Brick by Boring Brick
Encyclopedia
"Brick by Boring Brick" is a song by American rock
band Paramore
, and the second single
from their third album Brand New Eyes
.
"Brick by Boring Brick" was also featured in The Vampire Diaries
episode "Under Control" that aired on April 15, 2010
. In terms of airplay, it is one of the album's successful singles, including the song "The Only Exception."
, who gave the song 4 stars out of 5. He said the song is "infectious, deliciously dark ('Well go get your shovel, and we'll dig a deep hole'), and packed with more energy than a Jedward dance routine – Williams sounds downright tremendous leading the 'ba-ba-ba' climax – this should provide a welcome edge at the top end of the charts". Rolling Stone
stated that "Brick by Boring Brick" was able to "weave unexpected Smashing Pumpkins-style sonics into the mix." The song received a positive review from Vicki Lutas of the BBC
, who awarded the song 5 out of 5 stars. She said that the song is "hair-raisingly BRILLIANT" and said "Listening to the lyrics is like entering a world where sandcastles aren't built, but buried, a world where the baddie is not the wolf, but reality... and in this world, things are dark, but they're very real. There's a sense of longing; longing for those fairy tales and longing for innocence, but it's coupled with a sense of realization that this will never happen."
for "Brick by Boring Brick" was filmed in Los Angeles on October 8, 2009. It was co-directed by Meiert Avis
and Chris LeDoux (New Found Glory
, U2
). The video depicts a young girl (Harley Graham) with butterfly wings exploring a surreal landscape, while Hayley sings the song near a large ditch which guitarist Josh Farro is digging. Eventually the little girl's fantasy world becomes dark and frightening, with the character she was friends with before now turning into dark and sinister creatures, and she runs to escape, picking up her doll, emerging into the sunlight and falling into the ditch by where Hayley is singing. Hayley stands up and throws the girl's doll in after her, and Josh (out of the shot) throws the first shovelful of earth into the ditch.
In an interview with MTV
, bassist Jeremy Davis explained that the band had created a treatment
for the video before receiving further ideas from several directors. The video is Paramore's first to not be performance based and some of the members of the band are only seen for a short period of time. It is their first video to be filmed in front of green screen
, and to have "a whole story behind it", with acting. Guitarist Josh Farro likened the video to the 2006 Spanish
fantasy film
Pan's Labyrinth
. It was originally set to premiere on November 17 on The Hills, but was later postponed. The video was eventually released on Paramore.net on November 23.
. It was also performed at the Ulalume Festival.
The song was performed as the last song on the band's Fall tour in October to December 2009. At the end of the song, the support groups would join the band on stage.
The band performed the song on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
on the April 29, 2010.
, in the 18th episode of season one titled 'Under Control'.
Irish Pop Punk band, TheElement have covered this song on live performances around Europe.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Paramore
Paramore
Paramore is an American rock band from Franklin, Tennessee, formed in 2004. The band consists of lead vocalist Hayley Williams, bassist Jeremy Davis, and guitarist Taylor York...
, and the second single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
from their third album Brand New Eyes
Brand New Eyes
Brand New Eyes is the third album by North American rock band Paramore, released September 29, 2009 through Fueled by Ramen in the United States and Canada. It debuted at number two on Billboard 200....
.
"Brick by Boring Brick" was also featured in The Vampire Diaries
The Vampire Diaries
The Vampire Diaries is a young adult vampire horror series of novels written by L. J. Smith. The story centers around Elena Gilbert, a high school girl torn between two vampire brothers. The series was originally a trilogy published in 1991, but pressure from readers led Smith to write a fourth...
episode "Under Control" that aired on April 15, 2010
2010 in American television
The following is a list of events that affected American television in 2010, a year marked by the usual debuts, cancellations, and continuations of shows; the launches, closures, or rebrandings of channels; but also significant cable/satellite carriage disputes, as well as...
. In terms of airplay, it is one of the album's successful singles, including the song "The Only Exception."
Reception
The song received a positive review from Alex Fletcher of Digital SpyDigital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
, who gave the song 4 stars out of 5. He said the song is "infectious, deliciously dark ('Well go get your shovel, and we'll dig a deep hole'), and packed with more energy than a Jedward dance routine – Williams sounds downright tremendous leading the 'ba-ba-ba' climax – this should provide a welcome edge at the top end of the charts". Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
stated that "Brick by Boring Brick" was able to "weave unexpected Smashing Pumpkins-style sonics into the mix." The song received a positive review from Vicki Lutas of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, who awarded the song 5 out of 5 stars. She said that the song is "hair-raisingly BRILLIANT" and said "Listening to the lyrics is like entering a world where sandcastles aren't built, but buried, a world where the baddie is not the wolf, but reality... and in this world, things are dark, but they're very real. There's a sense of longing; longing for those fairy tales and longing for innocence, but it's coupled with a sense of realization that this will never happen."
