From Yesterday
Encyclopedia
"From Yesterday" is a song by American rock
band 30 Seconds to Mars
, and the third single released from their second album A Beautiful Lie
. The music video for the song is believed to be the first ever American music video shot in the People's Republic of China
in its entirety. The music video is also the last video by the band to feature bass player Matt Wachter
.
, being asked what he would like for his birthday. He simply states "The Sound of Tomorrow." The action then cuts to a plain white room with the band members, clad in white outfits similar to those worn in fencing
, each doing their own thing in preparation for a show. A woman enters and tells them that it is time. She leads them out into the hall and disappears. They walk down to the end of the hall where they attempt to open the door. They are unable to and understand it's locked, as Jared says. The lights start to flicker and they go out, leaving the band puzzled.
It then opens to another scene where the band is walking through giant gates into the row of Chinese soldiers, now wearing black ninja-like outfits. As they are all walking down, Jared notices a woman wearing a white mask walking on the exterior of the row, unnoticed by the others.
The band are then taken to the hall where the Emperor is situated, and are given scrolls. Jared
then says to his brother, Shannon Leto
(the band's drummer): "This is a gift?"
The band is then shown putting on supposedly traditional Chinese armor before meeting in an alleyway for a battle against four others, dressed in identical armor. This scene is mixed with each band member being led to a different part of the kingdom, encountering various practices believed to be Chinese traditions
. Matt Wachter encounters the butler whipping himself; Tomo Miličević
finds a dead woman lying on her bed, and someone proceeds to put a small black ball (A ball of mercury, which is a Chinese custom) into her mouth; Shannon sees a grown man being breast-fed by his mother or wife; and Jared accidentally walks in on a group of men sacrificing three young women.
At the end of the video, the band members end up fighting each other and four warriors. They wear masks, and thus cannot see who is who. Four of the warriors are slain, and the remaining four wind up in a stalemate
. They slowly remove their masks, revealing that 30 Seconds to Mars are all alive. The video then samples "A Beautiful Lie", released as the band's next single.
For a very brief period of time during the butler's whipping scene, an image of the butler appears where he is wearing a rabbit suit mask. It does not seem that this image has anything to do with the story, but may be a brief allusion to The Kill
in which something similar appears midway through the video.
The video can be seen as a tribute to the film The Last Emperor
since several of the scenes and characters are literally inspired by the film.
This limited edition vinyl is clear, and comes in a gatefold case
This is also limited edition, but is red, and has the band members' signatures etched into the back
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 30 Seconds to Mars
30 Seconds to Mars
30 Seconds to Mars is an American rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1998. Since 2007, the band has consisted of actor Jared Leto , Shannon Leto and Tomo Miličević...
, and the third single released from their second album A Beautiful Lie
A Beautiful Lie
A Beautiful Lie is the second album by American rock band 30 Seconds to Mars. It was released on August 30, 2005 through Virgin Records and was produced by Josh Abraham. The album produced four singles, "Attack," "The Kill," "From Yesterday," and "A Beautiful Lie"; of which three of those four...
. The music video for the song is believed to be the first ever American music video shot in the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
in its entirety. The music video is also the last video by the band to feature bass player Matt Wachter
Matt Wachter
Matthew Walter "Matt" Wachter is the bassist, keyboardist, and the backing vocalist in the rock band Angels & Airwaves. He was the former bassist for alternative rock group 30 Seconds to Mars, He was with the band from 2001 to 2007...
.
Music video
"From Yesterday" was filmed using 400 Chinese soldiers (they are seen holding flags at the beginning of the video) and 20 horses. The film starts with a young boy, presumably the Emperor PuyiPuyi
Puyi , of the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan, was the last Emperor of China, and the twelfth and final ruler of the Qing Dynasty. He ruled as the Xuantong Emperor from 1908 until his abdication on 12 February 1912. From 1 to 12 July 1917 he was briefly restored to the throne as a nominal emperor by the...
, being asked what he would like for his birthday. He simply states "The Sound of Tomorrow." The action then cuts to a plain white room with the band members, clad in white outfits similar to those worn in fencing
Fencing
Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...
, each doing their own thing in preparation for a show. A woman enters and tells them that it is time. She leads them out into the hall and disappears. They walk down to the end of the hall where they attempt to open the door. They are unable to and understand it's locked, as Jared says. The lights start to flicker and they go out, leaving the band puzzled.
It then opens to another scene where the band is walking through giant gates into the row of Chinese soldiers, now wearing black ninja-like outfits. As they are all walking down, Jared notices a woman wearing a white mask walking on the exterior of the row, unnoticed by the others.
The band are then taken to the hall where the Emperor is situated, and are given scrolls. Jared
Jared Leto
Jared Joseph Leto is an American actor, director, producer, occasional model and musician. Leto has appeared in both big budget Hollywood films and smaller projects from independent producers and art houses. He rose to prominence for playing Jordan Catalano in the teenage drama My So-Called Life...
then says to his brother, Shannon Leto
Shannon Leto
Shannon Leto is an American drummer and an occasional actor. He is the older brother of musician and actor Jared Leto; both are part of the rock band 30 Seconds to Mars. -Career:...
(the band's drummer): "This is a gift?"
The band is then shown putting on supposedly traditional Chinese armor before meeting in an alleyway for a battle against four others, dressed in identical armor. This scene is mixed with each band member being led to a different part of the kingdom, encountering various practices believed to be Chinese traditions
Culture of China
Chinese culture is one of the world's oldest and most complex. The area in which the culture is dominant covers a large geographical region in eastern Asia with customs and traditions varying greatly between towns, cities and provinces...
