| "Papercuts" | ||||
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| Single by Machine Gun Kelly | ||||
| from the album Mainstream Sellout | ||||
| Released | August 11, 2021 | |||
| Recorded | 2021 | |||
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| Length | 3:01 | |||
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| Machine Gun Kelly singles chronology | ||||
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"Papercuts" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by American musician Machine Gun Kelly, released on August 11, 2021, as the first single from his sixth studio album Mainstream Sellout (2022). The song features drumming and production from collaborator Travis Barker.
"Papercuts" is the lead single for Machine Gun Kelly's sixth studio album Mainstream Sellout , originally planned to be named Born With Horns at the time of the single's release. [1] [2] [3] Much like Kelly's prior album, Tickets to My Downfall , the song features Travis Barker on drums and as a music producer. The song was first released on August 11, 2021, though Kelly had released a small teaser of the track in the week prior to the song and album's reveal. [4]
A music video, directed by Cole Bennett, was released concurrently with the full track. [5] The video was the first Bennett has ever directed for a rock music video, and was the culmination of himself and Kelly planning on working together over the course of a three-year period. [6] Both Kelly and Bennett were very happy with the process and end product, despite that fact the shooting had initially been shut down by the police due the bizarre imagery catching the attention of the police, who in turn shut it down due to the traffic violations involved, including driving a motorcycle without a helmet, and driving cars without seatbelts. [6] The video contains alternating shots of Kelly and Barker performing the song, and surrealist imagery such as Kelly walking around in a bald cap and revealing outfit, having black-dyed eggs thrown at him, and playing an oversized guitar. [6]
During a live televised performance at the 2021 VMA awards, Kelly including a rap verse towards the end of the song, the alternate rendition became a favorite amongst fans, as of July 2022, the performance has over 2.6 million views and 69k likes. [7] A studio recorded version including the alternate rap verse was included in the main release of the Mainstream Sellout album, under the name "papercuts - album edit".
A live version of the song was featured in the Life in Pink deluxe version of the Mainstream Sellout album, titled "papercuts - live from redrocks". The song was recorded live throughout the duration of the songs performance at the Mainstream Sellout Tour in the Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
Multiple publications noted that "Papercuts" sounded to move even further into the rock sound than the material from his 2020 pop punk album Tickets to My Downfall . [8] [9] Loudwire noted that the song had more of a grunge sound to it, mixed with the material that Green Day and Weezer released in the 1990s. [9] Vulture described it as "straight up rock" with "90's inspired guitar riffs". [8] Guitar World likened the sound of the track to emo. [10]
The song opens with an acoustic guitar intro, before intensifying into distorted power chords into the chorus. [10] The track also ends with a guitar solo using a Digitech Whammy pedal as well. [10] Lyrically, publications interpreted it to be about Kelly exploring his personal struggles with fame [2] [11] and bad habits such as drug use. [11]
"Papercuts" has been described as rock, [6] [8] [11] [12] punk rock, [13] [14] alternative rock, [15] [16] grunge-pop, [15] [17] pop punk [11] and grunge. [9]
Music website Stereogum praised the track for being "pretty good", concluding that while they were surprised by Baker's move into alt-rock, that ultimately "a good song is a good song". [15] Wall of Sound called it Baker's most mature song to date. [18] Other publications were more critical of the track; BrooklynVegan felt it ripped off "Where Is My Mind?" by Pixies, [19] while both Pitchfork and Sputnikmusic felt it was too similar to Green Day, specifically their song "Brain Stew". [20] [21]
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Colson Baker, known professionally as Machine Gun Kelly (MGK), is an American musician, rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is noted for his genre duality across alternative rock with hip hop.
The discography of American musician Machine Gun Kelly consists of six studio albums, three extended plays (EPs), eight mixtapes, 32 singles and 75 music videos. He claimed to have sold over 20 million records worldwide in an interview with The Breakfast Club, though the claim lacks veracity.
American drummer Travis Barker has released one studio album, five extended play (EP), and 60 singles under his own name. Barker, best known for his work with Blink-182, has been a part of various punk rock bands throughout his career, including the Aquabats, Box Car Racer, Transplants, +44, and Goldfinger. Outside of his work in rock music, Barker has worked prolifically in hip hop; he was a member of the supergroup Expensive Taste and the drummer-and-DJ duo TRV$DJAM, and has released extended plays with Yelawolf, and Asher Roth and Nottz. He has also produced music for musicians such as Machine Gun Kelly, Fever 333, Avril Lavigne and Trippie Redd. He holds many guest appearances on songs from a variety of musicians, including many rappers such as Lil Wayne, Paul Wall, the Game, and Run the Jewels. Barker became well known in the late 2000s for creating rock remixes to rap songs. His debut studio album, Give the Drummer Some, was released in 2011 and debuted at number nine on the Billboard 200 in the United States.
