"Make Me Wanna Die" is a song by American
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 Pretty Reckless
The Pretty Reckless is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 2009. The band consists of Taylor Momsen (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Ben Phillips (lead guitar, backing vocals), Mark Damon (bass), and Jamie Perkins (drums).
The band ...
from their
eponymous debut extended play (2010) and their debut studio album, ''
Light Me Up
''Light Me Up'' is the debut studio album by American rock band The Pretty Reckless. It was released on August 27, 2010, by Interscope Records. The album received commercial success with the singles "Make Me Wanna Die", " Miss Nothing", and " Ju ...
'' (2010). The song was written by
Taylor Momsen
Taylor Michel Momsen (born July 26, 1993) is an American musician, singer, model, and former actress. Prior to her retirement from acting, she portrayed the character of Cindy Lou Who in the film ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas'' (2000) and Jen ...
, Ben Phillips, and
Kato Khandwala
Suketo Khandwala, known professionally as Kato Khandwala, was an American record producer, songwriter, mixer, and engineer. He worked with many different artists such as Blondie, Paramore, My Chemical Romance, Pop Evil and The Pretty Reckless.
...
, and produced by the latter. It was released on April 14, 2010, as the lead single from both the EP and the album.
Background and release
"Make Me Wanna Die" was the first song written for ''Light Me Up''. Momsen has described it as a "tragic love song", stating it was "focused on ''
Romeo and Juliet
''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...
'' and a passionate love that might've not been appropriate."
Critical reception
Nick Levine of
Digital Spy
Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...
rated "Make Me Wanna Die" four out of five stars, stating the song "is actually a bit of a blast. To be precise, it's a great big slab of angsty grunge-pop with a screechalong chorus, some nice jaggedy guitar riffs and production as glossy/grungey as its singer's peroxide blonde dye job." Chris Roberts of
BBC Music
BBC Music is responsible for the music played across the BBC. The current director of music is Bob Shennan, who is also the controller of BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music, and the BBC Asian Network.
Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio o ...
felt that the song "packs every emo-romantic cliché into its punchy pat structure".
Music videos
A promotional video for "Make Me Wanna Die", known as the "
viral version", was directed by Patrick Dwyer and released on May 11, 2010.
The video, shot at the
Hotel Chelsea
The Hotel Chelsea (also the Chelsea Hotel or the Chelsea) is a hotel in Manhattan, New York City, built between 1883 and 1885. The 250-unit hotel is located at 222 West 23rd Street, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, in the neighborhood of Ch ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, features live performance clips and backstage footage of the band.
The official music video, directed by
Meiert Avis
Meiert Avis is an Irish music video and commercial director. Avis has directed videos for artists such as Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Avril Lavigne, Paramore, Alanis Morissette, Flyleaf, Jennifer Lopez, New Found Glory and Josh Groban, ...
and Chris LeDoux, was filmed in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, New York City, in March 2010. Momsen explained the concept of the video to
MTV News
MTV News is the news production division of MTV. The service is available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network. In February 2016, MTV Networks confirmed it would refresh the MTV News brand in 2016, to compete with the likes ...
, saying, "
try and emulate kind of an epic-y song that's almost like a film, it was a challenge to come up with a treatment. So I guess we sort of decided to make it like a
death march
A death march is a forced march of prisoners of war or other captives or deportees in which individuals are left to die along the way. It is distinguished in this way from simple prisoner transport via foot march. Article 19 of the Geneva Convent ...
. You can't live anymore in this world, and you're on your way to your death, and you're seeing everything you're passing, and stripping yourself of your belongings on your way to your grave." According to Momsen, the video was "held up in legal for a long time because I was 16 when we shot that. We couldn't release it because, yes, I actually got naked." The video was ultimately released on September 15, 2010 to the
iTunes Store
The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...
in the US.
In film and television
The track plays during the end credits of the 2010 film ''
Kick-Ass'', and is also included on its soundtrack. In August 2010, the song was used in a trailer for the
second season of ''
The Vampire Diaries
''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson (screenwriter), Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the The Vampire Diaries (novel series), book series ...
''. "Make Me Wanna Die" was featured in the ninth episode of the fourth season of ''
Gossip Girl
''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series, developed for television by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, ran on The CW network for six sea ...
'', "
The Witches of Bushwick", which aired on November 5, 2010. It was playing when
Jenny
Jenny may refer to:
* Jenny (given name), a popular feminine name and list of real and fictional people
* Jenny (surname), a family name
Animals
* Jenny (donkey), a female donkey
* Jenny (gorilla), the oldest gorilla in captivity at the time of ...
(Momsen's character), while impersonating
Serena, pulls the curtain down to reveal
Blair and
Chuck
Chuck is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to:
People
Arts and entertainment
* Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet
* Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV producer
* C ...
talking together. The track was also used during the opening segment of the 2011
Victoria's Secret Fashion Show
The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was an annual promotional event sponsored by and featuring Victoria's Secret, a brand of lingerie. From 1995 to 2018, Victoria's Secret used the show to market its goods in high-profile settings. Models under ...
. The song also appeared on the March 30, 2017, episode of ''
Supernatural
Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...
'', titled "Ladies Drink Free".
Track listing
*Digital download
#"Make Me Wanna Die" – 3:54
#"Zombie" – 3:08
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''
Light Me Up
''Light Me Up'' is the debut studio album by American rock band The Pretty Reckless. It was released on August 27, 2010, by Interscope Records. The album received commercial success with the singles "Make Me Wanna Die", " Miss Nothing", and " Ju ...
''.
The Pretty Reckless
*
Taylor Momsen
Taylor Michel Momsen (born July 26, 1993) is an American musician, singer, model, and former actress. Prior to her retirement from acting, she portrayed the character of Cindy Lou Who in the film ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas'' (2000) and Jen ...
– vocals
* Ben Phillips – guitar, backing vocals
* Jamie Perkins – drums
Additional personnel
*
Kato Khandwala
Suketo Khandwala, known professionally as Kato Khandwala, was an American record producer, songwriter, mixer, and engineer. He worked with many different artists such as Blondie, Paramore, My Chemical Romance, Pop Evil and The Pretty Reckless.
...
– production, engineering, mixing, guitar, bass, percussion, programming, string arrangement
*
Dave Eggar
Dave Eggar is an American cellist, pianist and composer.
Early life
Eggar was a musical prodigy as a child, beginning to play the cello and piano at age three and performing as a singer and actor on Broadway and at the Metropolitan Opera at ...
– cello
* John Dinklage – violin
* John Bender – backing vocals
*
Dan Korneff
Dan Korneff is an American music producer, mixer, and engineer based in Long Island, New York. Former owner of House of Loud Studios, he has worked with several prominent rock bands, most notably Breaking Benjamin, Paramore, Papa Roach, Lamb ...
– mix engineering
* Michael "Mitch" Milan – assistant engineering
* Jon Cohan – drum tech
Charts
Certifications
Release history
References
External links
*
*
{{authority control
2010 debut singles
2010 songs
Interscope Records singles
Music videos directed by Meiert Avis
Polydor Records singles
The Pretty Reckless songs
Songs about death
Songs written by Kato Khandwala
Songs written by Taylor Momsen
Torch songs
Works based on Romeo and Juliet