"Young Folks" is the first single from Swedish band

Peter Bjorn and John Peter Bjorn and John are a Swedish indie pop/rock band formed in Stockholm in 1999, named after the first names of the band's members: Peter Morén (vocals, guitar and harmonica), Björn Yttling (bass guitar, keyboards and vocals) and John Eriks ...

's third album, ''

Writer's Block Writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing, in which an author is either unable to produce new work or experiences a creative slowdown. Mike Rose found that this creative stall is not a result of commitment problems or th ...

'' (released in 2006). The single features

Victoria Bergsman Victoria Bergsman (born 4 May 1977) is a Swedish songwriter, musician, and vocalist best known as singer of the indie pop band The Concretes from 1995 to 2006. Since announcing her departure from the band on 24 July 2006 she has been recording fo ...

as a guest vocalist. The song received generally positive reviews from critics and performed well in the record charts, reaching the top 40 in Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. A music video made for the song features animated versions of Peter and Bergsman performing the song in various locations.

Reception

The song first attracted notice on websites such as Myspace and

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, 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 ...

, and was used in a number of European commercials and television shows. Since mid-2007, the song has earned extensive airplay on American radio, most notably on dance radio outlets like

KNHC KNHC (89.5 FM) is a Class C1 high school radio station based in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's oldest, still remaining, dance music station. C89.5 offers a hybrid of current-based EDM product and Rhythmic Top 40 remixes, as well as new ...

/Seattle, KNGY/San Francisco and Sirius Satellite's The Beat. It is notable for being a popular song with

whistling Whistling without the use of an artificial whistle is achieved by creating a small opening with one's lips, usually after applying moisture (licking one's lips or placing water upon them) and then blowing or sucking air through the space. The a ...

(the whistling was originally added in as a placeholder for another instrument). The whistling and part of the song have a tune reminiscent of the "

oriental riff The Oriental riff, also known as the East Asian riff and the Chinaman lick, is a musical riff or phrase that has often been used in Western culture as a trope to represent the idea of China, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Taiwan, or a gene ...

". The song was ranked No. 5 on ''

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 Top 100 Tracks of 2006 list. ''Pitchfork'' reviewed the song on 19 July 2006, giving it three out of five stars. The song was also voted No. 2 in the 2006 ''NME'' Track of the Year poll.

Planet Sound Planet Sound was a Teletext music page on ITV and Channel 4 in the UK, active from 1997 until 2009. It was broadcast on analogue Teletext from page 340, and on digital Teletext from page 820. From 24 May 2007, Planet Sound was also available to ...

named this their No. 2 single of 2006. The song was named the No. 1 song of 2007 according 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 ...

Y-Rock on XPN WXPN (88.5 FM) is a non-commercial, public radio station licensed to The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that broadcasts an adult album alternative (AAA) radio format, along with many other format shows ...

also named the song No. 1 of 2007. In October 2011, ''

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 ...

'' placed it at No. 92 on its list 150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years. It was included in

Spinner Technology *Spinner (aeronautics), the aerodynamic cone at the hub of an aircraft propeller * Spinner (cell culture), laboratory equipment for cultivating plant or mammalian cells * Spinner (computing), a graphical widget in a GUI * Spinner (MIT Med ...

's 10 Best Whistling Parts in Songs. ''

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 ...

'' put the song also on its list of the 15 Best Whistling Songs of All Time. The single was re-released on 17 September 2007, reaching No. 13 in the United Kingdom, beating the original chart position of No. 33 in 2006.

Music video

The animated video for the song was directed by Ted Malmros with animation by Graham Samuels. It is featured in the video game ''SingStar Pop 2'', as well as in ''

Lips The lips are the visible body part at the mouth of many animals, including humans. Lips are soft, movable, and serve as the opening for food intake and in the articulation of sound and speech. Human lips are a tactile sensory organ, and can be ...

