Such Great Heights

Last updated
"Such Great Heights"
The Postal Service-Such Great Heights.jpg
Single by The Postal Service
from the album Give Up
B-side "There's Never Enough Time"
Released2003
Recorded2002
Genre
Length4:26
Label Sub Pop
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) The Postal Service
The Postal Service singles chronology
"Such Great Heights"
(2003)		"The District Sleeps Alone Tonight"
(2003)
Gnome-mime-sound-openclipart.svg
The Postal Service - "Such Great Heights"
An 18 second sample of the song's chorus.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Such Great Heights" is a song by American indie pop band The Postal Service. It was released as the lead single from their debut studio album, Give Up , in 2003 through Sub Pop Records. The single includes a previously unreleased track, "There's Never Enough Time", and two cover tracks by The Shins and Iron & Wine of "We Will Become Silhouettes" and "Such Great Heights", respectively.

Contents

"Such Great Heights" ranked 27 on Rolling Stone's 100 Best Songs of the Decade list. [1]

Background

"Such Great Heights" came together late in the recording process, and was one of the last songs the duo completed in June 2002. [2] Its genesis came together "incredibly quickly," according to Gibbard, who felt it "seemingly came out of nowhere. It did feel that there was some sort of spiritual transcendence happening and the song being beamed down to me." [3] For Gibbard, the song was a thematic departure from his more melancholy subject matter: "I think 'Such Great Heights' is the first time I've ever written a positive love song," he told Rolling Stone , "where it's a song about being in love and how it's rad, rather than having your heart broken." [4]

The song was written by Ben Gibbard and Jimmy Tamborello, and recorded in early 2002. The final recordings include backing vocals in the studio recording by Jen Wood, whose other collaborations include work for The Black Heart Procession and Joan of Arc. The single for "Such Great Heights" was the first CD released by The Postal Service, featuring cover artwork designed by Kozyndan. The release of the single served as a preview for the band's album, Give Up , which was released a month later.

Music video

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [5]
*Pitchfork Media (6.3/10) [6]

The music video for "Such Great Heights" was directed by Josh & Xander, and premiered in April 2003.

Set in the clean room of a semiconductor fabrication plant, where, as the machinery assembles devices, two workers in bunny suits cast longing glances at each other. For most of the song, the two workers are primarily shown, interspersed with shots of the machinery working on silicon wafers. When the bridge comes, the video leaves the two workers as one is carefully taking a wafer from the other, and dives into a sequence of shots of machines assembling wafers; then zooms in on a bank of chips; then zooms out to show the chips are inside of a satellite; then zooms in on the Earth and down to the city block containing EnergySolutions Arena (now the Delta Center), in Salt Lake City, however the block has been replaced with a computer circuit; from there, a match cut is made to a monitor in the factory displaying a similar looking computer chip; and this is the end of the sequence, cutting back to the two workers handing over the wafer.

The video was filmed inside a real fabrication plant run by Skyworks Solutions [7] When the video premiered on iTunes, the Skyworks Solutions name and logo were blurred out during some scenes.

Josh & Xander later created a commercial for Apple Computer Inc. (now Apple Inc.) and Intel using similar footage. [8] [9] While strikingly similar to the music video, the commercial did not contain imagery of The Postal Service or a recording of its music. On January 19, 2006, Ben Gibbard stated on the band's website, "It has recently come to our attention that Apple Computers' new television commercial for the Intel chip features a shot-for-shot recreation of our video for 'Such Great Heights' made by the same filmmakers responsible for the original." In response, the band issued the following statement: "We did not approve this commercialization and are extremely disappointed with both parties that this was executed without our consultation or consent."[ citation needed ]

Track listing

  1. "Such Great Heights" – 4:27
  2. "There's Never Enough Time" – 3:33
  3. "We Will Become Silhouettes" (cover by The Shins) – 3:01
  4. "Such Great Heights" (cover by Iron & Wine) – 4:10

