Dog Days Are Over

"Dog Days Are Over"
Single by Florence + the Machine
from the album Lungs
B-side	"You've Got the Love"
Released	1 December 2008 (2008-12-01)[1]
Format	Digital download, CD single, vinyl
Recorded	2007-08
Genre	Folk rock, art rock, indie rock
Length	4:10
Label	Universal Island, Moshi Moshi, IAMSOUND
Writer(s)	Florence Welch, Isabella Summers
Producer	James Ford, Isabella Summers
Florence + the Machine singles chronology
"Kiss with a Fist" (2008) "Dog Days Are Over" (2008) "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" (2009)
Alternate cover The cover used for the re-release. Lungs track listing "Dog Days Are Over" "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" "I'm Not Calling You a Liar" "Howl" "Kiss with a Fist" "Girl with One Eye" "Drumming Song" "Between Two Lungs" "Cosmic Love" "My Boy Builds Coffins" "Hurricane Drunk" "Blinding" "You've Got the Love"

"Dog Days Are Over" is the second single released by Florence and the Machine from their debut album Lungs. It was originally scheduled for release on November 24, 2008 through Moshi Moshi Records in the UK but was later pushed back for release on December 1, 2008. A day later on December 2, 2008 the single was released in download and seven inch vinyl format through IAMSOUND Records in the US. The B-side to the single is a cover of "You Got the Love" by The Source featuring Candi Staton which later was confirmed as a track on their debut album and the band's fifth single. A demo version of "Dog Days Are Over" is featured on disc two of the deluxe edition of Lungs. The single reached the top 30 in Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Background and release

"Dog Days Are Over" was recorded with no instruments in a studio the "size of a loo".^[2] The song was inspired by a giant text installment titled "Dog Days Are Over" by artist Ugo Rondinone, which Welch used to see every day, riding her bike over Waterloo Bridge.^[3] The song was produced and mixed by James Ford of Simian Mobile Disco and The Last Shadow Puppets, who is also famous for producing for the likes of Bloc Party and the Arctic Monkeys. He is also credited as playing piano and guitar on the record. Florence co-wrote the song with Isabella Summers who is also credited as the song's co-producer, and played piano on the record. Welch and Summers also teamed up for the percussion on the track, together with Charlie Hugall. "Dog Days Are Over" also features musicians Tom "Moth" Monger (harp), Bruce White (viola), Everton Nelson (violin), Christopher Lloyd Hayden (drums) and Rob Ackroyd (guitar). Jimmy Robertson, extensively involved in the recording of Lungs recorded and mixed "Dog Days Are Over" as well.^[4]

An acoustic version of the song was performed live on BBC's Radio 1 Big Weekend. The track has been performed at a great number of high profile festivals through 2008 and 2009, including the Reading and Leeds festivals. The band also performed the song on the Mercury Prize 2009 awards show and BBC Introducing.

A six-minute, forty-second-long Optimo remix of "Dog Days Are Over" has also been made available.^[5]

The song was used in an advertisement for programming on RTÉ and in an episode of BAFTA Award-winning teen drama Skins. In 2010 it was used in an advertising campaign for the television premiere of Slumdog Millionaire on Channel 4. It was used in a promo for the first series of CBBC series, Deadly 60. It was also heard in the NBC medical drama Mercy, and used during a promotional video for the show. In addition the song was used in Episode 3.8 of Secret Diary of a Call Girl. It also featured in Gossip Girl Season 3 Episode 14. In March 2010, the song was used in the theatrical trailer for Eat, Pray, Love. The song was used in July 2010 for a commercial for Covert Affairs and was used in the pilot of the series. The song was used extensively in Australia during winter in 2009, for advertising for the latter half of the 2009 AFL season. This song was covered by Amber Riley (Mercedes) and Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina) from Glee on the second season episode "Special Education" in November 2010. The song has also been used extensively in a series of television advertisements by Telus in Canada.

The background music of the song is also featured in a promotional video for the 1GOAL Education for All campaign called "2 girls born on the same day".^[6]

Florence and the Machine performed the song at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in December 2010. They performed it on the June 21, 2011, episode of The Colbert Report.

