"Strawberry Swing" is a song by British
rock band
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University ...
. On 14 September 2009, it was released as the fourth and final single from the band's fourth studio album, ''
Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends'' (2008). The song was written by the members of the band and was produced by
Markus Dravs,
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop a ...
,
Jon Hopkins and
Rik Simpson. The track received mostly positive reviews from
music critics
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...
who praised the infectious melody, the vocal performance of
Chris Martin and the tribal influence of the production.
"Strawberry Swing" reached a position of 158 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 ...
and reached position 5 on both the
Polish Singles Chart
The Polish music charts are provided by ZPAV, the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry (Polish: Związek Producentów Audio-Video).
Albums charts
In the 1970s and the 1980s, Polish music monthly ''Non Stop'' published a year-end list of ...
and the
Dutch Tipparade charts. The song received a
stop-motion
Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames ...
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...
directed by
Shynola
Shynola are a directing team who have worked across live-action and animation for over twenty years. Gideon Baws, Chris Harding, Richard Kenworthy and Jason Groves formed Shynola while at art college and immediately earned recognition for their i ...
, which was nominated for Breakthrough Video at the
2010 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2010 MTV Video Music Awards took place on September 12, 2010 at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, honoring the best music videos from the previous year. Chelsea Handler hosted the event, the first woman in sixteen years – since the 1994 MT ...
. Coldplay performed the song on their 2008
Viva la Vida Tour
The Viva la Vida Tour was the fourth concert tour undertaken by British rock band Coldplay. It was launched in support their fourth studio album, '' Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends'' (2008), becoming a massive commercial and critic ...
, and a live version of the song appeared on Coldplay's
live album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...
, ''
LeftRightLeftRightLeft'' (2009).
The song was performed in the
2012 Summer Paralympics
The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Ga ...
closing ceremony, with the
British Paraorchestra.
R&B singer-songwriter
Frank Ocean
Christopher Francis "Frank" Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Breaux; October 28, 1987), is an American singer, songwriter, and rapper. His works are noted by music critics for featuring avant-garde styles and introspective, elliptical lyrics. Ocean ...
released a cover version of the song on his 2011
mixtape
A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...
''
Nostalgia, Ultra'' to positive reviews from critics, and later performed it during his 2012
Coachella Music Festival appearance and his 2012 ''
Channel Orange'' tour.
Background
"Strawberry Swing", like much of ''Viva la Vida'', was primarily produced by English record producer
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop a ...
. Coldplay sparked an interest at
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...
influences after having recorded in churches and in Spanish-speaking countries such as in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
and
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")
, ...
, adding an African-sounding influence to the song. The track was released as the fifth official single from ''Viva la Vida'' on 14 September 2009. The song was later part of the international soundtrack to the Brazilian soap opera ''Tempos Modernos'' in 2009.
Results of a study by the British Academy of Sound Therapy show that "Strawberry Swing" is one of the most psychologically relaxing songs ever recorded. It came in 5th place among surveyed songs behind
Marconi Union's "Weightless".
Composition
"Strawberry Swing" contains influences from
afro-pop
African popular music (also styled Afropop, Afro-pop or Afro pop), like African traditional music, is vast and varied. Most contemporary genres of African popular music build on cross-pollination with western popular music. Many genres of po ...
and
highlife
Highlife is a music genre that started in present-day Ghana in the 19th century, during its history as a colony of the British Empire and through its trade routes in coastal areas. It describes multiple local fusions of African metre and wester ...
music, and is built around finger-picked, distortion-free guitars with a heavy bassline and psychedelic synths.
Lead singer
Chris Martin explained how the song's musical style came into existence: "My mum comes from Zimbabwe, so I spent a lot of time there. I used to work in a studio where people played that."(
Shed Studios Shed Studios was responsible for the production of hundreds of band recordings and a large body of music used for various advertisements and films in Rhodesia, and later in Zimbabwe, from 1975 until 2000. The company "Shed Recording Studios (Pvt) L ...
).
Alexis Petrdis of ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
'' stated that there "certainly a wider sonic palette on offer" on the song, musing that that track contained a jerkily funky beat and a vaguely African-sounding guitar line.