Uses in media

Cover versions

Commercial performance

"Such Great Heights" was the band's first single; both Gibbard and Tamborello both jokingly referred to it as "the hit" of the album, presaging its eventual popularity. [2] The duo had hoped to offer more to listeners than a typical A/B-side release, and Sub Pop labelmates the Shins and Iron & Wine agreed to cover two of the group's songs. Iron & Wine's rendition of "Such Great Heights" aided in boosting the song's profile. Both versions were simultaneously popular, with Iron & Wine's version used in the film and soundtrack for Garden State , as well as in television advertisement for M&M's. The original version was licensed for commercials for Target, Ask.com, UPS, and Kaiser Permanente. [20]

It debuted on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles Sales chart, a ranking which only tallied physical sales, at number 30 on February 8, 2003. [21] It rose to its peak position of number 21 the following week, and slowly fell after that. [22] In total, the song spent eleven weeks on the chart. [23]

The success of "Such Great Heights" was a grassroots approach. For example, in Boston, local independent retailer Newbury Comics campaigned for the city's alternative station, WFNX, to put the song on the air. [24] Two of the first stations to broadcast the tune were KCRW in Los Angeles and KITS in San Francisco. [25] In January 2004, influential Los Angeles alternative station KROQ-FM began playing "Such Great Heights", [26] which bolstered the album's popularity. Sub Pop offered a free download of the song on their official website, which had been downloaded over nine million times by August 2005. [27] Sub Pop A&R director Tony Kiewel was told by executives that the song had high "burn factor"—radio terminology for a song that listeners might quickly grow tired of. [28]

Despite this, "Such Great Heights" continued to sell. The single had sold over 25,000 copies by August 2004, [25] and was later certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling over 500,000 copies, in June 2005. [29] The grassroots approach was also apparent in radio airplay; while it originally peaked at #44 on the Radio and Records Alternative chart [30] in 2004, its airplay was so persistent that it managed to break into the chart again in 2005, peaking that time at #50. [31]

Charts

Chart (2003)Peak
position
US Hot 100 Singles Sales ( Billboard ) [22] 21
Chart (2004)Peak
position
US Radio and Records Alternative [30] 44
Chart (2005)Peak
position
US Radio and Records Alternative [31] 50

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [32] Platinum1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Postal Service</span> American indie rock band

The Postal Service is an American indie pop supergroup from Seattle, Washington, consisting of singer Ben Gibbard, producer Jimmy Tamborello, and Jenny Lewis on background vocals.

<i>Give Up</i> 2003 studio album by the Postal Service

Give Up is the only studio album by American electronic duo The Postal Service, released on February 18, 2003, by Sub Pop Records. The Postal Service was a collaboration between singer-songwriter Ben Gibbard, best-known for his work with indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie, and musician Jimmy Tamborello, who also records under the name Dntel. Gibbard rose to prominence in the early 2000s as frontman of Death Cab, while Tamborello gained a cult following as a pioneer of contemporary glitch music and electronica. The two first collaborated with the song "(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan", for Dntel's debut LP, Life Is Full of Possibilities (2001).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dntel</span> American electronic musician and DJ

James Scott "Jimmy" Tamborello, also known by his stage name Dntel, is an American electronic music artist and DJ. Aside from his main solo project, Tamborello is also known as a member of the groups The Postal Service, Headset, Strictly Ballroom, and Figurine, where he is sometimes cited as James Figurine.

Len is a Canadian alternative rock duo based in Toronto, Ontario. The band consists of siblings Marc Costanzo and Sharon Costanzo and a revolving lineup of touring and studio musicians. The group is best known for their 1999 single "Steal My Sunshine".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Secret Love (Doris Day song)</span> 1953 song

"Secret Love" is a song composed by Sammy Fain (music) and Paul Francis Webster (lyrics) for Calamity Jane, a 1953 musical film in which it was introduced by Doris Day in the title role. Ranked as a number 1 hit for Day on both the Billboard and Cash Box, the song also afforded Day a number 1 hit in the UK. "Secret Love" has subsequently been recorded by a wide range of artists, becoming a C&W hit firstly for Slim Whitman and later for Freddy Fender, with the song also becoming an R&B hit for Billy Stewart, whose version also reached the top 40 as did Freddy Fender's. In the UK, "Secret Love" would become the career record of Kathy Kirby via her 1963 remake of the song. The melody bears a slight resemblance to the opening theme of Schubert's A-major piano sonata, D.664.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">With You (Jessica Simpson song)</span> 2003 single by Jessica Simpson