2010 re-release

The song was re-released into the UK market on April 11, 2010, accompanied with a new video. When questioned about why there would be a new video, she claimed "The original was so cheap [...] It was a video camera in a forest, with my dad and Marks & Spencer sandwiches."^[7]

Critical reception

The song received generally positive reviews from critics. According to MusicOMH.com, "'Dog Days Are Over' only seems likely to add to her already burgeoning reputation. While not as immediately catchy as "Kiss with a Fist", it's an urgent, pounding, almost bluesy anthem which shows off Florence's voice to its very best advantage". Further, the track's B-side, a cover of "You've Got the Love", was praised. "Following with her tradition of some finely chosen cover versions, there's even an excellent rendition of The Source's "You Got the Love".^[8] Contactmusic.com rated the song 9/10. The website remarked that "It's brilliant. It's a masterful yet primal tour-de-force of folk/pop/rock that reveals a beguiling talent that should surely be regarded as one of the finds of the musical year. "Dog Days Are Over" succeeds in capturing a powerfully 'live' studio sound that sinks, swells and explodes in a series of unconventional verse/choruses that, accentuated by Welch's snarling".^[9]

Dailymusicguide.com also positively reviewed the single, writing, "Florence Welch has one hell of a voice and uses it to full effect on "Dog Days Are Over", which plays the traditional verse-chorus-verse-chorus pattern to create a song of two halves. The song begins with an intricate acoustic beginning, before building and building along with the volume of Florence's stunning voice and coming to a crescendo at the half way mark. A moment of silence gives the listener a breather before the onslaught begins building to another stunning climax when Florence's voice hits incredible heights". Rating: 4.5/5^[10] Thisisfakediy.co.uk gave "Dog Days Are Over" a 8/10 rating, mentioning, 'Dog Days Are Over' is incredibly entertaining and furthermore a complete storm of a song. Florence plays with this song, exerting a huge energy. It is a wonderfully spiritual four minutes that will never fail to impress".^[11]

In October 2011, NME placed it at number 33 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".^[12]

Chart performance

On December 6, 2008 "Dog Days Are Over" debuted at #89 on the UK Singles Chart. The following week it dropped one place to #90 before dropping out of the top 100. It then re-entered the chart a month later on January 17, 2009 at #93 before dropping out of the chart again. Approximately four months later the single made another re-entry on May 23, 2009, this time at #91.^[13]

Following performances on Top of the Pops, Jools Holland and use in a television advertisement for Slumdog Millionaire and Eat, Pray, Love , "Dog Days Are Over" began to receive increasing amounts of digital downloads, despite not having been re-released. On 10 January 2010, "Dog Days Are Over" re-entered the UK Singles Chart at #23, marking its highest peak to date. However, the following week, on the 17 January 2010, the single fell one place to #24. Following the single's re-release in March 2010, it re-entered the UK Singles Chart at #34 on 4 April 2010. The following week, the single rose to #24 before dropping again.

On the January 15, 2010, "Dog Days Are Over" entered the Irish Singles Chart for the first time, reaching a peak of #35. This is the third Top 40 hit for Florence in Ireland. Following its re-release in March 2010, the single once again entered the Irish Singles Chart, this time climbing to #24 and a week later to #17. The following week, the single rose to #15 and the week after #13. On 15 April 2010, the single climbed into the Top 10 at #6, marking its current peak and Florence's second most successful single in the Irish Singles Chart, only to Cosmic Love, a later release.

On the week ending September 25, 2010, "Dog Days Are Over" debuted at #93 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[14] Following the performance of "Dog Days Are Over" on the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, the track sold 96,000 digital downloads which signified a 257% increase over the previous week and leaped to number 21 giving Florence her first top 30 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.^[15] It has now gone on to sell over 1.79 million downloads.^[16]

Music videos

The video was uploaded onto YouTube on November 6, 2008. "I just made it on a whim. We went down to the woods and we only had one camera. I got my dad to put a clown costume on and my friend's nephew to dress up as the baby clown while we decorated the woods. Dog walkers gave us the weirdest looks. It was really fun."^[3] The video starts with Florence lying in a forest, when a person in a white dress comes over and blindfolds her, and leads her to a clearing, filled with eerie-looking carnival/clown dressed people. Florence stands blindfolded for a few seconds, then takes the blindfold off and runs from the people. She eventually trips, and lays there as the carnival/clown people dress her like them. She then goes and dances with them, and the video ends with her walking away with 2 of the other people. The video featured acclaimed performance artist Theo Adams.

