Boy From School
Encyclopedia
"Boy from School" is a single by Hot Chip
, released on 27 June 2006, from Hot Chip's second album, The Warning
. The original title of the song (which appears on The Warning) was "And I Was a Boy from School", however, this was shortened on the request of EMI
. The song was covered by Portastatic
in 2006, Maritime
in 2007, and Grizzly Bear
in 2010.
. Boomkat.com said "for anyone who was raised on a diet of Neil Buchanan
", that the video would bring back the memory of giant Art Attacks, and This Is Fake DIY said, "They've gone all Neil Buchanan on us".
When asked about the Art Attack style video by Jonson Walker
of Gigwise, Alexis Taylor said, "Yeah the video was fucking expensive! We actually said that we weren't going to spend that kind of money again unless we were blowing up cars but we'll learn."
compared "Boy from School" to "Over and Over
" and said the song had retained the "incessant, thumping kick drum and the choral harmonies" but had incorporated differences. Drowned in Sound also said the "synths drop out to leave behind the introspective sighs of 'We try but we don't belong' [adding] a human touch to a genre led by the robotic likes of Daft Punk
", a quality that might "prove to be Hot Chip
's trump card." Virgin Media
described the song as a "bittersweet electro gem" with "achingly gorgeous vocal harmonies that run throughout, occasionally blossoming into a reverb-treated chorus that feels like sinking back onto a bed of marshmallow".
Boomkat.com described the song, "Boy from School (Cosmic Sandwich Remix)", as having an increased tempo with rougher edges, that "chases out the lyrics" and described "Boy from School (Erol Alkan's Rework)", as being given "a dusting of disco powder".
NME
said the song "fuses the thudding robots-take-Ibiza beat of Stardust
's "Music Sounds Better with You
" to the melancholy synth swoon of Aphex Twin
's Selected Ambient Works Vol. 2, whilst MusicOMH
said the song "fuses a similar folk lullaby approach to the disco drive of Spiller
's "Groovejet" ". MusicOMH also said the song was "poptastically lovely", with male-female vocal harmonies, which were compared to Scritti Politti
and Mojave 3
, and said that the drums and keyboard take the song "in the direction of Giorgio Moroder
and Kraftwerk
."
The song was listed at #29 on Pitchfork Media
's top 500 songs of the 2000s.
CD 2:
"Boy From School".
"Law Of Salvation".
"Boy From School" (EROL ALKAN'S Rework).
"Boy From School" (Video).
Hot Chip
Hot Chip are an English electronic indie band. They have released four studio albums—Coming on Strong, The Warning, Made in the Dark and One Life Stand.-Formation:...
, released on 27 June 2006, from Hot Chip's second album, The Warning
The Warning (Hot Chip album)
The Warning is the second full-length release from the British electronic indie pop band Hot Chip. The album was released in the UK on 22 May 2006 by EMI and in the United States on 3 June 2006 by Astralwerks...
. The original title of the song (which appears on The Warning) was "And I Was a Boy from School", however, this was shortened on the request of EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
. The song was covered by Portastatic
Portastatic
Portastatic is an American indie rock band founded in the early 1990s by Mac McCaughan. Portastatic began as a solo project for McCaughan, lead singer and guitarist of the indie rock band Superchunk...
in 2006, Maritime
Maritime (band)
Maritime formed in 2003 out of the ashes of The Promise Ring and The Dismemberment Plan. After these two bands broke up, singer/guitarist Davey von Bohlen, drummer Dan Didier and bassist Eric Axelson hooked up and started a band called In English. The group quickly signed a deal with the record...
in 2007, and Grizzly Bear
Grizzly Bear (band)
Grizzly Bear is a Brooklyn-based indie rock band, composed of Edward Droste , Daniel Rossen , Chris Taylor and Christopher Bear . The band employs traditional and electronic instruments...
in 2010.
Music video
Two reviews made comparisons of the video to Art AttackArt Attack
Art Attack is a British children's television series revolving around art. The original series was one of ITV's longest running programmes, running from 1990 to 2007, and was presented throughout by Neil Buchanan. The brand new series launched on Disney Junior on June 6 2011 and is presented by...
. Boomkat.com said "for anyone who was raised on a diet of Neil Buchanan
Neil Buchanan
Neil Buchanan is an English television presenter best known for his work on the CITV programme Art Attack, a television programme that he presented during its run from 1990 to 2007...
", that the video would bring back the memory of giant Art Attacks, and This Is Fake DIY said, "They've gone all Neil Buchanan on us".
When asked about the Art Attack style video by Jonson Walker
Jonson Walker
Jonson Walker is an English DJ and musician, based in Liverpool. Walker held a residency at Liverpool's now defunct electro night, Catfight. In the summer of 2007, he won BBC Radio 6's Music’s Virtual Tour competition, and DJ’d at the Indian Summer festival in Glasgow...
of Gigwise, Alexis Taylor said, "Yeah the video was fucking expensive! We actually said that we weren't going to spend that kind of money again unless we were blowing up cars but we'll learn."