"With You" is a song by American recording artist Jessica Simpson from her third studio album, In This Skin. "With You" was released by Columbia Records as the second single from In This Skin on November 3, 2003. Overall, "With You" was Simpson's seventh single in the United States and her fourth single in the United Kingdom. Billy Mann and Andy Marvel produced the song and co-wrote it with Simpson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The District Sleeps Alone Tonight</span> 2003 single by The Postal Service

"The District Sleeps Alone Tonight" is a song by the electronic music band The Postal Service, the second single from their debut album, Give Up, released July 8, 2003 on Sub Pop Records. The single included a cover of "Suddenly Everything Has Changed" by The Flaming Lips, and two remixed tracks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">We Will Become Silhouettes</span> 2005 single by the Postal Service

"We Will Become Silhouettes" is a single by American indie band the Postal Service, released February 8, 2005, under the Sub Pop Records label. The single included a new track "Be Still My Heart" and two remixed tracks by Matthew Dear and Styrofoam. The title track has been used in a Honda Civic commercial. Indie band The Shins recorded an acoustic cover of the title track, which was included as a B-side on The Postal Service's "Such Great Heights".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Are You Lonesome Tonight?</span> Song written and composed by Lou Handman and Roy Turk; first recorded by Charles Hart

"Are You Lonesome Tonight?" is a song written by Roy Turk and Lou Handman in 1926. It was recorded several times in 1927—first by Charles Hart, with successful versions by Vaughn De Leath, Henry Burr, and the duet of Jerry Macy and John Ryan. In 1950, the Blue Barron Orchestra version reached the top twenty on the Billboard's Pop Singles chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Change the World</span> 1996 song by Wynonna Judd

"Change the World" is a song written by Tommy Sims, Gordon Kennedy, and Wayne Kirkpatrick and recorded by country music artist Wynonna Judd. A later version was recorded by English singer Eric Clapton for the soundtrack of the 1996 film Phenomenon. Clapton's version was produced by R&B record producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Understanding (song)</span> 1993 single by Xscape

"Understanding" is a song by American R&B group Xscape. Written by Manuel Seal, the song was released as the group's second single from the group's 1993 debut album Hummin' Comin' at 'Cha. The song reached number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100 and spent two weeks at number one on the Hot R&B Singles chart.

<i>Stackin Chips</i> 1997 studio album by 3X Krazy

Stackin Chips is the debut studio album by American rap group 3X Krazy. It was released on April 8, 1997 through Noo Trybe Records. Production was handled by Tone Capone, One Drop Scott, Ali Malek, Ant Banks, Bosko, Lev Berlak, Mike Dean, N.O. Joe, and Spenc. It features guest appearances from Luniz, Harm, Mr. Spence, Christión, Cydal, E-40, Dru Down, Mike Marshall, Pleasure and Seagram. The album made it to No. 136 on the Billboard 200, No. 28 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and No. 6 on the Top Heatseekers. One single, "Keep It on the Real," peaked at No. 19 on the Hot Rap Tracks, which was based on the 52nd Steet's 1985 song, "Tell Me How It Feels."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Let's Get Down (Bow Wow song)</span> 2003 single by Bow Wow featuring Baby

"Let's Get Down" is a song by American rapper Bow Wow, released on June 24, 2003 as the first single off his third album Unleashed (2003). The song was written by Shad Moss, Phalon Alexander, Rahman Griffin and a then-unknown T.I. It was produced by Jazze Pha and features rapper Birdman under his former alias "Baby". It's the first song to be released by Bow Wow without the "Lil'" moniker in his name after making his film debut in 2002's Like Mike and releasing his cover of "Basketball" for the film's soundtrack. Bow Wow said that following the name change, he wanted to do the same with his music by contributing more into the songwriting process of the album and release a single that matched his new image.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stiff Upper Lip World Tour</span> 2000–2001 concert tour by AC/DC

