Stars (Switchfoot song)

"Stars"
Single by Switchfoot
from the album Nothing Is Sound
Released July 5, 2005
Format CD
Genre Alternative rock, post-grunge, hard rock
Length 3:59 (Radio Edit)
4:20 (Album Version)
4:09 (Acoustic)
Label Sony BMG
Writer(s) Jon Foreman
Producer(s) John Fields
Certification Gold (RIAA)[1]
Switchfoot singles chronology
"This is Your Life"
(2004)		 "Stars"
(2005)		 "We Are One Tonight"
(2006)

"Stars" is the first single released from Switchfoot's fifth album Nothing Is Sound. It was the most-added song on Modern Rock Radio in its first week of release[2] and peaked at number sixteen on the US Modern Rock chart. The song was certified gold as a digital single on December 13, 2005.[1] It is the band's third most successful song, behind previous hits "Meant to Live" and "Dare You to Move". On iTunes, an acoustic mix of the track is available.

Lyrical themes

According to the song-writer Jon Foreman, "Stars" is about perspective, a song about stepping back in the midst of chaos and looking at the stars; the idea of anti-entropy, implying there must be something keeping the world together. "The first verse looks at things from Descartes perspective, pinning the center of the universe on the individual. 'Maybe I've been the problem,' maybe I'm overcast, falling apart, etc... The second verse talks about our world from the perspective of the stars looking down on earth from the eternal dance of gravity and motion."[3]

The song is a fan favorite for its thought provoking lyrics and heavy aggressive sound.

Music videos

The music video for this song was filmed at Universal Studios mostly underwater.[4] The video features the band playing in an outdoor setting, but as the video progresses, they can be seen "floating" in a watery environment. At the apex of the song right before the bridge of the song, this environment bursts and the band plays in the rain until the end of the video.[5]

The video was directed by Scott Speer and produced by Coleen Haynes.

A music video based on a shortened version of this song was used for American Idol, in partnership with Ford, in a Mustang commercial.

Track listings

UK CD single
  1. Stars (Album Version)
  2. Stars (Acoustic Version)
  3. Dare You To Move (Acoustic Version)
  4. Stars (Video)

Chart positions

Chart (2005) Peak
position
Australian Singles Chart[6] 43
US Billboard Hot 100 68
US Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks 16
US Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks 39
US Billboard Pop 100 41

Awards

In 2006, the song won a Dove Award for Short Form Music Video of the Year at the 37th GMA Dove Awards. It was also nominated for Rock/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 RIAA Gold & Platinum Searchable Database - Switchfoot singles
  2. ↑ Switchfoot - Nothing Is Sound
  3. ↑ Originally posted as 12 Days of Switchfoot at switchfoot.com (published September 2, 2005 - retrieved January 12, 2007) partial text still available at brokenmasterpieces.com (retrieved June 17, 2008)
  4. ↑ Switchfoot Look Like California Raisins After Video Shoot - MTV published August 4, 2005 (retrieved January 12, 2007)
  5. ↑ Switchfoot - Stars
  6. ↑ http://swisscharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Switchfoot&titel=Stars&cat=s
  7. ↑ 37th Annual GMA Dove Awards Nominations & Winners on About.com; Jones, Kim

External links

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