Music video
The music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "Brick by Boring Brick" was filmed in Los Angeles on October 8, 2009. It was co-directed by Meiert Avis
Meiert Avis
Meiert Avis is an Irish music video and commercial director. Avis has directed videos for artists such as Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Avril Lavigne, Jennifer Lopez, New Found Glory and Josh Groban amongst many others....
and Chris LeDoux (New Found Glory
New Found Glory
New Found Glory is an American rock band from Coral Springs, Florida. Formed in the summer of 1997, founding members were lead vocalist Jordan Pundik, guitarists Chad Gilbert and Steve Klein, bassist Ian Grushka and drummer Joe Marino...
, U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
). The video depicts a young girl (Harley Graham) with butterfly wings exploring a surreal landscape, while Hayley sings the song near a large ditch which guitarist Josh Farro is digging. Eventually the little girl's fantasy world becomes dark and frightening, with the character she was friends with before now turning into dark and sinister creatures, and she runs to escape, picking up her doll, emerging into the sunlight and falling into the ditch by where Hayley is singing. Hayley stands up and throws the girl's doll in after her, and Josh (out of the shot) throws the first shovelful of earth into the ditch.
In an interview with MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
, bassist Jeremy Davis explained that the band had created a treatment
Film treatment
A film treatment is a piece of prose, typically the step between scene cards and the first draft of a screenplay for a motion picture, television program, or radio play. It is generally longer and more detailed than an outline , and it may include details of directorial style that an outline omits...
for the video before receiving further ideas from several directors. The video is Paramore's first to not be performance based and some of the members of the band are only seen for a short period of time. It is their first video to be filmed in front of green screen
Chroma key
Chroma key compositing is a technique for compositing two images together. A color range in the top layer is made transparent, revealing another image behind. The chroma keying technique is commonly used in video production and post-production...
, and to have "a whole story behind it", with acting. Guitarist Josh Farro likened the video to the 2006 Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
fantasy film
Fantasy film
Fantasy films are films with fantastic themes, usually involving magic, supernatural events, make-believe creatures, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered to be distinct from science fiction film and horror film, although the genres do overlap...
Pan's Labyrinth
Pan's Labyrinth
Pan's Labyrinth is a 2006 Spanish Spanish-language dark fantasy film, written and directed by Mexican film-maker Guillermo del Toro. It was produced and distributed by the Mexican film company Esperanto Films...
. It was originally set to premiere on November 17 on The Hills, but was later postponed. The video was eventually released on Paramore.net on November 23.
Live performances
The track has been performed by Paramore on many occasions. The band's first performance of the song was in July 2009. Paramore performed a live version of "Brick By Boring Brick" for MTV UnpluggedMTV Unplugged
MTV Unplugged is a TV series showcasing many popular musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show has received the George Foster Peabody Award and 3 Primetime Emmy nominations among many accolades.-Unplugged:...
. It was also performed at the Ulalume Festival.
The song was performed as the last song on the band's Fall tour in October to December 2009. At the end of the song, the support groups would join the band on stage.
The band performed the song on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon on NBC. The show premiered on March 2, 2009, as the third incarnation of the Late Night franchise originated by David Letterman....
on the April 29, 2010.
Appearances
Brick by Boring Brick was used in The Vampire DiariesThe Vampire Diaries
The Vampire Diaries is a young adult vampire horror series of novels written by L. J. Smith. The story centers around Elena Gilbert, a high school girl torn between two vampire brothers. The series was originally a trilogy published in 1991, but pressure from readers led Smith to write a fourth...
, in the 18th episode of season one titled 'Under Control'.
Irish Pop Punk band, TheElement have covered this song on live performances around Europe.
Track listing
Chart positions
| Chart (2009–2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... ) |
85 |
| New Zealand (RIANZ Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... ) |
29 |
| South Africa (5 FM Top 40) 5FM 5FM is a South African FM radio station that follows a Top 40 music format and is owned by the South African Broadcasting Corporation , South Africa's public broadcaster... |
21 |
| UK Singles (Official Charts Company) | 85 |
| UK Rock (The Official Charts Company UK Rock Chart The UK Rock Chart usually refers to the Top 40 Rock Singles and the Top 40 Rock Albums Chart compiled by the Official Charts Company from physical record sales in British retail outlets with larger than average genrespecific sales.... ) |
2 |
| US Alternative Songs (Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... ) |
9 |
| US Rock Songs Rock Songs Rock Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks the airplay of songs on alternative, mainstream rock and triple A radio stations. The first chart was published in the issue dated June 20, 2009. "Know Your Enemy" by Green Day was the first number-one song. The Rock Songs... (Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... ) |
20 |