"3 Libras" is a song by

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

A Perfect Circle A Perfect Circle is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1999 by guitarist Billy Howerdel and Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan. A Perfect Circle has released four studio albums, the first three during the early 2000s: ' ...

. The song was the second single from their debut album ''

Mer de Noms ''Mer de Noms'' (French for ''"Sea of Names"'') is the debut studio album by American rock band A Perfect Circle. The album was released on May 23, 2000, and entered the ''Billboard'' 200 at No. 4, making it the highest ever ''Billboard'' 200 de ...

''. The song was well received both critically and commercially, with it peaking at number 12 on both the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Modern Rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...

and

Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...

charts in 2000.

Background

As with all of the ''

'' album, "3 Libras'" music was written by guitarist

Billy Howerdel Billy Howerdel (born May 18, 1970) is an American musician, best known as the founding member, guitarist, backing vocalist, songwriter, and producer for the band A Perfect Circle, as well as for his former solo project, Ashes Divide. Howerdel h ...

, while the lyrics were written by vocalist

Maynard James Keenan Maynard James Keenan (born James Herbert Keenan; April 17, 1964) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and winemaker. He is best known as the singer and primary lyricist of the rock bands Tool, A Perfect Circle, and Pusci ...

. The two originally envisioned the track to be the first single of their debut album prior to being talked into going with the

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

track " Judith" by record label executives, who felt the track was a better lead off single due to it being less of a departure from Keenan's other band,

Tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...

. Two official remixed versions of the song have been made; the "Feel My Ice Dub Mix" by band member

Danny Lohner Daniel Patrick “Danny” Lohner, frequently known as Renholdër, is an American musician. He worked with Trent Reznor on numerous occasions, both with Nine Inch Nails and on the now defunct Tapeworm project. He has also played for Methods of M ...

, and the "All Main Courses Mix" by

Robert "3D" Del Naja Robert Del Naja (; born 21 January 1965), also known as 3D, is a British artist, musician, singer and songwriter. He emerged as a graffiti artist and member of the Bristol collective the Wild Bunch, and later as a founding member and sole consi ...

Massive Attack Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol by Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. The debut Massive Attack album ''Blue Lines'' was release ...

. They were compiled in 2004 on the band's remix album ''

Amotion ''Amotion'' (stylized as ''aMOTION'') is a DVD– CD set released by American rock band A Perfect Circle on November 16, 2004, only two weeks after the debut of the band's third album, '' eMOTIVe''. The DVD consists of music videos for singles su ...

''.

Composition

While much of ''Mer de Noms'' sound is identified with a conventional

aesthetic, "3 Libras" sound is primarily driven by acoustic guitar and violin. Majority of the song consists of melodic, clean guitar tones, and a violin melody played over, composed by band

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

and violinist

Paz Lenchantin Paz Lenchantin (born December 12, 1973) is an Argentine-American musician. She has been the bass guitarist of the alternative rock band Pixies since 2014. She also played bass or strings with various bands, including Entrance, A Perfect Circle, ...

. Drummer

Josh Freese Joshua Ryan Freese (born December 25, 1972) is an American session drummer. He is the son of tuba soloist Stan Freese and the older brother of musician Jason Freese. He is a member of the Vandals (since 1989) and Devo (since 1996), having forme ...

plays the rim of the drum kit on every eighth note, with the song being performed in 6/8. The song finishes with a full-band performance and distorted electric guitars in the song's outro, ending on a dark

guitar chord In music, a guitar chord is a set of notes played on a guitar. A chord's notes are often played simultaneously, but they can be played sequentially in an arpeggio. The implementation of guitar chords depends on the guitar tuning. Most guitars ...

. Several alternate versions the song have very different compositions. The "Feel My Ice Dub Mix" featured a greatly slowed down tempo and added electronic beats and effects, giving it a more

trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

-like sound, where the "All Main Courses Mix" made extensive use of radio

static Static may refer to: Places *Static Nunatak, a nunatak in Antarctica United States * Static, Kentucky and Tennessee *Static Peak, a mountain in Wyoming **Static Peak Divide, a mountain pass near the peak Science and technology Physics *Static el ...

and

noise Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference arise ...

sound effects. When performed live, in absence of a dedicated violinist, the band would commonly play an alternate version of the song, with Howerdel playing clean electric guitar tones through the song, with the full band backing him with their respective instruments.

Reception

The song was generally well received, commercially and critically. The song received significant radio airplay, charting at number 12 on both the US ''

and

charts. Critics praised the song. ''

Sputnikmusic Sputnikmusic is an American music community website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites. The format of the website is unusual in that it includes both professional and amateur c ...

'' referred to the song as "one of the most beautiful songs APC ever released" and "one of the most emotional releases of the album".

Artistdirect ARTISTdirect is an American online digital media entertainment company. Overview Founded in 1994, it owns several websites, including artistdirect.com and artistdirectinterviews.com. These websites are a group of affiliate websites offering mul ...

editor in chief Rick Florino named the track one of the "Top 20 Maynard James Keenan Songs", calling it "...a tender moment of longing encased in a beautiful, blissful melody...'3 Libras' illuminates the singer's massive vocal range and ability." Florino separately praised the band's live composition of the song as well, stating that he felt it reached "heavenly heights" when performed by the band in their reunion tours in 2010.

Track listing

All music composed by

, all lyrics composed by

. CD1 #"3 Libras" #"Magdalena" (live) #"3 Libras" (Feel My Ice Dub Mix) #"Judith" (live) #"3 Libras" (live) CD2 #"3 Libras" (live in Phoenix) #"3 Libras" (All Main Courses Mix) #"Sleeping Beauty" (Live in Phoenix) #Interactive picture gallery (CD-ROM)

Charts

References

External links

Music video
{{authority control Songs written by Maynard James Keenan Songs written by Billy Howerdel A Perfect Circle songs 2000 songs Virgin Records singles Music videos directed by Paul Hunter (director) 2000 singles