1901 (song)

"1901" is a song by French indie pop band Phoenix. It was released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix" (2009), on 23 February 2009. It peaked at number 73 in Canada and number 84 in the United States, making "1901" the band's first song to chart there. It also reached number one on the US Alternative Songs chart. The song has been covered by English singer Birdy.
Origin and description.
It was released in February 2009 as the album's lead single, originally as a free download from the band's official website, but was issued as a retail single due to the song's popularity. A black-and-white music video for the song was released in May. In July, the song entered the U.S. "Billboard" Alternative Songs chart, where it later reached number one, becoming only the fourth independent label single to achieve the feat. The single was re-issued in the UK in February 2010. According to lead singer Thomas Mars, the song is about "Belle Époque" Paris. Mars said, "Paris in 1901 was better than it is now. So the song is a fantasy about Paris."
Phoenix performed "1901" on television programs such as "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien", "Late Show with David Letterman", "Saturday Night Live", and MTV's "It's On with Alexa Chung".
Critical reception.
The song has received very positive reviews from music critics, with Pitchfork Media's Jason Crock saying it is "just as smooth and spirited and dementedly catchy as any of their best singles." "The Village Voice"s Pazz & Jop critics' poll ranked "1901" at number two to find the best music of 2009, after Jay-Zs "Empire State of Mind". In October 2009, "1901" ranked number 228 in Pitchfork's list of "The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s," the fifth-highest placement on the list amongst 2009 songs. The "NME"'s Gavin Haynes praised the song's "rave-like stop-go guitars," while Evan Sawdey of PopMatters said it might be Phoenix's "finest song to date." "Philadelphia Inquirer" music critic Dan DeLuca described the song as "joyously exultant riff-happy pop." The song was ranked number two on "Spin" magazine's list of the "20 Best Summer Songs of 2009."
In popular culture.
The song is featured in episodes of "Friday Night Dinner", "Gossip Girl", "Melrose Place", "The Vampire Diaries" and " Hellcats", the trailer for the film "New York, I Love You", television advertisements for PlayStation and the 2010 Cadillac SRX, and appears on the soundtrack to the "NHL 2K10" video game. An edited version is also used as the theme tune for BBC Radio 5 Live's "6-0-6" football phone-in show.
Samples from the song were also used for the track "Triple Double" from Girl Talk's fifth studio album, "All Day".
The song was released for the "Rock Band" series on January 19, 2010 along with "Lisztomania". It was released as part of a Phoenix Track Pack for "Guitar Hero 5" on April 8, 2010. It appears on the "Test Drive Unlimited 2" soundtrack. The song is also featured as the default music for the "Modern" template in the iOS version of iMovie. The song is also featured on the "NHL 2K10" and "NBA 2K13" soundtrack. The song appears on the soundtrack of "Forza Horizon", playing on the Horizon Pulse in-game radio station, and in the free-to-play MMOTPS sandbox game . In 2014, the song was featured in "Boyhood".
Chart performance.
For the week ending December 19, 2009, "1901" debuted on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart at number 90. It peaked at number 84 for the week ending January 23, 2010. The single also reached number 73 on the Canadian Hot 100. The single would also top the Alternative chart for two weeks, and become the second longest running song on the chart at the time at 57 weeks, trailing only "Savior" by Rise Against, which was also in the latter part of its record breaking 65-week run.
Birdy version.
English singer Birdy released a cover version of the song on March 9, 2012 as a digital download in the United Kingdom.
Music video.
The music video for "1901" was uploaded to YouTube on October 25, 2009. Featured artists include Helen George and Ian Roe.