Shock to the System (Billy Idol song)

Infobox Single
Name = Shock to the System


Caption = Cover art by Mark Frauenfelder.
Artist = Billy Idol
from Album = Cyberpunk
Released = Start date|1993|06|08 (US)
1993 (NL)
1993 (Aus)
1993 (Jap)
1993 (U.K.)
Format = 5" CD
3" CD (Japanese release)
7" vinyl
Recorded = 1992, Los Angeles, U.S.
Genre = Rock music
Electronica
Length = 3:33
Label = Chrysalis Records
Writer = Billy Idol
Producer = Robin Hancock
Last single = "Heroin"
(1993)
This single = "Shock to the System"
(1993)
Next single = "Adam in Chains"
(1993)
Misc = Audiosample
Upper caption = Audio sample
Name = Shock to the System
Audio file= Billy Idol - Shock To The System.oggExtra album cover 2
Upper caption = U.K. Double CD Single
Type = single


Lower caption = Cover art by Mark Frauenfelder. Extra tracklisting
Album = Cyberpunk
Type = Studio
prev_track = untitled
(audio segue)
prev_no = 3
this_track = "Shock to the System"
track_no = 4
next_track = "Tomorrow People"
next_no = 5

"Shock to the System" is single by Billy Idol, released to promote his 1993 album "Cyberpunk".

Conception

Idol explained for MTV News, he had originally created the song with an entirely different set of lyrics, but upon witnessing the Los Angeles riots of 1992 on television, he immediately rewrote and recorded them that day."MTV News: Billy Idol "Cyberpunk" Disk" (VIDEO). CABLE TV: MTV. May 1993.]

Music video

A music video was created for the song, and was set in a dystopian future controlled by Cyber-cops (referred to as such by director Brett Leonard.) It depicted an individual who records the Cyber-cops beating a man, only to be noticed and attacked himself. His camera is destroyed and the Cyber-cops leave him unconscious on the ground, as they are busy trying to put down a riot elsewhere in the city. Alone, his camera equipment lands on him and is absorbed into his body, causing him to dramatically morph into a cyborg. The cyborg then joins the riot, leading the rebels to victory.

Idol explained that he was trying to capture the political and economic conflict that had created the LA Riots, and that the camcorder – as displayed in the witnessing of the Rodney King beating – was a "potent way of conveying ideas" and an important metaphor for technology used in rebellion."Cyberpunk: Shock to the System". Brett Leonard. Billy Idol. ERG Video & Chrysalis Group. June 29, 1993]

The make-up effects were achieved through stop motion, with Billy Idol moving in slow stages during points of the filming. Stan Winston, who had previously worked on the Terminator series and Jurassic Park, supervised and created the special effects for the video. The music video for "Shock to The System" was nominated for "Best Special Effects in a Video" and "Best Editing in a Video" at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards, losing both times to Peter Gabriel's video for "Steam".

Reception

The video and song were also heavily analyzed for the overtones of racial, sexual, and physical trauma presented within them by Thomas Foster, associate professor at Indiana University, in his 2005 book, "The Souls of Cyberfolk".

Track listing

Several singles for "Shock to the System" were released to various countries. Several included various remixes of "Heroin", a cover of The Velvet Underground's song of the same name, composed and written by Lou Reed. The cover of "Heroin" also included the lyric "Jesus died for somebody's sins/But not mind", written by Patti Smith for her cover of "Gloria". The Australian, Japan, Netherlands, and U.S. releases included the track "Aftershock", which was not included in the "Cyberpunk" CD.

tracklist
headline = Australia and Netherlands release
total_length = 17:78

title1 = Shock to the System
lyrics1 = Idol
length1 = 3:33

title2 = Aftershock
length2 = 4:45

title3 = Heroin
note3 = Don't Touch That Needle Mix
length3 = 5:10

title4 = Heroin
note4 = Durga Trance Dub
length4 = 5:10

tracklist
total_length = 22:40

title1 = Shock to the System
headline = Japan release
lyrics1 = Idol
length1 = 3:33

title2 = Aftershock
length2 = 4:45

title3 = Heroin
note3 = A Drug Called Horse Mix
length3 = 7:19

U.K. double CD releasetracklist
headline = Disc 1
total_length = 14:22

title1 = Shock to the System
lyrics1 = Idol
length1 = 3:33

title2 = Heroin
note2 = Album version
length2 = 6:59

title3 = Heroin
note3 = A Drug Called Horse mix
length3 = 3:50tracklist
headline = Disc 2
total_length = 14:02

title1 = Shock to the System
lyrics1 = Idol
length1 = 3:33

title2 = Heroin
note2 = Smack Attack mix
length2 = 6:59

title3 = White Wedding
note3 = Idol
length3 = 3:30

tracklist
headline = U.S. release
total_length = 22:40

title1 = Shock to the System
lyrics1 = Idol
length1 = 3:33

title2 = Aftershock
length2 = 4:45

title3 = Heroin
note3 = A Drug Called Horse mix
length3 = 7:19

title4 = Heroin
note4 = Ionizer mix
length4 = 7:03

Charts

References

External links

*" [http://www.clipland.com/Summary/944433255/ Shock to the System] ", on the Clipland database.
*" [http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos/--157418686 Shock to the System] ", Chrysalis, "Yahoo! Music", 2008.
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT1QpUJznlE "Shock to the System"] , EMI America Records, "YouTube", June 26, 2008.
* [http://www.singingfool.com/Title.aspx?publishedid=798747 "Shock to the System"] , Chrysalis/EMI Records, "SingingFool".