"I Wanna Be Adored" is a song by the British
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
the Stone Roses
The Stone Roses were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. One of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the band's classic and most prominent lineup consisted of vocalist Ian Brown, ...
. It was the first track on their debut album, ''
The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. One of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the band's classic and most prominent lineup consisted of vocalist Ian Brown, ...
'', and was released as a single. The US release charted at number 18 on the
''Billboard'' Modern Rock chart in 1990.
In 1991, the single was released in the UK, Germany and Japan featuring previously unreleased B-sides.
Composition
"I Wanna Be Adored" begins with a collage of sounds. The first instrument to enter is the bass guitar, which appears 40 seconds in. This is followed by two guitars, one of which plays a
pentatonic scale
A pentatonic scale is a musical scale with five notes per octave, in contrast to the heptatonic scale, which has seven notes per octave (such as the major scale and minor scale).
Pentatonic scales were developed independently by many an ...
riff
A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or acc ...
. The bass drum enters at 1:13, and the main portion of the song begins at 1:30.
[Rooksby, p. 126]
The song is performed in the key of G. The song features two main sections: a four bar G–D–G–D–Em chord progression, followed by an eight-bar bridge that shifts from D to C repeatedly. The song's lyrics are minimalist, mainly consisting of the lines "I don't have/need to
sell my soul/He's already in me" and the song's title repeated throughout the entire song.
Reception
In 2006, the music magazine ''
Q'' voted it 32nd in its list of 100 greatest songs of all time. In May 2007, ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' magazine placed "I Wanna Be Adored" at number 17 in its list of the 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever.
VH2
VH2 was a sister channel to VH1 in the United Kingdom. It launched in 2003, and slowly became an Indie rock channel, aimed primarily at men in the 25-34 demographic. It mainly showed music videos, though it also aired documentaries about artists ...
placed the song at number two on the ''Indie 500'', a countdown of their top 500 indie songs of all time. Though "
There Is a Light That Never Goes Out
"There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" is a song by the English rock band the Smiths, written by guitarist Johnny Marr and singer Morrissey. Featured on the band's third studio album ''The Queen Is Dead'', it was not released as a single in t ...
" by
the Smiths
The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to eme ...
was at number one, on a condensed version showing just the top 50, the two songs had swapped places, with "Adored" at number one. ''
Stylus Magazine'' also included the song's bassline at number 17 in their 2005 list of the ''Top 50 Basslines of All Time''.
In popular culture
The song features in the 2005 film ''
Green Street''.
Oasis refer to the Stone Roses by quoting "I Wanna Be Adored" in their 1997 song "Magic Pie": "They are sleeping while they dream/ but then they wanna be adored".
Music video
The music video for "I Wanna Be Adored" was made concurrently with "
Fools Gold" for the American release of the single in 1989; hence the videos share similar visual effects and scenery. The videos were both filmed near the
A57 Snake Pass
Snake Pass is a hill pass in the Derbyshire section of the Peak District, crossing the Pennines between Glossop and the Ladybower Reservoir at Ashopton. The road was engineered by Thomas Telford and opened in 1821. The pass carries the A57 ...
between Sheffield and Manchester, in the same location that
Inspiral Carpets
Inspiral Carpets are an English rock band, part of the late-1980s/early-1990s Madchester movement. Formed in Oldham in 1980, the band's most successful lineup featured frontman Tom Hingley, drummer Craig Gill, guitarist Graham Lambert, bassi ...
used for the video of their song "
This Is How It Feels
"This Is How It Feels" is a song by the Inspiral Carpets. Written by Clint Boon, it was their first single to enter the UK Top 40, where it peaked at #14. It reached #149 on the Australian ARIA singles chart.
The song was later covered by Carte ...
."
Track listing
1989 US release
12-inch vinyl (Silvertone 1301-1-JD)
Cassette (Silvertone 1301-4-JS)
CD (Silvertone 1301-2-JD)
# "I Wanna Be Adored" (edit) – 3:28
# "I Wanna Be Adored" – 4:52
# "Going Down" – 2:46
# "Simone" – 4:24
1991 UK release
7-inch vinyl (Silvertone ORE 31)
Cassette (Silvertone ORE C 31)
# "I Wanna Be Adored" – 3:28
# "Where Angels Play" – 4:15
12-inch vinyl (Silvertone ORE T 31)
# "I Wanna Be Adored" – 4:52
# "Where Angels Play" – 4:15
# "Sally Cinnamon" (Live at the Hacienda) – 3:52
CD (Silvertone ORE CD 31)
# "I Wanna Be Adored" (7" version) – 3:28
# "Where Angels Play" – 4:15
# "I Wanna Be Adored" (12" version) – 4:53
# "Sally Cinnamon" (Live at the Hacienda) – 3:52
1991 Japanese release
CD (Silvertone/Alfa ALCB-392)
# "I Wanna Be Adored" (12" version) – 4:53
# "Where Angels Play" – 4:15
# "Sally Cinnamon" (Live at the Hacienda) – 3:52
# "Fools Gold" (Extended version) – 9:53
Charts
Certifications
Cover versions
Cover versions of ''I Wanna Be Adored'' have been recorded by the following musical groups and artists:
*
Death Cab for Cutie
Death Cab for Cutie is an American rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. The band is currently composed of Ben Gibbard (vocals, guitar, piano), Nick Harmer (bass), Dave Depper (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Zac Rae (keyb ...
- Live bonus track on the Deluxe Edition of ''
The Photo Album'' (2001)
*
Year of the Rabbit
The rabbit ( 兔) is the fourth in the twelve-year cycle of animals that appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Rabbit is associated with the Earthly Branch symbol 卯.
In the Vietnamese zodiac and t ...
– ''Hunted'' EP (2003)
* Tangerine – ''Song for the Now and Others Forever'' (2004)
*
Monsters Are Waiting
Jonathan Lee "Jon" Siebels (born August 27, 1979) is an American musician, best known as the guitarist of the band Eve 6. He became a part of the band after meeting bassist and lead vocalist Max Collins during Siebels' freshman year in Crescenta ...
– ''Ones And Zeros'' EP (2008)
*
The Raveonettes
The Raveonettes are a Danish indie rock duo, consisting of Sune Rose Wagner on guitar, instruments and vocals, and Sharin Foo on bass, guitar and vocals. Their music is characterized by close two-part vocal harmonies inspired by The Everly Br ...
– as part of
Dr. Martens 50th anniversary (2010)
*
Badly Drawn Boy
Damon Michael Gough (born 2 October 1969), known by the stage name Badly Drawn Boy, is an English indie singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.
Gough chose his stage name from a character in the show ''Sam and his Magic Ball'', which he saw ...
– live
*
Lana Mir – ''Goodbye Girl'' EP (2010)
*
– ''Liquor Store'' (2010)
*
Eagulls – as part of ''The A.V. Club'' A.V. Undercover series (2014)
*
King Woman - ''I Wanna Be Adored'' digital single (2018)
*
Metallica - live at the
Etihad Stadium
The City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, England, also known as the Etihad Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is the home of Premier League club Manchester City F.C., with a domestic football capacity of 53,400, making it the 6th-largest ...
(2019)
[ ]
References
*Rooksby, Rikki. ''Inside Classic Rock Tracks''. Backbeat, 2001.
Notes
External links
The Definitive Stone Roses Discography entry
{{authority control
1989 singles
The Stone Roses songs
Song recordings produced by John Leckie
Songs written by Ian Brown
Songs written by John Squire
1989 songs
Song recordings produced by Martin Hannett
Music based on the Faust legend