The song shares common traits of Coldplay's songs; it's a mid-tempo track, featuring echoing guitars, piano ballad-inspired melodies and bittersweet, anthemic falsetto vocals.
The overall sound of the song was also inspired by the
Delakota
Delakota were an English alternative dance band from the late 1990s. The band mixed elements of Madchester, retro-rock, and modern dance music to produce a sound which was often compared to Primal Scream.
The band were formed by ex members of t ...
song "The Rock", which utilizes a backward guitar loop.
Reception
The song received mostly positive reviews from music critics.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, oc ...
of
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...
stated that the track, with its light, "gently infectious melody and insistent rhythmic pulse, breaks from the album's appealingly meditative murk."
Chris Willman of ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...
'' described the song as "ebullient", and mused that the track "throws Afrocentric guitar atop one of those Eno/Dravs soundscapes beautifully".
Pitchfork Media
''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog.
Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...
's Ryan Dombal reported that "the Gabriel connection is also apparent on the spectacular, wide-eyed 'Strawberry Swing', which floats light tribal drums above circular guitars and Martin's idyllic musings." Evan Sawdey of ''
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television
...
'' wrote that the guitar playing that populate "Violet Hill" and "Strawberry Swing" sound "like that for the first time in the band's career, Coldplay is actually using the ludicrous studio budget that they're provided with each for release, here indulging in every passing whim and fancy, all while Eno serves as the playground supervisor, the results proving to be as potent as they are varied."
IGN's Chad Grischow wrote that the track "blends spectacularly with Martin's calming, 'It's such a perfect day', refrain" and noted that "when the jangling acoustic guitar drifts in near the conclusion, it is the cherry on top of a killer tune". ''PopMatters'' included the song on their unranked "Best Singles of 2009" list.
Promotion
Music video
A music video for "Strawberry Swing" was directed by
Shynola
Shynola are a directing team who have worked across live-action and animation for over twenty years. Gideon Baws, Chris Harding, Richard Kenworthy and Jason Groves formed Shynola while at art college and immediately earned recognition for their i ...
and premiered on
4Music
4Music is a British music television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. The original incarnation was launched on 15 August 2008, and until 29 June 2022, showed a mix of music and entertainment programming. I ...
and
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
on 29 July 2009.
The video, which is animated using
stop motion
Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...
, features Chris Martin lying on the ground against animated chalk drawings that tell a surreal story with him as the main character.
The story begins with Martin waking up in his house. Once he sees that a woman is being held hostage by a giant squirrel, he turns into a superhero and attempts to save her. Along the way, Martin faces attacks from the squirrel and a giant fish in the ocean.
When Martin finally gets to the squirrel's home, he rescues the lady by drawing a nut-shaped bomb that blows the squirrel up in a colorful explosion. The two then fly away into space together and begin to kiss.
At the end of the song, the animation stops and Martin gets up off the chalk-colored floor in real speed and walks away.
The video was nominated in the Best Animation in a Video category at the UK Music Video Awards 2009. In August 2010, the video was nominated for "Breakthrough Video" at the
2010 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2010 MTV Video Music Awards took place on September 12, 2010 at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, honoring the best music videos from the previous year. Chelsea Handler hosted the event, the first woman in sixteen years – since the 1994 MT ...
.
In September 2009, the originality of the Shynola-directed video was questioned by singer-songwriter Andy J Gallagher; he argued that "Owen Trevor had virtually the same idea at least a year before."
In an official
PDF
Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. ...
statement, Shynola stated "Having never seen Mr. Trevor's video before, we can categorically deny that his video was any influence on our video. Any similarities are purely coincidental."
The PDF also contained image-by-image rebuttals of Gallagher's claims, and added that the video was mainly inspired by the "dreamlike weirdness" of
animator
An animator is an artist who creates multiple images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video games ...
Winsor McCay
Zenas Winsor McCay ( – July 26, 1934) was an American cartoonist and animator. He is best known for the comic strip '' Little Nemo'' (1905–14; 1924–26) and the animated film '' Gertie the Dinosaur'' (1914). For contractual reasons, he w ...
's artwork.