On 10 March 2010, UK newspaper The Sun's official website featured the new video that would accompany the re-release of the track on 22 March 2010.^[7] It was directed by Georgie Greville and Geremy Jasper and edited by Paul Snyder.^[17] It shows Florence dancing in a white-washed room wearing many different costumes and gradually being joined by go-go dancers, drummers wearing tribal outfits, harpists, marching band bass drummers and a gospel choir wearing white and purple. At the climax of the song Florence runs by all the people and as she does, they burst into ash in a flash of brightly coloured light. The video ends with Florence once again standing alone in the room. Throughout the video she wears full-body white make-up with intricate clothing and vivid red eye-liner and blusher.

On 3 August 2010 the video was nominated for four MTV Video Music Awards in the categories Video of the Year, Best Rock Video, Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography, and won for Best Art Direction on September 12, 2010.

Track listing

Standard single

1. "Dog Days Are Over" – 4:10
2. "You've Got the Love" – 2:48

Remix single

1. "Dog Days Are Over (Yeasayer Remix) – 4:14

7-inch vinyl

1. "Dog Days Are Over" – 4:10
2. "Dog Days Are Over" (Optimo Espacio Remix)

Digital bundle

1. "Dog Days Are Over"
2. "Dog Days Are Over" (Breakage Remix)
3. "Dog Days Are Over" (Steve Pitron & Max Sanna Remix)
4. "Dog Days Are Over" (Optimo Espacio Remix)
5. "You've Got the Love" (Strings version, live from The Union Chapel)

Live performances

"Dog Days" has been performed on every date of the Lungs Tour 2009 and has become a fan favourite. Florence often asks the crowd to do a particular action during the end of the song.^[18]

During the songs original promotion, the band played the song at BBC Introducing Sessions, along with "My Boy Builds Coffins", "Kiss with a Fist" and "I'm Not Calling You a Liar".^[19]

The song has been performed live several times since the confirmation of the song being re-released. The song was first performed on Alan Carr: Chatty Man on 18 March 2010.^[20] The band also performed the song on GMTV on the single's release date, 22 March 2010.

The group performed the song live at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. It was later performed on The Colbert Report in the episode airing on June 21, 2011.

Cover versions

The cast of Glee performed the song in the episode "Special Education" on November 30, 2010, with Jenna Ushkowitz (as Tina Cohen-Chang) and Amber Riley (as Mercedes Jones) singing the lead. The cast version was also released as a digital single, and charted on the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 22, one space below a bounding return of the original to its post-VMA peak.

Vicci Martinez covered the song on The Voice (U.S. TV series).

Charts

Chart (2010-11) Peak position Australian Singles Chart[21] 47 Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders)[22] 21 Belgian Tip Chart (Wallonia)[23] 19 Canadian Hot 100[24] 19 Irish Singles Chart[25] 6 New Zealand Singles Chart[26] 27 UK Singles Chart[27] 23 US Billboard Hot 100[28] 21 US Billboard Alternative Songs 8 US Billboard Rock Songs 9 US Billboard Adult Pop Songs 11 US Billboard Dance/Club Play Songs 4

Year-end charts Chart (2009) Position UK Singles Chart[29] 147 Chart (2010) Position UK Singles Chart[30] 93

