| "Selfish Jean" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Travis | ||||
| from the album The Boy with No Name | ||||
| B-side | "You Bring Me Down", "Is That Love", "Pulling Mussels (from the Shell)" | |||
| Released | 9 July 2007 | |||
| Recorded | 2006–2007 | |||
| Genre | Indie pop | |||
| Length | 4:00 | |||
| Label | Independiente | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Fran Healy | |||
| Producer(s) | Nigel Godrich | |||
| Travis singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Selfish Jean" is a song by Scottish alternative rock band Travis, released as the second single from their fifth studio album, The Boy with No Name on 9 July 2007. [1]
The title of the song is a reference to The Selfish Gene , a popular science book about evolution by Richard Dawkins. The song was written by Fran Healy in 2005 in his apartment in New York, and was demoed using Healy's own computer. He sampled the drum intro from the Iggy Pop song "Lust For Life", looped it to create a basic rhythm, and then played the song and recorded vocals over the top of the rhythm track. The demo was then taken to Travis drummer Neil Primrose as an example of what to play, and thus, the song exists in its current form. The lyrics for the song's bridge are taken directly from an earlier B-side, "Standing On My Own", which appeared on the 1997 single "Tied to the 90's".
The single found its way onto the BBC Radio 2 playlist, receiving around twenty plays per week. Even though it charted at a relatively disappointing No. 30 on the UK singles chart, it is a song much loved by Travis fans and is performed at a majority of Travis concerts. B-sides for the single include the newly written song "You Bring Me Down", as well as two Squeeze covers—"Is That Love" and "Pulling Mussels (from the Shell)". It currently remains, as of 2022 [update] , their last UK Top 40 hit.
The music video was released on the band's MySpace page [2] before the release of The Boy with No Name . Directed by American comedian Demetri Martin, the video features Martin who begins by wearing 19 T-shirts with words and pictures to illustrate lyrics from the song, removing them to progressively reveal the T-shirts underneath. Some of these T-shirts have been recreated for sale: 'Aaaaahh... Selfish Jean', stretching from the back and rotating around to the front, and 'Art, Music, Jaffa Cakes', with additional tick boxes, which have been very popular among fans.
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Scotland (OCC) [3] | 8 |
| UK Singles (OCC) [4] | 30 |
Travis are a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 1990, and composed of Fran Healy, Dougie Payne, Andy Dunlop, and Neil Primrose. The band's name comes from the character Travis Henderson from the film Paris, Texas (1984). The band released their debut album, Good Feeling (1997), to moderate success where it debuted at number nine on the UK Albums Chart and was later awarded a silver certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in January 2000.
"Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" is a song by Scottish band Travis, released as the third single from their second studio album, The Man Who. The song became the group's international breakthrough single, receiving recognition around the world. Following a rain-soaked performance at the 1999 Glastonbury Festival, the song became Travis's first top-10 hit on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at No. 10 in August 1999. The song also peaked within the top 20 in Australia and achieved moderate success in mainland Europe, North America, Ireland, and New Zealand. In a poll by listeners of Absolute Radio, the song was ranked 62nd on a list of the top 100 songs of the 1990s.
"Walking in the Sun" is a song by Scottish indie rock band Travis. It was released on 18 October 2004 as the only single from their compilation album, Singles. The single peaked at number 20 in the UK Singles Chart. Like the Singles album cover, the single artwork shows photographs of the band.
"Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)" is a song by the band Squeeze. First released on the 1980 album Argybargy, it received positive critical reviews, peaked at No. 44 on the UK Singles Chart, and became one of Squeeze's most popular songs. The song is about singer and guitarist Chris Difford's experiences at a holiday camp.
"Sing" is a song by Scottish rock band Travis from their third studio album, The Invisible Band (2001). The song was written in 1999 by frontman Fran Healy, produced by Nigel Godrich and recorded at Ocean Way Studios in Los Angeles. It was released as the album's lead single in the United States on 23 April 2001. Healy originally titled the melody "Swing" but eventually changed the title to "Sing", making it about working past the troubles of a relationship by not being afraid to let oneself go and sing in front of a loved one. The song is noted for its prominent use of the banjo, played by lead guitarist Andy Dunlop, and contains a string arrangement performed by Millennia Strings.