Critical reception
Drowned in SoundDrowned in Sound
DrownedinSound.com or DiS is a UK based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway . The site is an editorially independent music website.-History:...
compared "Boy from School" to "Over and Over
Over and Over (Hot Chip song)
"Over and Over" was the first single from Hot Chip's second album The Warning. It was released twice in the UK in 2006 - first reaching number 32 in March and number 27 in October.-Music video:...
" and said the song had retained the "incessant, thumping kick drum and the choral harmonies" but had incorporated differences. Drowned in Sound also said the "synths drop out to leave behind the introspective sighs of 'We try but we don't belong' [adding] a human touch to a genre led by the robotic likes of Daft Punk
Daft Punk
Daft Punk are an electronic music duo consisting of French musicians Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter . Daft Punk reached significant popularity in the late 1990s house movement in France and met with continued success in the years following, combining elements of house with synthpop...
", a quality that might "prove to be Hot Chip
Hot Chip
Hot Chip are an English electronic indie band. They have released four studio albums—Coming on Strong, The Warning, Made in the Dark and One Life Stand.-Formation:...
's trump card." Virgin Media
Virgin Media
Virgin Media Inc. is a company which provides fixed and mobile telephone, television and broadband internet services to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom...
described the song as a "bittersweet electro gem" with "achingly gorgeous vocal harmonies that run throughout, occasionally blossoming into a reverb-treated chorus that feels like sinking back onto a bed of marshmallow".
Boomkat.com described the song, "Boy from School (Cosmic Sandwich Remix)", as having an increased tempo with rougher edges, that "chases out the lyrics" and described "Boy from School (Erol Alkan's Rework)", as being given "a dusting of disco powder".
NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
said the song "fuses the thudding robots-take-Ibiza beat of Stardust
Stardust (band)
Stardust was a one-time musical collaborative effort consisting of producers Thomas Bangalter, Alan Braxe, and vocalist Benjamin Diamond.-History:The project released the popular club track titled "Music Sounds Better with You" in 1998...
's "Music Sounds Better with You
Music Sounds Better with You
"Music Sounds Better with You" is a 1998 single by French house music band Stardust. The vocal performance of the song was provided by Benjamin Diamond of the band. The song uses a sample of the song "Fate" by Chaka Khan, which appeared on her 1981 album What Cha' Gonna Do for Me...
" to the melancholy synth swoon of Aphex Twin
Aphex Twin
Richard David James , best known under the pseudonym Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born electronic musician and composer described as "the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music"...
's Selected Ambient Works Vol. 2, whilst MusicOMH
MusicOMH
musicOMH is a United Kingdom-based website which publishes independent reviews, featues and interviews from across all musical genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B.-History:...
said the song "fuses a similar folk lullaby approach to the disco drive of Spiller
Spiller
Cristiano Spiller is an Italian DJ.He had a #1 hit in the UK, Italy, Australia and other countries with the hit single, "Groovejet ", featuring Sophie Ellis-Bextor, released in 2000...
's "Groovejet" ". MusicOMH also said the song was "poptastically lovely", with male-female vocal harmonies, which were compared to Scritti Politti
Scritti Politti
Scritti Politti are a British band, originally formed in 1977 in Leeds, Yorkshire, England. Although there have been various changes to the line-up, Cardiff-born singer-songwriter Green Gartside was the founding member of the band and the only member to have remained throughout the group's...
and Mojave 3
Mojave 3
Mojave 3 are a British band, consisting of Neil Halstead, Rachel Goswell, Simon Rowe, Alan Forrester, and Ian McCutcheon. Goswell, Halstead and McCutcheon previously played in Thames Valley shoegazing band Slowdive....
, and said that the drums and keyboard take the song "in the direction of Giorgio Moroder
Giorgio Moroder
Hansjörg "Giorgio" Moroder is an Italian record producer, songwriter and performer based in Los Angeles. When in Munich in the 1970s, he started his own record label called Oasis Records, which several years later became a subdivision of Casablanca Records...
and Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...
."
The song was listed at #29 on Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
's top 500 songs of the 2000s.
Track listing
CD 1:- "Boy from School" – 5:20
- "Boy from School" (Hot Chip Rework) – 7:10
- "A Glue Too Thick" – 3:13
- "Boy from School (Erol Alkan's Rework)" – 10:18
- "The Bell Ringers" – 5:37
- "Boy from School (Cosmic Sandwich Remix)" – 8:33
CD 2:
"Boy From School".
"Law Of Salvation".
"Boy From School" (EROL ALKAN'S Rework).
"Boy From School" (Video).
Personnel
- Erol AlkanErol AlkanErol Alkan is a London-based electro DJ of Turkish Cypriot descent.-DJ and club promoter:In 1993, Erol Alkan started DJing in various Indie nightclubs in London....
– reworking - Owen Clarke – art direction, design
- Tom Elmhirst – mixing
- Bevis Martin – artwork
- Matt Paul – assistant engineer
- Richard Wilkinson – engineer