Joker & the Thief
| Joker & the Thief | |
|---|---|
| Wolfmother | |
| publication | October 28, 2006 |
| length | 4 min 40 s |
| Genre (s) | Hard rock , stoner rock |
| Author (s) | Andrew Stockdale, Chris Ross, Myles Heskett |
| Publisher (s) | Universal Music Group |
| album | Wolfmother |
Joker & the Thief (Eng. Joker and the Thief ) is a song by the Australian hard rock band Wolfmother . It was released as a single on October 28, 2006 at Universal Music and became known for its use in various films and sporting events.
Emergence
Joker & the Thief was recorded for Wolfmother 's debut album of the same name at Sound City Studios in Los Angeles , USA . It was released in the album version on October 30, 2005 in Australia. It was released as a single on October 28, 2006.
text
Singer and guitarist Andrew Stockdale described the lyrics in an interview as "completely taken over by Bob Dylan" . The text refers to the characters Joker and Thief from Dylan's song All Along the Watchtower , which is where the name of Wolfmothers song comes from.
music
According to Stockdale, the musical idea for the piece came after hearing Thunderstruck from AC / DC . Inspired by this, he wanted to develop a “rock song for stadiums”, which is where he came up with the intro. Together with the other band members, the verse was then developed, which should be particularly catchy.
With a playing time of 4:40 minutes, the song consists of 178 bars and approximately 148 quarter notes per minute. The guitar alone plays the intro for the first four bars, until bar twelve the hi-hat of the drums comes in. Up to bar 36 the intro is accompanied by a keyboard and the bass, in bar 25 the guitar part changes from the intro to the verse melody. This is followed by two stanzas, each twelve bars long. The subsequent refrain also lasts twelve bars, followed by an eight-bar intermediate section. Two more stanzas and a refrain are followed by an instrumental part over 42 bars. A variation of the stanza concludes the piece.
use
Sports
In the US professional ice hockey league in particular, NHL , some clubs used the song or still do. The Vancouver Canucks and New York Rangers use the song when a power play is pending for their own team, the latter also had the song between 2007 and 2009 as an opening music. The Chicago Blackhawks use it as music for time out . The Freiburg Sports Club also recorded this song as a run-in music for the Bundesliga .
Movie
Jackass: Number Two used the piece during what is known as the lake jump . The song was also used in the 2007 film Shrek the Third . The song was also used in Shoot 'Em Up and Hangover , in the latter it was used in a casino scene.
Computer games
The song is part of the soundtracks of Need for Speed: Carbon , NHL 14 and Dirt 4 , among others .
advertising
The song was used in a TV commercial for the Jägermeister spirit .
Chart placements
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The highest chart placement was achieved in Australia , the band's home country, where they stayed in the charts for 29 weeks with an eighth place in the meantime. In the UK , the song was at number 64 on the charts for a week. In the US Billboard charts, the single also reached number 31 in the alternative category.
Reviews
Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic writes in his review that the example of Joker & the Thief shows a certain naivety. The intro of the song reminds him a lot of the guitar riff of Soundgarden's Rusty Cage .
Vicky Butscher writes for Laut.de that the song builds up slowly and reaches the climax of the energy in the chorus.
Video
The music video was shot during a performance in the Australian city of Sydney . In addition to recordings of the actual appearance, backstage scenes were used in which the actors from the Jackass series can be seen. The stunts typical for the program are shown.
Awards
The single was nominated in three categories at the MTV Australia Awards , but could not win any of these awards. In the categories for Video of the Year and Best Rock Video, they lost to The Kill by 30 Seconds to Mars , while Red Hot Chili Peppers with Dani California were successful in the best group .
Web links
- Joker & the Thief on allmusic.com (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Vicky Butscher: Energy paired with melodies that won't let you go. On: laut.de. Retrieved July 1, 2012
- ↑ Information on the album "Wolfmother". On: discogs.com (English). Retrieved July 7, 2012
- ↑ Wolfmother's biography. On: wma.com (English, .pdf file; 50 kB). Retrieved July 7, 2012
- ↑ a b Joker & the Thief at Songfacts.com (English), accessed on August 25, 2019.
- ↑ Soundtrack from Jackass: Number Two. On: imdb.com (English). Retrieved July 8, 2012
- ↑ Shrek the Third Soundtrack. On: imdb.com (English). Retrieved July 8, 2012
- ↑ Soundtrack from Shoot 'Em Up. On: imdb.com (English). Retrieved July 8, 2012
- ↑ The Hangover soundtrack. On: imdb.com (English). Retrieved July 8, 2012
- ↑ Need For Speed Carbon Soundtrack Burns Rubber. IGN .com, September 20, 2006, accessed December 2, 2019 .
- ^ NHL 14 (2013 Video Game) - Soundtracks. IMDb .com, accessed on December 2, 2019 (English).
- ↑ Jägermeister Advertising 2013 - Who, if not us. Accessed on April 20, 2016
- ↑ Wolfmother in the British charts
- ↑ Wolfmother in the Australian charts
- ↑ Wolfmother in the US charts.
- ↑ Stephen Thomas Erlewine: Review on allmusic.com (English). Retrieved July 1, 2012
- ↑ Joker & the Thief music video. On: myvideo.de. Retrieved July 15, 2012
- ↑ MTV Australia Awards 2007. At: webwombat.com.au (English). Retrieved July 1, 2012