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Song

"Steve McQueen" is a song by French electronic music band M83, released as the fourth single off their fourth studio album Hurry Up, We're Dreaming in November 2012. Written and produced by Justin Meldal-Johnsen and band vocalist Anthony Gonzalez, "Steve McQueen" is a noise pop chillwave track that has an unclear lyrical concept, and due to this, a reviewer wrote that it helps dignify any situation. The track garnered critical acclaim, with some calling it one of the best track off Hurry Up, We're Dreaming.

Production

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"Steve McQueen" was one of the first songs written for Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, and went through several revisions, with Gonzalez asking Caroline Polachek, a vocalist for the band Chairlift to help out with the song: "It was great but in the end it wasn’t working, so I don’t know… I don’t actually have a great memory of this one but I am super happy with the final result."[1] As for naming the song after his favorite actor, Gonzalez said that it "sounded so good with the song."[2]

Analysis and critical reception

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The stadium-sounding noise pop chillwave song[3][4] was analyzed by Ian Cohen of Pitchfork Media to make the tracks that come before "Steve McQueen" on Hurry Up, We're Dreaming feel like a prelude of the song.[5] He also noted that, because its unclear what the concept of the lyrics are, it's able to dignify any situation.[5] He also described it "as close as most of us will get to being strapped inside a space shuttle, as midway through an almost unbearably tensile verse, you don't hear drums so much as afterburners kicking in. By the chorus, it simply cannot go further up, and it explodes at the perfect moment into hair-metal guitar chords and synth-led skywriting."[5] In the song's bridge, the drums briefly transform into a jangly drum machine before the real drums strike back in.[6] This is one of the parts of the album where, according to a Popmatters reviewer, it shows the variety of the production on the album, so much so "that it leaves the listener behind."[6]

Some reviewers called "Steve McQueen" one of the best songs of Hurry Up, We're Dreaming,[7][8] including one who said the track could possibly help the album become commercially successful.[9] A Tiny Mix Tapes critic called it one of M83's best tracks so far, noting it to have the most "breathtaking" ambience ever.[10] Reef Younis, who reviewed the album for BBC Music and Loud and Quiet, used "Steve McQueen"'s "scale and exultant splendour" as a example of "when Gonzalez wants to reduce you to a sighing ball of pulse, blood and bone, he will with breathtaking force and grace."[11][12] Another review of the LP noted that "Steve McQueen" was one of the cases where M83's "more restrained croon is still used to great effect".[13] Upon the music video's premiere, Rich Juzwiak of Gawker wrote about the track in his "Today's Song" column, calling it "lovely, hummable and thickly textured with the most soothing of reverb."[14]

Remix EP

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Four remixes are included on "Steve McQueen"'s remix EP, including recuts by SALM, Alluxe, BeatauCue and James Chapman's project Maps. The song's remix EP garnered a mixed review from Paste magazine's Ryan Reed, feeling that the songs didn't have the same "grand, life-affirming beauty" as the original mix and that Gonzalez's squealing vocal performances never fits with these remixes.[15] In March 2014, a remix by duo Victor Dinaire & Bissen was released in North American territories.[16][17]

Music video

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Produced with Manuel Cam Studio, the official music video for "Steve McQueen" was directed by Balthazar Auxietre & Sylvain Derosne, with the former editing the video and the latter handling the animation.[18] A winner for a competition M83 ran in partnership with music video website Genero TV,[18] the video shows a child in a yellow suit, played by Augustin Clerc,[18] seemingly casting a spell that cause toy animals animated with stop motion to move past old books while a tape players plays extremely loud music. The animals do this "as if answering some irresistible call" as Spin magazine's Marc Hogan analyzed, who described the video as an "ornate yet wide-eyed clip, like the song itself. And just when you think it’s over, it builds back up to another cathartic, moonlit peak."[4] Juzwiak spotlighted the fluid toy animation which he found "impressive" for a fan-made production,[14] while Idolator's Carl Williott called the childhood theme of the video to be suitable with the nostalgic 1980s vibe of the song.[19] Hogan joked that "This type of all-out positivity could probably get tiring if you weren’t in the right mindset, but just imagine if President Barack Obama had watched it before that first debate in Denver. He might’ve levitated off the podium."[4]

Credits and personnel

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Credits adapted from the liner notes of Hurry Up, We're Dreaming.[20]

