"Ghosts 'n' Stuff" is an
electro house song by Canadian electronic music producer
Deadmau5 featuring vocals by Australian producer
Rob Swire. Its instrumental was released as a single on October 27, 2008, and re-released with vocals on September 27, 2009. The latter was featured on Deadmau5's fourth studio album ''
For Lack of a Better Name''.
Background
The original version of "Ghosts 'n' Stuff" was made in 2004, and Joel Zimmerman has stated that it "ended up going through at least 10 revisions". Zimmerman and Rob Swire had been coincidentally meeting each other backstage at various festivals and agreed to collaborate. The vocal melodies performed by Swire were inspired by
Chris Isaak's song
Wicked Game.
The song was made originally specifically for
Pete Tong's BBC Radio 1
Essential Selection
The ''Essential Selection'' is a radio show on Friday evenings on BBC Radio 1, originally conceived by producer Eddie Gordon and hosted by Pete Tong.
History
"The Essential Mix programme was originally produced by Radio 1 producer Eddie Gord ...
show on October 10, 2008. Deadmau5 was a guest on the show along with
Steve Angello (the two, with Tong, were playing a live set in Manchester, England on that night). Deadmau5 debuted the song to a live audience at the HARD Haunted Mansion 2008 in Los Angeles, California.
The "hard intro" version of one B-side of the single, "Moar Ghosts 'n' Stuff" (which appears on the mixed version of ''For Lack of a Better Name'') features a new intro containing a vocal sample from the 1957 film ''
The Brain from Planet Arous
''The Brain from Planet Arous'' is a 1957 independently made American black-and-white science fiction film, produced by Jacques R. Marquette, directed by Nathan H. Juran, that stars John Agar, Joyce Meadows, and Robert Fuller. Distributed brie ...
'' and a quote of the
funeral march by
Chopin. This version of the track also contains a new lead melody which Deadmau5 has said was inspired by the main melody of
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...
's
Superstition
A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly applied to beliefs and ...
.
The unmixed version released on October 20, 2009 replaces this version with the original mix, which excludes the vocal sample and the funeral march intro.
Music video
A music video promoting the single was released in August 2009 and was directed by Colin O'Toole. It was shot in
Toronto, Ontario.
The video begins with Joel Zimmerman being rushed into a hospital, before dying within minutes of arrival. He is then revived as a
ghost
A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...
, and attempts to pass through the walls but cannot. He leaves the hospital and wanders around town, getting a tattoo of a
Space Invader alien and running into a gang of other ghosts. After an unpleasant trip to a restaurant and a laundromat, Joel attends a
rave
A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...
with several people also dressed in costumes. At the party, someone wearing a Mau5head pulls the white sheet off, as Joel is revived back in the hospital. He finds the Space Invader tattoo which he got as a ghost remaining on his neck.
The music video was uploaded to
Ultra Music
Ultra Records is an American record label formed in New York City in 1995 by former PolyGram and Virgin Records executive Patrick Moxey. As of December 23, 2012, Ultra entered a global partnership with Sony Music, giving its artists access to ...
's
YouTube channel on August 19, 2009, and has since acquired over 62 million views.
Release
The song's instrumental was released as a single through
Mau5trap and
Ultra on October 27, 2008, as a digital download single and 12"
vinyl with its
B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
"Peddler of Misery".
The vocal edit featuring Rob Swire was released as a digital download single and EP on September 27, 2009. Another vinyl version was released in 2009, with the original instrumental mix and "Moar Ghosts 'n' Stuff".
The song peaked at number 12 in the United Kingdom on the
UK Singles Chart week beginning October 4, 2009. It also placed at number 96 in the
Triple J Hottest 100, 2009
The 2009 Triple J's Hottest 100 Volume 17, was announced on Australia Day 26 January 2010. It is the seventeenth countdown of the most popular songs of the year, as chosen by the listeners of Australian radio station Triple J.
Voting commenced ...
. In the United States, "Ghosts 'n' Stuff" received exposure from use in TV shows such as ''
America's Best Dance Crew
''America's Best Dance Crew'', often abbreviated as ''ABDC'', was an American competitive dance reality television series that features both national and international dance crews. The show was produced by singer, record producer, and former ''Am ...
'' and heavy radio airplay. In the May 15, 2010 issue of ''
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 ...
'', the track reached number one on the magazine's
Hot Dance Airplay chart after 24 weeks of charting, thus making the single the longest climb to number one ever on the chart, as well as the first single to reach the top spot after it had dropped off, then returned to the chart.
Track listings
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
References
External links
*
{{authority control
2008 singles
2008 songs
Deadmau5 songs
Songs about ghosts
Songs written by Deadmau5
Songs written by Rob Swire
Ultra Music singles