren.
"Been It" is a song by Swedish band the Cardigans, released from their third studio album, First Band on the Moon. In additional to reaching number 56 on the UK Singles Chart, the song also became an alternative hit in Canada, climbing to number nine on the RPM Alternative 30.
"Your New Cuckoo" is a song from the Cardigans' third studio album, First Band on the Moon. Released on 9 December 1996 in Japan, the song reached number 35 on the UK Singles Chart the following year.
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