"Re-Offender" is a song by Scottish alternative rock band Travis, released as the first single from their fourth studio album, 12 Memories. It was released as a single in the UK on 29 September 2003 and peaked at number seven on the UK Singles Chart. The song featured in two episodes of One Tree Hill and is included in the compilation album One Tree Hill – Music from the WB Television Series, Vol. 1.
"The Beautiful Occupation" is the second single from Scottish alternative rock band Travis' fourth studio album, 12 Memories. The single was released in the UK on 15 December 2003 and peaked at #48 on the UK singles chart. An acoustic version of "The Beautiful Occupation" is included on the 2003 compilation album Hope released by the War Child charity.
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"Step Into My Office, Baby" is a song by Belle & Sebastian, released as their first single for Rough Trade Records in 2003. The track was produced by Trevor Horn and is lifted from Dear Catastrophe Waitress. The front cover features band member Bobby Kildea with Roxanne Clifford and Hannah Robinson. The track reached number 32 on the UK Singles Chart, number 80 in the Netherlands, and came in at number 64 on Australia's Triple J Hottest 100 in 2003. The single release includes "Love on the March", which the band recorded with Divine Comedy producer Darren Allison.
"Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)" is a song written by Morris Broadnax, Clarence Paul, and Stevie Wonder. The song was originally recorded by Stevie Wonder in 1967, but his version was not released as a single and did not appear on an album until 1977's anthology Looking Back. The best-known version of this song is the 1973 release by Aretha Franklin, who had a million-selling top 10 hit on Billboard charts. The song reached No. 1 on the R&B chart and No. 3 on the Hot 100 chart in 1974. It became an RIAA Gold record.
This is a comprehensive discography listing of Scottish alternative rock band Travis. The line–up comprising Fran Healy, Dougie Payne, Andy Dunlop and Neil Primrose have twice been awarded British album of the year at the annual Brit Awards, and are often credited with having paved the way for bands such as Coldplay, Keane and Snow Patrol.
"Closer" is a song by Scottish band Travis, released as the first single from their fifth studio album, The Boy with No Name (2007), on 23 April 2007. The single peaked at number 10 on the UK Singles Chart and became the band's second chart-topper on the Scottish Singles Chart, after "Coming Around".
"When Love & Hate Collide" is a song by English rock band Def Leppard from their 1995 greatest hits album Vault, written by Joe Elliott and Rick Savage. The power ballad was originally written and demoed for Adrenalize, but not finalized until 1995 for its inclusion on Vault. The demo version is much more heavily produced in the signature style of Hysteria and Adrenalize, and the final version is more stripped down, supposedly toward the style of the following studio album Slang. The original demo version contains the final recorded guitar solo by late original guitarist Steve Clark.
"Now" is a 2002 song by English hard rock band Def Leppard, released as the lead single for their X album. It peaked at number 23 on the UK Singles Chart.
My Eyes is the third and final single released by Indie band Travis from their fifth studio album, The Boy with No Name. The song was released on 17 September 2007.
"Dreams" is the debut single of Irish rock band the Cranberries. It was originally released in September 1992 by Island Records and later appeared on the band's debut album, Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? (1993). The song reached the top 50 of the US Hot 100 and the top 30 of the UK Singles Chart in early 1994. A 1990 demo version was released in Ireland only in the summer of that year under their initial band name, the Cranberry Saw Us. At the end of the song, the backing vocals are sung by Mike Mahoney, ex-boyfriend of Cranberries lead singer Dolores O'Riordan.
Singles – 45's and Under is a compilation album by Squeeze, released on the A&M Records label on 22 October 1982. The album consisted of all their singles from 1978 to 1982 in chronological order, with the exception of "Bang Bang", "Christmas Day" and "When the Hangover Strikes", and included a new song, "Annie Get Your Gun", which was released as a single ahead of the album. It was the band's biggest selling album, having been certified platinum in both the UK and the US.
"Song To Self" is the third and final single from Indie band Travis' sixth studio album, Ode to J. Smith, released on 5 January 2009.
Where You Stand is the seventh studio album by the Scottish rock band Travis, released on 19 August 2013, on their own record label, Red Telephone Box via Kobalt Label Services. The album was produced by Michael Ilbert, and promoted by three singles: "Where You Stand", "Moving" and "Mother". It is the first album released by the band after a five-year break.
