Stars (Switchfoot song)

Single infobox
Name= Stars


Background = Orange
Artist= Switchfoot
from Album= Nothing Is Sound
Released= 2005
Format= CD
Genre= Alternative rock
Length= 3:59 (Radio Edit)
4:20 (Album Version)
Label= Sony BMG
Writer = Jon Foreman
Producer = John Fields
Certification = Gold
Chart position = #16 (US Modern Rock)
#39 (US Mainstream Rock)
#68 (US Hot 100)
Last single = "This is Your Life"
(2004)
This single = "Stars"
(2005)
Next single = "We Are One Tonight"
(2006)

"Stars" was the first single released from Switchfoot's fifth album "Nothing Is Sound". It was the #1 most added song on Modern Rock Radio in its first week and peaked at number sixteen on the US Modern Rock chart. The song was certified gold as a digital single on December 12, 2005. To date, it's there 3rd most successful song, However, it did not perform as well as the band's previous hits Meant to Live and Dare You to Move. On "Nothing Is Sound" this song is the second track.

According to the song-writer Jon Foreman, "Stars" is about perspective, a song about stepping back in the midst of chaos and looking at the stars; the idea of anti-entropy, implying there must be something keeping the world together. "The first verse looks at things from Descartes perspective, pinning the center of the universe on the individual. 'Maybe I've been the problem,' maybe I'm overcast, falling apart, etc... The second verse talks about our world from the perspective of the stars looking down on earth from the eternal dance of gravity and motion." [Originally posted as 12 Days of Switchfoot at [http://www.switchfoot.com/12days12.htm switchfoot.com] (published September 2, 2005 - retrieved January 12, 2007) partial text still available at [http://www.brokenmasterpieces.com/archives/001745.html brokenmasterpieces.com] (retrieved June 17, 2008)] Despite these deep lyrics, Jon says he likes the song best for its guitar riffs.

Music videos

The music video for this song was filmed at Universal Studios mostly underwater. [ [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1506994/20050804/story.jhtml Switchfoot Look Like California Raisins After Video Shoot] - MTV published August 4, 2005 (retrieved January 12, 2007)] A second, less formal video was also released, which consists mostly of a live performance at the Santa Monica Pier in California.

The video features the band playing in an outdoor setting, but as the video progresses, they can be seen "floating" in a watery environment. At the apex of the song right before the bridge of the song, this environment bursts and the band plays in the rain until the end of the video.

Track listings

UK CD single

# Stars (Album Version)
# Stars (Acoustic Version)
# Dare You To Move (Acoustic Version)
# Stars (Video)

Chart positions

In popular culture

*The song has been used in sports telecasts, including FOX's coverage of the 2008 Pro Bowl.
*The song has been used in HBO commercials for upcoming movies on the channel.

References

External links

* [http://people.rit.edu/ejh0013/nis/stars.htm Lyrics]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_Fj7wbc3Zc Music Video]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qatvFL2RDk Making of Stars Video]
* [http://learning2breathe.com/nissongs.html#anchor_13988 Jon's thoughts]
* [http://www.switchfoot.com/ Switchfoot]