  • Songwriting, production, lead vocals, backing vocals, programming, electric guitar – Anthony Gonzalez
  • Songwriting, production, engineering, programming, electric guitar, bass guitar, acoustic guitar – Justin Meldal-Johnsen
  • Additional lyrics – Brad Laner, Morgan Kibby, Yann Gonzalez
  • Engineering – Todd Burke, Mike Schuppan
  • Assistant engineering – Cameron Lister, Graham Hope, Mike Schuppan
  • Mixing – Tony Hoffer
  • Mastering – Dave Cooley
  • Acoustic guitar – Lyle Workman
  • Drums – Loic Maurin
  • Backing vocals – Amy White

Tracklist

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  1. "Steve McQueen"   – 3:48
  2. "Steve McQueen" (Instrumental)   – 3:49
  • US promotional CD single[22]
  1. "Steve McQueen"   – 3:48
  2. "Steve McQueen" (Maps Remix)   – 6:33
  3. "Steve McQueen" (SALM Remix)   – 5:07
  1. "Steve McQueen"   – 3:48
  2. "Steve McQueen" (Maps Remix)   – 6:33
  3. "Steve McQueen" (SALM Remix)   – 5:07
  4. "Steve McQueen" (BeatauCue Remix)   – 4:28
  5. "Steve McQueen" (Alluxe Remix)   – 4:00
  • Victor Dinaire & Bissen remix[16]
  1. "Steve McQueen" (Victor Dinaire & Bissen Remix)   – 6:57

Release history

[edit]
Territory Date Format Label Ref.
Oceania 25 November 2012 Digital download – Remixes Inertia [23][26]
Europe 26 November 2012 M83 Recording [24]
Oceania 28 November 2012 Digital download Inertia [21][27]
Canada, United States 1 March 2014 Digital download – Remixes M83 Recording [25][28]
Digital download – Victor Dinaire & Bissen remix [16][17]

References

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  1. ^ Taylor, Ben (14 March 2012). "M83 interview – 'I'm glad we tricked you'". Swide. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  2. ^ "M83: An interview with Anthony Gonzalez". Apes on Tape. 3 November 2011. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  3. ^ K., Rudy (17 October 2011). "Review: M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming". Sputnikmusic. 16 February 2016.
  4. ^ a b c Hogan, Marc (25 October 2012). "M83's 'Steve McQueen' Gets Whimsical, Long-Overdue Video". Spin. SpinMedia. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  5. ^ a b c Cohen, Ian (17 October 2011). "M83: Hurry Up, We're Dreaming". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  6. ^ a b Gabriele, Timothy (26 October 2011). "M83: Hurry Up, We're Dreaming". Popmatters. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  7. ^ Miller, Derek (28 October 2011). "M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  8. ^ "Hurry Up, We're Dreaming". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  9. ^ Roffman, Michael (14 October 2011). "M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  10. ^ Ivan, Art. "M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  11. ^ Younis, Reef (2011). "Review of M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming". BBC Music. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  12. ^ "M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming". Loud and Quiet. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  13. ^ Fallon, Patric (13 October 2011). "M83 Hurry Up, We're Dreaming". XLR8R. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  14. ^ a b Juzwiak, Rich (25 October 2012). "Today's Song: M83 "Steve McQueen"". Gawker. Gawker Media. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  15. ^ Reed, Ryan (27 November 2012). "M83: Steve McQueen". Paste. Wolfgang's Vault. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  16. ^ a b c "Steve McQueen (Dinaire & Bissen Remix) - Single by M83". iTunes Store (United States). Apple Inc. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  17. ^ a b "Steve McQueen (Dinaire & Bissen Remix) - Single by M83". iTunes Store (Canada). Apple Inc. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  18. ^ a b c "M83 'Steve McQueen' Official video". M83 Official Youtube Channel. 25 October 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  19. ^ Williot, Carl (25 October 2012). "M83's "Steve McQueen" Video: Another Kid With Cosmic Powers". Idolator. SpinMedia. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  20. ^ Hurry Up, We're Dreaming (Media notes). M83. Naïve Records. 2011. NV824311.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  21. ^ a b "Steve McQueen - Single by M83". iTunes Store (Australia). Apple Inc. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  22. ^ Mute Records. 724596434628
  23. ^ a b "Steve McQueen (Remixes) - EP by M83". iTunes Store (Australia). Apple Inc. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  24. ^ a b European iTunes Releases:
  25. ^ a b "Steve McQueen EP by M83". iTunes Store (United States). Apple Inc. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  26. ^ "Steve McQueen (Remixes) - EP by M83". iTunes Store (New Zealand). Apple Inc. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  27. ^ "Steve McQueen - Single by M83". iTunes Store (New Zealand). Apple Inc. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  28. ^ "Steve McQueen EP by M83". iTunes Store (Canada). Apple Inc. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
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