"Orpheus" is the second single released in a physical format from the ''

Meltdown Meltdown may refer to: Science and technology * Nuclear meltdown, a severe nuclear reactor accident * Meltdown (security vulnerability), affecting computer processors * Mutational meltdown, in population genetics Arts and entertainment Music * Me ...

'' album by the band

Ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

. It was released on 3 May 2004 and reached number 13 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. It was released as a single CD (released as only 1 CD version, the first time since 1997) as a gatefold 7" vinyl, as well as on DVD format. It was nominated for the

Kerrang! Award for Best Single The Kerrang! Award for Best Single is an honor presented at the Kerrang! Awards, an annual ceremony established in 1993 to recognise achievements in rock music. The award was renamed 'Best Song' for the 2018 ceremony onwards, but serves the same pu ...

Inspiration and sound

Orpheus was inspired by a

Jack Kerouac Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Of French-Canadian a ...

on the road experience, similar to that of the film ''

Y Tu Mama Tambien Y, or y, is the twenty-fifth and penultimate letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. According to some authorities, it is the sixth (or seventh ...

''. Wheeler has said that, "The song's sort of based on this idea of like a Mexican road song sort of thing. I wrote it after watching this Mexican movie where these two kids go on this road trip with this girl, it's a rights of passage kind of thing. So I always thought it had this Mexican flavour, in fact when we first wrote the song it was called 'Dirty Sanchez' for a while!" Additionally, it is also inspired by a screen test Tim had a couple of years ago to play the

Ewan McGregor Ewan Gordon McGregor ( ; born 31 March 1971) is a Scottish actor. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and the BAFTA Britannia Humanitarian Award. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British ...

part in 2001's '

Moulin Rouge Moulin Rouge (, ; ) is a cabaret in Paris, on Boulevard de Clichy, at Place Blanche, the intersection of, and terminus of Rue Blanche. In 1889, the Moulin Rouge was co-founded by Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller, who also owned the Olympia (P ...

'. "So I was in there with

Baz Luhrmann Mark Anthony Luhrmann (born 17 September 1962), known professionally as Baz Luhrmann, is an Australian film director, producer, writer and actor. With projects spanning film, television, opera, theatre, music and recording industries, he is re ...

, he is taking me through the whole thing and it was because he based the whole movie on the Greek myth of

Orpheus Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with Jaso ...

. It's a weird song. It's about hitting the road and taking off and not being able to look back, just keep going is the theme. It's about a guy who joins him in fuckin' hell". Tim explains. "Orpheus" has been described by Ash's bassist, Mark Hamilton, as being "

Chilli Peppers Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl ''Aztec cuisine, chīlli'' (), are varieties of the fruit#Berries, berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family ...

meet

The Doors The Doors were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential ro ...

Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, commanded by God to be kept as a holy day of rest, as G ...

and well.. us". Rick later described it as being "a classic Tim Wheeler summer song with big riffs and mad freak out bits in it, that's quite a journey of a song. A musical journey." Originally, the song was less complicated, and was missing its mid-song breakdown and intersection, but, despite the record label's pleas, it was included.

Usage

Ever since its first appearance at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

for the

Teenage Cancer Trust Teenage Cancer Trust is a cancer care and support charity in the UK that exists to improve the cancer experience of young people aged 13–24. Founded in 1990, the charity's key service is providing specialist teenage units in NHS hospitals. It ...

charity, it has appeared in almost every Ash performance, and also appears on the limited edition live Meltdown CD and the

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EP. It is one of the

EA Trax Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...

in the videogames ''

Burnout 3 ''Burnout 3: Takedown'' is a 2004 racing video game developed by Criterion Games and published by Electronic Arts. It is the third instalment in the ''Burnout'' series, which is characterised by fast-paced arcade racing. A staple of the serie ...

'' and ''

NHL 2005 ''NHL 2005'' is an ice hockey video game released in 2004, the successor to ''NHL 2004''. Features Improvements/flaws ''NHL 2005'' features ''Open Ice Control'', including moving players without the puck and also a complete World Cup mode where ...