The Stiff Upper Lip World Tour was a concert tour by the Australian hard rock band AC/DC in support of their fourteenth studio album, Stiff Upper Lip, which was released in 28 February 2000. This tour had 6 legs around the world lasting 11 months starting on 1 August 2000 in Grand Rapids, Michigan finishing on 8 July 2001 in Cologne, Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Here We Go Again (Ray Charles song)</span> 1967 song by Ray Charles

"Here We Go Again" is a country music standard written by Don Lanier and Red Steagall that first became notable as a rhythm and blues single by Ray Charles from his 1967 album Ray Charles Invites You to Listen. It was produced by Joe Adams for ABC Records/Tangerine Records. To date, this version of the song has been the biggest commercial success, spending twelve consecutive weeks on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 15.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ghost Town (Cheap Trick song)</span> 1988 single by Cheap Trick

"Ghost Town" is a song by American rock band Cheap Trick, released in 1988 as the third single from their tenth studio album Lap of Luxury. It was written by Diane Warren and guitarist Rick Nielsen, and produced by Richie Zito. The song peaked at number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitney Houston videography</span>

The videography of American recording artist Whitney Houston, nicknamed “The Voice”, consists of fifty-five music videos, four music video compilations, a concert tour video and three music video singles. In 1983, Houston signed a recording contract with Arista Records and two years later released her eponymous debut album. Houston's first music video was for the single "You Give Good Love", which was selected to establish her in the black marketplace first. Houston then released the video of her worldwide hit "Saving All My Love for You". The following video, for the song "How Will I Know", helped introduce the singer to a wider audience when it became one of the first videos by a black female singer to earn heavy rotation on MTV, and it won MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video at its 3rd ceremony of 1986. "Greatest Love of All", the final single released from Houston's debut album, helped cement the M.O. for the classic Whitney video. In June 1986, Houston released her first video compilation The No. 1 Video Hits, containing her four music videos off the Whitney Houston album. It reached number-one on the Billboard Top Music Videocassettes chart and stayed there for 22 weeks, which remains the all-time record for a video collection by a female artist, it was also certified Platinum for shipments of 100,000 units by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on July 15, 1986. In 1987, Houston released the music video for "I Wanna Dance with Somebody ", the first single from her second album Whitney (1987), which depicts Houston in one of her iconic looks, the clip―towering curly wig, colorful dangly earrings and a series of going-to-the-club outfits. In 1988, the music video for the song "One Moment in Time", the title track off the 1988 Summer Olympics Album: One Moment in Time, was released.

Zakiya A. Munnerlyn is a former American R&B/soul singer who released a self-titled studio album on DV8 Records in 1997. Two singles from the album, "Love Like Mine" and "My Love Won't Fade Away", entered Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Eyes Blue</span> 1999 single by Eric Clapton

"Blue Eyes Blue" is a pop song written by American songwriter Diane Warren. The tune was written for the 1999 soundtrack of Runaway Bride. The British rock musician Eric Clapton recorded the song for the soundtrack and released his performance of the song as a single on July 20, 1999, for Reprise Records.

"Leflaur Leflah Eshkoshka" is a song by American hip hop group The Fab 5. It was released in 1995 via Duck Down/Priority Records as the lead single from Heltah Skeltah's debut studio album Nocturnal. Recording sessions took place at D&D Studios in New York City. Production was handled by Baby Paul with executive producers Buckshot and Drew "Dru-Ha" Friedman. The song contains a sample from The Catalyst's "Uzuri". Music video was directed by Marcus Turner.

