"Stray Heart" 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

Green Day Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a powe ...

. It is the seventh track on their tenth studio album, ''

¡Dos! ''¡Dos!'' (stylized in all caps) is the tenth studio album by American rock band Green Day. The album was released on November 9, 2012, in Australia, November 12 in the United Kingdom and on November 13 in the United States through Reprise Reco ...

'' (2012), and was released as the only single from the album in Europe and Australia on October 15, 2012. It is also the fourth single from the ''

¡Uno! ''¡Uno!'' (stylized in all caps) is the ninth studio album by American rock band Green Day, released on September 21, 2012, by Reprise Records. It is the first of three albums in the ''¡Uno!'', ''¡Dos!'', ''¡Tré!'' trilogy, a series of stu ...

¡Tré! ''¡Tré!'' (stylized in all caps) is the eleventh studio album by American rock band Green Day. It is the third and final installment in the ''¡Uno!'' ''¡Dos!'' ''¡Tré!'' trilogy, a series of studio albums that were released from September ...

'' trilogy. The song is swapped on the vinyl version of ''¡Dos!'' with the song "Drama Queen" from ''¡Tré!'', due to the vinyls being printed before the switch, meaning "Drama Queen" appears on both ''¡Dos!'' and ''¡Tré!'', and that "Stray Heart" never saw a release on vinyl. The single was certified gold by the

Federation of the Italian Music Industry The Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI) is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy. It was established in 1992, when major corporate labels left the previously exist ...

for downloads exceeding 15,000 units in Italy.

Background and release

"Stray Heart" premiered on Idiot Club, Green Day's official fan club, on October 8, 2012 and premiered on

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

show on the same day. It was then released as the album's lead single on October 15 in the UK. On October 18, it was announced on Idiot Club that fans could go to downtown LA to appear in the music video for the song on October 19. "Stray Heart" was also played by

Foxboro Hot Tubs Foxboro Hot Tubs is the garage rock side project of Green Day, formed in 2007.Green Day side ...

as both a warm up song and a practice song.

Theme and composition

"Stray Heart" blends the

pop punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...

sound of Green Day with the

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

sound of their side project

Foxboro Hot Tubs Foxboro Hot Tubs is the garage rock side project of Green Day, formed in 2007.Green Day side ...

. The song has been described as "an amped-up Motown bounce recalling

Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. It produced brighter, catchier alternative rock, partly in reaction to the popularity of the darker lyrical themes of the US-led grunge music and to the ...

progenitors

The Jam The Jam were an English mod revival/ punk rock band formed in 1972 at Sheerwater Secondary School in Woking, Surrey. They released 18 consecutive Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in December 198 ...

's classic "A

Town Called Malice "Town Called Malice" is a song recorded by British band the Jam from the album '' The Gift''. It debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart in February 1982. Overview The title is a play on words of the 1950 Nevil Shute novel ''A Town Like ...

", but with speaker-bursting modern-rock dynamics".

Music video

On November 7, 2012, a music video for "Stray Heart" was released. The video starts with a man (Alex Knox) looking for records at a record store and buying some Green Day vinyl including ''

'', ''

'' and ''

'', but as he gives the records to his girlfriend (

Leven Rambin Leven Rambin is an American actress. She is known for playing look-alike half-sisters Lily Montgomery and Ava Benton on ''All My Children'', and for her recurring roles on ''Grey's Anatomy'' and '' Gone'', as well as '' Terminator: The Sarah Con ...

), she sees a hole in his chest where his heart should be, and she slams the door on him. As the man is walking down the street, he gets strange reactions and sees trails of blood on the pavements. He follows the trail and chases the heart around the town, where he finally gets to it outside the girl's apartment, where she throws the records back at him. The video was directed by Robert Schober (aka RoboSchobo).

Artwork

The artwork of "Stray Heart" features a white background with little black dots at the sides, "Green Day" and "Stray Heart" are written in black, capital, also uses the same font. "Green Day" is placed at the top, and "Stray Heart" is written below where "Green Day" is written. Pink lip stain is shown at the right side, below the lips shows bones crossed in an X-form and colored in black.

Critical reception

Jon Dolan of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' rated the song a three and a half out five stars, commenting "It's not their most high-concept experiment, but it's a pretty fun one".

Credits and Personnel

*Songwriting: Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, Tré Cool *Production: Rob Cavallo, Green Day

Chart positions

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2012 singles Green Day songs Songs written by Billie Joe Armstrong Song recordings produced by Rob Cavallo Warner Records singles Reprise Records singles 2012 songs