Michael Ian Olmo, known professionally as Iann Dior, is an American rapper and singer. He is most notably well-known for his 2020 hit single "Mood", a collaboration with 24kGoldn. The song peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and became his first and highest-charting song to date.
This article summarizes the events related to rock music for the year of 2020.
"Bloody Valentine" is a song by American musician Machine Gun Kelly, released on May 1, 2020 by Interscope Records. The song is the first single from his fifth studio album Tickets to My Downfall.
Tickets to My Downfall is the fifth studio album by American musician Machine Gun Kelly. It was released on September 25, 2020, by Bad Boy Records and Interscope Records. The album marks the departure from his established rap sound and became a more guitar-driven pop-punk album. It was his first collaborative project with drummer and producer Travis Barker, and features guest appearances from Halsey, Trippie Redd, Blackbear, and Iann Dior, as well as Bert McCracken and Yungblud on the deluxe edition.
"My Ex's Best Friend" is a song by American musician Machine Gun Kelly featuring fellow American musician Blackbear. It is the third single off of the former's pop-punk fifth studio album Tickets to My Downfall. The song reached number 20 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming the third top-40 hit for both artists.
"Concert for Aliens" is a song by Machine Gun Kelly. It was released as the second single from his fifth studio album Tickets to My Downfall. It peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart in 2020.
"Forget Me Too" is a song by American musician Machine Gun Kelly. The song features guest vocals by American singer Halsey and drumming and production by Travis Barker. It is the fifth track on Machine Gun Kelly's fifth studio album Tickets to My Downfall (2020).
This article summarizes the events related to rock music for the year of 2022.
"Love Race" is a song by American musician Machine Gun Kelly featuring fellow American musician Kellin Quinn of the band Sleeping with Sirens, released through Bad Boy and Interscope on April 29, 2021. In collaboration with frequent collaborator Travis Barker, "Love Race" was later included on the European and Japanese editions of Kelly's sixth studio album Mainstream Sellout (2022).
Mainstream Sellout is the sixth studio album by American musician Machine Gun Kelly, released on March 25, 2022, through Bad Boy Records and Interscope Records. It is his second collaborative project with drummer and producer Travis Barker, following 2020's Tickets to My Downfall. The album was initially announced in August 2021 under the title Born with Horns, before being renamed in January 2022.
"Bite Me" is a song by Canadian singer Avril Lavigne. It was released on November 10, 2021, through Elektra Records and as Lavigne's debut on Travis Barker's label DTA Records. It is the lead single from Lavigne's seventh studio album, Love Sux (2022). The song was noted by critics as a return to Lavigne's pop-punk roots. The song peaked at number 63 on the Canadian Hot 100 and number 61 on the UK Singles Chart.
Love Sux is the seventh studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne, released on February 25, 2022, by DTA and Elektra Records. Her first studio album in three years since Head Above Water (2019), Lavigne worked on Love Sux with various artists including Machine Gun Kelly, Blackbear and Mark Hoppus of Blink-182. Musically, it embraces emo pop angst and Lavigne's early skate punk influences from Blink-182, Green Day, NOFX and the Offspring. The album was preceded by two singles: "Bite Me", and "Love It When You Hate Me".
"Emo Girl" is a song by American musicians Machine Gun Kelly and Willow. Produced by Travis Barker, the song was released on February 4, 2022, as the second single off of Kelly's sixth studio album Mainstream Sellout, following "Papercuts".
"Ay!" is a song by American rappers Machine Gun Kelly and Lil Wayne. It was released on March 4, 2022 as the third single from the former's sixth studio album Mainstream Sellout (2022). The song was produced by Travis Barker, BazeXX, and SlimXX.
"Make Up Sex" is a song by American musician Machine Gun Kelly featuring fellow American musician Blackbear. The song released on April 26, 2022 as the fifth single from Kelly's sixth studio album Mainstream Sellout (2022). The song was written by the artists, Nick Long, and producers Travis Barker and Omer Fedi.
"Maybe" is a song by American musician Machine Gun Kelly. It was released on March 16, 2022, as the fourth single from his sixth studio album Mainstream Sellout. The song features performances from members of the British rock band Bring Me the Horizon.
Nick Long is an American songwriter and singer. He is best known as the founder and frontman of indie pop band Dark Waves, and for co-writing Machine Gun Kelly's Tickets to My Downfall and Mainstream Sellout LP's. Long has also co-written several singles, including Børns' "Electric Love".