Live performances
Coldplay performed the song at the 2008 Viva la Vida Tour.
A performance of the song was featured on the ''LeftRightLeftRightLeft'' live album released by Coldplay in 2009.
Frank Ocean cover
Singer-songwriter
Frank Ocean
Christopher Francis "Frank" Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Breaux; October 28, 1987), is an American singer, songwriter, and rapper. His works are noted by music critics for featuring avant-garde styles and introspective, elliptical lyrics. Ocean ...
performed an
alternative R&B
Alternative R&B (also referred to as alt-R&B, indie R&B, hipster R&B, dark R&B, emo R&B and left-field R&B) is a term used by music journalists to describe a stylistic alternative to contemporary R&B that began in the mid 2000s and came to pro ...
cover version of the song on his 2011
mixtape
A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...
''
Nostalgia, Ultra''.
AbsolutePunk
''AbsolutePunk'' was a website, online community, and alternative music news source founded by Jason Tate (the most recent CEO). The website mainly focused on artists who are relatively unknown to mainstream audiences, but it was known to fea ...
's Holly Hox called Ocean's version "catchy", musing that it "proves that Ocean's voice is as great as his knack for writing thoughtful pop songs."
[Holly HoX! (2011-02-28)]
Frank Ocean - Nostalgia, Ultra - Album Review - AbsolutePunk.net
AbsolutePunk
''AbsolutePunk'' was a website, online community, and alternative music news source founded by Jason Tate (the most recent CEO). The website mainly focused on artists who are relatively unknown to mainstream audiences, but it was known to fea ...
. Retrieved on 2011-06-17. Connor O'Neill of
The Miscellany News
''The Miscellany News'' (known colloquially as ''The Misc'') is the student newspaper of Vassar College. Established in 1866, it is one of the oldest student newspapers in the country. The paper is distributed every Thursday evening during Vassar ...
writes that "there is so much atmosphere you almost melt into it, and he spreads you over an apocalyptic swan song."
Music critic
Robert Christgau
Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...
felt that Ocean's cover was superior to the original, stating that it's "where the alienated young R&B pro rewrites the sappy Coldplay single without underplaying its lyricism or, as promised, its nostalgia. 'I've loved the good times here' is a sendoff worthy of the 'dying world' Ocean calls home."
[ Christgau, Robert (2011-06-14)]
Frank Ocean/Blaqstarr
. MSN Music
''MSN Music'' was a part of MSN's web services. It delivered music news, music videos, spotlights on new music, artist information, and live performances of artists. The website also served as a digital music store from 2004 to 2008.
History
I ...
. Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washi ...
. Retrieved on 2011-06-17. Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic is an American music community website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites. The format of the website is unusual in that it includes both professional and amateur ...
's Rudy K. commented that Ocean's song "nearly shits all over anything Coldplay has done."
Ocean performed his cover of the song during his 2011 ''Nostalgia Ultra'' tour, and his 2012 ''
Channel Orange'' tour through North America.
Ocean performed the song during his 2011 setlist at Coachella, and ''
Complex'' praised his performance, writing that Ocean's "voice sounds as buttery live as it does on record."
Track listing
Personnel
*
Chris Martin – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, piano, keyboards
*
Guy Berryman – bass guitar, synthesizers, backing vocals
*
Jonny Buckland – electric guitar
*
Will Champion – drums, percussion, backing vocals
Additional Personnel
*
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop a ...
– sonic landscapes
*
Davide Rossi
Davide Rossi (born 7 August 1970) is an Italian violinist, string arranger, composer, conductor and a record producer, perhaps best known for having been the violinist, guitar and keytar-player for the British electronic music duo Goldfrapp f ...
– strings
* Mike Kezner – sitar
Charts
References
External links
Official siteColdplay WikiMusic Videoat
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
{{Authority control
2009 singles
Coldplay songs
Frank Ocean songs
Parlophone singles
Song recordings produced by Brian Eno
Song recordings produced by Jon Hopkins
Song recordings produced by Markus Dravs
Song recordings produced by Rik Simpson
Songs written by Guy Berryman
Songs written by Jonny Buckland
Songs written by Will Champion
Songs written by Chris Martin
2008 songs