Chemtrails (song)

"Chemtrails"
Single by Beck
from the album Modern Guilt
B-side	"Vampire Voltage No. 6"
Released	June 22, 2008
Format	Digital download, 7"
Genre	Alternative rock, Dream pop
Length	4:39
Label	DGC Records
Writer(s)	Beck Hansen
Producer	Danger Mouse
Beck singles chronology
"Timebomb" (2007) "Chemtrails" (2008) "Gamma Ray" (2008)

"Chemtrails" is a 2008 single by American musician Beck. The song, taken from his eighth studio album Modern Guilt, was released digitally on June 22, 2008.

The artwork for the single uses a design based on Houndstooth patterning.

Track listing

Digital download^[1]

1. "Chemtrails" – 4:39

7"^[2]

1. "Chemtrails" – 4:39
2. "Vampire Voltage No. 6" – 2:19

Release and reception

"Chemtrails" was premiered by Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1 on May 19, 2008.^[3] The song was made available to stream from Beck's official website and his MySpace.^[3][4] The song was available to download on June 22, 2008, or a day later in the United States, as well as a pre-order of Modern Guilt.^[5][6] The song's title refers to the chemtrail conspiracy theory, as do the lyrics: "I can't believe/What we've seen outside/You and me/Watching the jets go by".^[7]

The critical reception for "Chemtrails" was generally positive. Kitty Empire of The Observer compared the "beautiful" song to a clash between The Beatles and My Bloody Valentine.^[8] USA Today featured the song on its weekly playlist, complimenting Beck's "eerie falsetto over slow-building industrialized Radiohead-like ambience."^[9] Billboard said that "Beck's falsetto singing rides along a bouncing bassline and crashing drums, with Danger Mouse's trademark production touches filing [sic] the crannies."^[3] The song was described as "trippy" by MTV News.^[10] "Chemtrails" received high praise for "its woozy textures ... with Beck's distracted vocal and a busy drum track complementing each other perfectly."^[11] James Lawrenson, writing for ClickMusic, said the song was "like a more electrified Sea Change, ambient and slightly sombre, but beautiful nonetheless." The review described the song's "synth washes and sparse instrumentation" as creating "an airy, atmospheric feel."^[12]

The song was inspired by the song "The Four Horsemen" by Aphrodite's Child.

As promotion for the album, limited edition copies of a "Chemtrails" 7" were distributed to independent record stores and were given to customers upon purchase of the album. The b-side is a song entitled "Vampire Voltage No. 6." Copies made in the UK were pressed on glow-in-the-dark white vinyl, while copies made for the US were pressed on standard black vinyl.^[13]

References

1. ^ "Chemtrails — Single". iTunes Store. Apple Inc.. 2008-06-22. http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=283314459&s=143444. Retrieved 2008-07-10. 
2. ^ "Chemtrails UK 7"". EIL.com. http://eil.com/shop/moreinfo.asp?catalogid=440000. Retrieved 2008-07-10. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} Jonathan Cohen (2008-05-19). "Billboard Bits: Beck, Liz Phair, Bonnaroo". Billboard.com. Nielsen Company. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003805423. Retrieved 2008-06-30. 
4. ^ "Beck announces new album tracklisting". NME. IPC Media. 2008-06-12. http://www.nme.com/news/beck/37306. Retrieved 2008-06-30. 
5. ^ "Beck spreading across the web like a virus". antiMUSIC.com. 2008-06-30. http://www.antimusic.com/news/08/june/30Beck_Spreading_Across_The_Web_Like_A_Virus.shtml. Retrieved 2008-06-30. 
6. ^ "Beck streams new tracks online". NME. IPC Media. 2008-06-27. http://www.nme.com/news/beck/37672. Retrieved 2008-06-30. 
7. ^ Alex Rayner (2008-06-23). "Beck is back, but what's the conspiracy about chemtrails?". guardian.co.uk. Guardian Media Group. http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/06/chemtrails_beck_is_back_but_is.html. Retrieved 2008-06-30. 
8. ^ Kitty Empire (2008-06-29). "Dangerous times with Beck and the Mouse". The Observer. Guardian Media Group. http://music.guardian.co.uk/pop/reviews/story/0,,2288038,00.html. Retrieved 2008-06-30. 
9. ^ Edna Gundersen (2008-06-02). "This week's playist". USA Today. Gannett Company. http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/reviews/2008-06-02-playlist_N.htm. Retrieved 2008-06-30. 
10. ^ "For The Record: Beck, Motley Crue, Michael Jackson & More". MTV News. MTV. 2008-06-12. http://newsroom.mtv.com/2008/06/12/for-the-record-beck-motley-crue-michael-jackson-more/. Retrieved 2008-06-30. 
11. ^ Ben Hogwood (2008-06-08). "Beck — Chemtrails (XL)". MusicOMH.com. http://www.musicomh.com/singles/beck-5_0608.htm. Retrieved 2008-06-30. 
12. ^ James Lawrenson (2008-06-23). "Chemtrails". ClickMusic.com. http://www.clickmusic.com/articles/8444/Beck---Chemtrails.html. Retrieved 2008-06-30. 
13. ^ unknown (2008-07-08). "Disco Quebrado — Beck Discography — Chemtrails". Whiskeyclone.net. http://whiskeyclone.net/disco/releaseinfo.php?discoID=314. Retrieved 2008-07-08. 

External links

• Official Beck website
• Beck on Myspace