''. The video starts off with Peter and Victoria sitting in a park, on a bench. Peter teaches Victoria how to whistle. Then the video switches over to them both sitting in a bus where the song starts. Throughout the video, scenes of the band playing the song can be seen and eventually the video ends with a big party where everybody "seems to disappear".

Live performances

The group performed the song on ''

Late Night with Conan O'Brien ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien. NBC aired 2,725 episodes from September 13, 1993, to February 20, 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and music ...

'' on 29 January 2007, and on ''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...

'' with

Jay Leno James Douglas Muir Leno (; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and actor. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show'' from 1992 to 2009. Beginning in September 2009 ...

on 18 May 2007 (the latter with ''Tonight Show'' band member

Vicki Randle Vicki Randle (born December 11, 1954)Hillgirlz, the les ...

bongos Bongos ( es, bongó) are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. They are struck with both hands, most commonly in an eight-stroke pattern called ''martillo'' (hammer). The ...

). On 29 September 2007, the band played "Young Folks", with Victoria Bergsman's vocals, on ''

Friday Night with Jonathan Ross ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' is a British chat show presented by Jonathan Ross and broadcast on BBC One between 2001 and 2010. The programme features Ross' take on current topics of conversation, guest interviews (usually three per show) ...

'' on

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

. When the band performed the song at the 2007

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called the Coachella Festival or simply Coachella) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. ...

, Bergsman's vocals were performed by Bebban Stenborg of

Shout Out Louds Shout Out Louds is a Swedish indie pop band from Stockholm. History Formed in Stockholm by childhood friends Adam Olenius (vocals), Ted Malmros (bass), and Carl von Arbin (guitars), Shout Out Louds found an international audience during the e ...

. On Peter Bjorn and John's 2008 Australian tour, Victoria Bergsman's vocals were performed by

Tracyanne Campbell Tracyanne Campbell (born 18 May 1974) is a Scottish singer and musician who is the lead vocalist of the Glasgow-based indie pop band Camera Obscura. Born in Glasgow, Campbell founded Camera Obscura alongside John Henderson and Gavin Dunbar in 19 ...

Camera Obscura A camera obscura (; ) is a darkened room with a aperture, small hole or lens at one side through which an image is 3D projection, projected onto a wall or table opposite the hole. ''Camera obscura'' can also refer to analogous constructions su ...

Track listings

7-inch single :A. "Young Folks" (featuring Victoria Bergsman) :B. "Ancient Curse" 2006 CD single # "Young Folks" (featuring Victoria Bergsman) # "Ancient Curse" # "All Those Expectations" (weak mix) 2007 CD single # "Young Folks" (featuring Victoria Bergsman) # "Young Folks" (OrtzRoka remix) # "Young Folks" (

Beyond the Wizards Sleeve Erol Alkan (born 30 May 1974) is an English DJ and producer of Turkish Cypriot descent. He grew up in Archway in North London. Career DJ and club promoter In 1993, Erol Alkan started DJing in various indie nightclubs in London. His fir ...

re-animation)

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

In popular culture

"Young Folks" has made numerous appearances in media. German singer

Nena Gabriele Susanne Kerner (born 24 March 1960), better known as Nena, is a German singer and songwriter who rose to international fame in 1983 as the lead vocalist of the band Nena with the Neue Deutsche Welle song "99 Luftballons". In the same ye ...

covered "Young Folks" together with

Oliver Pocher Oliver Pocher (born 18 February 1978) is a German comedian, entertainer, television personality and host. Early life and professional training Pocher is the son of Gerhard and Jutta Pocher; he was born and grew up in Hanover, West Germany. Hi ...

and Stephan Remmler in the

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...

as "Ich kann nix dafür" ("I'm not responsible for it.") for the movie ''Vollidiot''. This version was the 78th-best-selling single of 2007 in Germany.

References

{{Authority control 2006 songs 2006 singles Animated music videos English-language Swedish songs The Kooks songs Male–female vocal duets Peter Bjorn and John songs Songs written by Björn Yttling Wichita Recordings singles