References

1. ^ Moshi Moshi (2008-12-01). "Florence And The Machine - Dog Days Are Over :: Moshi Moshi Shop". Moshimoshi.greedbag.com. http://moshimoshi.greedbag.com/buy/dog-days-are-over/. Retrieved 2010-09-14. 
2. ^ Cochrane, Greg (2008-12-12). "BBC - Newsbeat - Music - Florence & The Machine win a Brit". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/music/newsid_7775000/7775935.stm. Retrieved 2010-09-14. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Dog Days Are Over by Florence and the Machine Songfacts". Songfacts.com. 2010-01-10. http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=16236. Retrieved 2010-09-14. 
4. ^ "Florence + The Machine* - Lungs (CD, Album, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. http://www.discogs.com/Florence-The-Machine-Lungs/release/1872408. Retrieved 2010-09-14. 
5. ^ "Florence + the Machine – Dog Days Are Over (An Optimo [Espacio] Remix) – Listening & stats at". Last.fm. 2008-11-21. http://www.last.fm/music/Florence%2B%252B%2BThe%2BMachine/_/Dog+Days+Are+Over+(An+Optimo+%5BEspacio%5D+Remix). Retrieved 2010-09-14. 
6. ^ "1GOAL: 2 girls born on the same day". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtCDO29waIk. 
7. ^ ^{a b} "Flo’s full of Frizz | The Sun |Showbiz|Bizarre". The Sun. 2010-03-10. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/bizarre/2886112/Flos-full-of-Frizz.html. Retrieved 2010-09-14. 
8. ^ http://www.musicomh.com/singles/florence-and-the-machine-2_1108.htm MusicOMH review
9. ^ contactmusic review
10. ^ "Florence and the Machine - Dog Days Are Over (Unsigned) | DMG Reviews". Dailymusicguide.com. http://www.dailymusicguide.com/Reviews/florence-and-the-machine-dog-days-are-over-single-review-16112008-1645.aspx. Retrieved 2010-09-14. 
11. ^ "Florence & The Machine – Dog Days Are Over | Single Reviews | DIY". Thisisfakediy.co.uk. http://www.thisisfakediy.co.uk/articles/tracks/florence-the-machine-dog-days-are-over. Retrieved 2010-09-14. 
12. ^ http://www.nme.com/list/150-best-tracks-of-the-past-15-years/248648/page/12
13. ^ "Florence & The Machine". Chart Stats. http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=12139. Retrieved 2010-09-14. 
14. ^ Billboard Chart Moves: Florence and the Machine, LFO, Katy Perry, Rihanna, Selena Gomez and more
15. ^ Bruno Mars Lands Atop Hot 100, Rihanna Roars Into Top 10 | Billboard.com
16. ^ "Week Ending Feb 6, 2011: Songs: Katy Stands Alone - Yahoo! Chart Watch". New.music.yahoo.com. 2011-02-09. http://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100#/news/florence-the-machine-returns-with-new-music-1005325452.story. Retrieved 2011-02-11. 
17. ^ "Blog Archive » Florence and the Machine: “Dog Days Are Over”". Coilhouse. 2010-04-11. http://coilhouse.net/2010/04/florence-and-the-machine-dog-days-are-over/. Retrieved 2010-09-14. 
18. ^ “” (2009-12-07). "Florence And The Machine - Dog Days Are Over Live - Olympia Dublin". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjUxLBPv9Os. Retrieved 2010-09-14. 
19. ^ "Introducing - Artist - Florence and the Machine - Dog Days are Over". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/introducing/artists/florenceandthemachine/dogdaysareover/?2#emp. Retrieved 2010-09-14. 
20. ^ "Official Website | News | Gigs | Music | Blogs - News". Florence And The Machine. http://florenceandthemachine.net/news/0-6/watch-flo-on-alan-carr/0-6/. Retrieved 2010-09-14. 
21. ^ "australian-charts.com - Florence + The Machine - Dog Days Are Over". australian-charts.com. http://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Florence+%2B+The+Machine&titel=Dog+Days+Are+Over&cat=s. Retrieved 2010-09-23. 
22. ^ "ultratop.be - Florence + The Machine - Dog Days Are Over". ultratop.be. http://www.ultratop.be/nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Florence+%2B+The+Machine&titel=Dog+Days+Are+Over&cat=s. Retrieved 2010-09-23. 
23. ^ "ultratop.be - Florence + The Machine - Dog Days Are Over". ultratop.be. http://www.ultratop.be/fr/showitem.asp?interpret=Florence+%2B+The+Machine&titel=Dog+Days+Are+Over&cat=s. Retrieved 2010-09-23. 
24. ^ "Canadian Hot 100 Top 31-40". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/charts/canadian-hot-100#/charts/canadian-hot-100?begin=31&order=position. Retrieved 2010-09-23. 
25. ^ "Ireland Singles Top 50 - Music Charts". Acharts.us. 2010-09-09. http://acharts.us/ireland_singles_top_50. Retrieved 2010-09-14. 
26. ^ "RIANZ". RIANZ. http://rianz.org.nz/rianz/chart.asp. Retrieved 2010-09-14. 
27. ^ "Florence & The Machine - Dog Days Are Over". Chart Stats. http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=34143. Retrieved 2010-09-14. 
28. ^ "Florence + The Machine Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot 100 for Florence + The Machine. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2010-09-16.
29. ^ "Charts Plus Year end 2009" (PDF). Charts Plus. http://www.ukchartsplus.co.uk/UKChartsPlusYE2009.pdf. Retrieved 2010-07-19. 
30. ^ "End Of Year Charts: 2010". UKChartsPlus. http://www.ukchartsplus.co.uk/UKChartsPlusYE2010.pdf. Retrieved 2011-08-10.