''. The song appeared in various musical publications' lists of songs of 2004.

B-sides

The first b-side of the single is "Everybody's Happy Nowadays", a cover of the Buzzcocks single from their

Singles Going Steady ''Singles Going Steady'' is a compilation album by English punk rock band Buzzcocks, first released on I.R.S. Records in the United States on 25 September 1979. Background ''Singles Going Steady'' was the first Buzzcocks album to be released ...

compilation, with a guest appearance from Coldplay's lead singer,

Chris Martin Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist, pianist, rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Born in Exeter, Devon, he went to Univ ...

, who sings lead vocals in the chorus. The song was recorded for the soundtrack to the film

Shaun of the Dead ''Shaun of the Dead'' is a 2004 zombie comedy film directed by Edgar Wright and written by Wright and Simon Pegg. Pegg stars as Shaun, a downtrodden salesman in London who is caught in a zombie apocalypse with his friend Ed (Nick Frost). The fi ...

. The single's second b-side was Ash's longest released track (until A-Z series single "Sky Burial" in 2010), "Tinseltown", which was originally meant to appear on the album itself. Mark has described it as "a 9½ minute epic which goes on a music oddessy, covers every genre from '4 to the Floor Handbag' to

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...

spaz outs and

kraut rock Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock that developed in West Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s among artists who blended elements of psychedelic rock, avant-garde composition, and electronic music, ...

". The song alternates between gentle acoustic and harsh dance floor beats.

Video and DVD

Directed by Jeff Thomas, returning from "There's a Star", centers around car chases across the Almerian desert of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

with two bandits chasing the band in a Gumball Rally style vehicle. Mark described it as follows: "The video was made in Almeria, Southern Spain. It's basically a car chase across the desert with two bandits trying to run us off the road, total Wacky Racers stuff. Intercut with us performing in a dirty biker bar it's a full throttle sweatfest!" Wheeler has described it as: "It was fantastic, basically; flying off to Spain, getting in a car, smashing it up and rocking out! By the end of it the car was pretty much totaled on one side so we had to film the last shots from the other side of the car. The cars were like totally mangled. It was great, we got to drive through barrels of water as well, as you can see later on. The way we've got the numbers on the screen is, I suppose, reminiscent of a computer game." "Orpheus" was also released as a DVD. It contained "Orpheus" and "Tinseltown" as audio tracks, the music videos for "Orpheus" and download only single "

Clones Clone or Clones or Cloning or Cloned or The Clone may refer to: Places * Clones, County Fermanagh * Clones, County Monaghan, a town in Ireland Biology * Clone (B-cell), a lymphocyte clone, the massive presence of which may indicate a pathologi ...

" and a video of the making of "Orpheus".

Trivia

* The song was featured on the soundtrack of the ''

Criterion Games Criterion Games is a British video game developer based in Guildford. Founded in January 1996 as a division of Criterion Software, it was owned by Canon Inc. until Criterion Software was sold to Electronic Arts in October 2004. Many of Criter ...

'' 2004 Video Game '' Burnout 3 Takedown'' (''

Burnout 3 soundtrack ''Burnout 3: Takedown'' is a 2004 racing video game developed by Criterion Games and published by Electronic Arts. It is the third instalment in the ''Burnout'' series, which is characterised by fast-paced arcade racing. A staple of the serie ...

'') and the 2004 EA Sports video game ''

'' * The song was also featured in a scene of the film ''

''.

Track listing

CD #"Orpheus" (Wheeler) #"Everybody's Happy Nowadays" ( Shelley) #"Tinseltown" (Wheeler) 7" #"Orpheus" (Wheeler) #"Everybody's Happy Nowadays" ( Shelley) DVD #"Orpheus (DVD Audio)" (Wheeler) #"Tinseltown (DVD Audio)" (Wheeler) #"Orpheus (Video)" (Wheeler) #"Clones (Video)" (Wheeler) #"The Making of Orpheus"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orpheus (Song) 2004 singles Ash (band) songs Songs written by Tim Wheeler Song recordings produced by Nick Raskulinecz 2004 songs