References

  1. ↑ "100 Best Songs of the 2000s". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2010-09-03.
  2. 1 2 Scharpling, Tom (director); Gibbard, Ben (interview); Tamborello, Jimmy (interview) (April 9, 2013). The Postal Service: In Their Own Words. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  3. ↑ McCartney, Kelly (April 19, 2015). "Death Cab for Cutie's Ben Gibbard Deconstructs the Science of Songwriting". Medium. Cuepoint. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  4. ↑ Flicker, Jonah (May 7, 2012). "Such Great Heights". Rolling Stone . Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  5. ↑ "allmusic ((( Such Great Heights > Overview )))". AllMusic . Retrieved 2010-09-03.
  6. ↑ "The Postal Service: Such Great Heights & The District Sleeps Alone Tonight EPs: Pitchfork Review". 2003-08-07. Archived from the original on 2006-04-11. Retrieved 2010-09-03.
  7. ↑ "Fab Video". Skyworks Solutions, Inc. Archived from the original on 2005-03-01. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
  8. ↑ "Apple - Intel Chip Switch". YouTube. 2008-01-04. Archived from the original on November 23, 2011. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
  9. ↑ "Apple Ad vs The Postal Service "Such Great Heights" video" . Retrieved 28 March 2022– via YouTube.
  10. ↑ "Whiteboard Advertising Campaign". United Parcel Service. 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-02-27. Retrieved 2007-01-06.
  11. ↑ "Haz que tus negocios sean una realidad | Banco Bci" . Retrieved 28 March 2022– via YouTube.
  12. ↑ "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | Series 2 Teaser Trailer | Paramount+". YouTube .
  13. ↑ "You Can Tell Everybody These Are All the Songs in Broadway's Moulin Rouge". 30 August 2019. Retrieved 2023-05-27.
  14. ↑ Such Great Heights Archived 2011-09-24 at the Wayback Machine on Bandcamp, accessed 2011-12-05.
  15. ↑ Rydin, Brent (August 15, 2011), Amanda Palmer and Kim Boekbinder Hit "Such Great Heights", Cover Me.
  16. ↑ Barnes, Amelia (August 24, 2011), Kim Boekbinder & Amanda Palmer - Such Great Heights (2011 Single), The AU Review, archived from the original on 2016-01-10, retrieved 2011-12-05.
  17. ↑ Lawless, John (2013-08-16). "Such Great Heights video from Joy Kills Sorrow". Bluegrass Today. Retrieved 2017-01-22.
  18. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hf-VJ9gYHLk&feature=youtu.be
  19. ↑ https://www.candyrat.com/artists/GarethPearson/UrbanEchoesVol2
  20. ↑ Wawzenek, Bryan (January 19, 2018). "The Postal Service's Single Pushes Them to 'Such Great Heights'". Diffuser.fm.
  21. ↑ "Hot 100 Singles Sales" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 115, no. 5. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. February 8, 2003. p. 62. ISSN   0006-2510.
  22. 1 2 "Hot 100 Singles Sales" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 115, no. 6. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. February 15, 2003. p. 56. ISSN   0006-2510.
  23. ↑ "Hot 100 Singles Sales" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 115, no. 18. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. May 5, 2003. p. 72. ISSN   0006-2510.
  24. ↑ Traiman, Steve (September 27, 2003). "Relationship Of Mutual Respect Reaps Rewards" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 115, no. 32. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. N–1–N–8. ISSN   0006-2510.
  25. 1 2 Paoletta, Michael (August 7, 2004). "Postal Service Delivers Give Up". Billboard. Vol. 116, no. 32. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 34. ISSN   0006-2510.
  26. ↑ "POSTAL SERVICE ADDED on KROQ!". SubPop.com . January 13, 2004. Archived from the original on April 14, 2004.
  27. ↑ Martens, Todd (August 20, 2005). "Q&A: Jonathan Poneman". Billboard. Vol. 117, no. 34. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 18. ISSN   0006-2510.
  28. ↑ Andesron, Kyle (April 19, 2013). "The Postal Service's 'Give Up': An oral history of the indie side project that became an aughties touchstone -- and a platinum seller". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  29. ↑ "Gold & Platinum – RIAA". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  30. 1 2 "Radio & Records" (PDF). Americanradiohistory.com. 2004-04-30. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
  31. 1 2 "Radio & Records" (PDF). Americanradiohistory.com. 2005-04-22. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
  32. ↑ "American single certifications – Postal Service – Such Great Heights". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved April 14, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.