. Matt Wachter encounters the butler whipping himself; Tomo Miličević
Tomo Miličević
Tomislav "Tomo" Miličević is a Bosnian-American musician. He is the lead guitarist of the alternative rock band 30 Seconds to Mars.- Family :...
finds a dead woman lying on her bed, and someone proceeds to put a small black ball (A ball of mercury, which is a Chinese custom) into her mouth; Shannon sees a grown man being breast-fed by his mother or wife; and Jared accidentally walks in on a group of men sacrificing three young women.
At the end of the video, the band members end up fighting each other and four warriors. They wear masks, and thus cannot see who is who. Four of the warriors are slain, and the remaining four wind up in a stalemate
Stalemate
Stalemate is a situation in chess where the player whose turn it is to move is not in check but has no legal moves. A stalemate ends the game in a draw. Stalemate is covered in the rules of chess....
. They slowly remove their masks, revealing that 30 Seconds to Mars are all alive. The video then samples "A Beautiful Lie", released as the band's next single.
For a very brief period of time during the butler's whipping scene, an image of the butler appears where he is wearing a rabbit suit mask. It does not seem that this image has anything to do with the story, but may be a brief allusion to The Kill
The Kill
"The Kill" is a song by 30 Seconds to Mars, the song was released as the second single from their second album, A Beautiful Lie...
in which something similar appears midway through the video.
The video can be seen as a tribute to the film The Last Emperor
The Last Emperor
The Last Emperor is a 1987 biopic about the life of Puyi, the last Emperor of China, whose autobiography was the basis for the screenplay written by Mark Peploe and Bernardo Bertolucci. Independently produced by Jeremy Thomas, it was directed by Bertolucci and released in 1987 by Columbia Pictures...
since several of the scenes and characters are literally inspired by the film.
Track listing
- Standard version
- "From Yesterday" (radio edit) – 3:52
- "The Story" – 3:59 (Live @ AOL Sessions UndercoverAOL Sessions Undercover (30 Seconds to Mars EP)AOL Sessions Undercover is a live EP by 30 Seconds to Mars released on 13 March 2007.-History:The EP contains a live cover version of "Message in a Bottle" by The Police, and acoustic versions of "The Kill " and "The Story".-Track listing:...
)
- US (CD)
- "From Yesterday" – 4:07
- "The Story" – 3:59 (Live @ AOL Sessions UndercoverAOL Sessions Undercover (30 Seconds to Mars EP)AOL Sessions Undercover is a live EP by 30 Seconds to Mars released on 13 March 2007.-History:The EP contains a live cover version of "Message in a Bottle" by The Police, and acoustic versions of "The Kill " and "The Story".-Track listing:...
)
- UK (CD)
- "From Yesterday" (radio edit) – 3:52
- "StrongerStronger (Kanye West song)"Stronger" is a song by American hip hop artist Kanye West, released as the second single from his third studio album Graduation. It was produced by West and contains an extended outro co-produced with Mike Dean...
" – 6:01 (Radio 1's Live Lounge 2Radio 1's Live Lounge – Volume 2Radio 1's Live Lounge: Volume 2 is a collection of live tracks played on Jo Whiley's Radio 1 show. The album is the second in a series of Live Lounge albums. It consists of both covers and the bands' own songs...
) - "From Yesterday" – 13:40 full director's cut video (enhanced CD)
- UK (7" vinyl 1)
This limited edition vinyl is clear, and comes in a gatefold case
- "From Yesterday" – 4:14 (Chris Lord-Alge Mix)
- "The Kill (Bury Me)The Kill"The Kill" is a song by 30 Seconds to Mars, the song was released as the second single from their second album, A Beautiful Lie...
" – 3:47 (Radio 1 Live)
- UK (7" vinyl 2)
This is also limited edition, but is red, and has the band members' signatures etched into the back
- "From Yesterday" – 4:07
- US (7" vinyl 1)
- "From Yesterday" – 4:07
- "The Kill (Bury Me)The Kill"The Kill" is a song by 30 Seconds to Mars, the song was released as the second single from their second album, A Beautiful Lie...
" – 3:51
Release history
| Country | Release Date | Version |
|---|---|---|
| United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Original | |
| United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
||
| Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... |
||
| Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... |
||
| Latvia Latvia Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden... |
||
| United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
Re-release |
Chart positions
- "From Yesterday" reached #1 on BillboardBillboard (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...
's Modern Rock Tracks chart, making it 30 Seconds to Mars30 Seconds to Mars30 Seconds to Mars is an American rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1998. Since 2007, the band has consisted of actor Jared Leto , Shannon Leto and Tomo Miličević...
' first #1 on any Billboard chart. "From Yesterday" is considered to be even more successful than "The KillThe Kill"The Kill" is a song by 30 Seconds to Mars, the song was released as the second single from their second album, A Beautiful Lie...
", a song considered to be the band's breakthrough single (although "The Kill" did better on the Hot 100 and was slightly behind "From Yesterday"'s Modern Rock Tracks chart position).
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart 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... |
33 |
| Austrian Singles Chart Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
53 |
| Canadian Singles Chart Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays.... |
2 |
| German Singles Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
72 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 36 |
| Netherlands Singles Chart | 8 |
| Finnish Download Chart | 16 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart 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... |
13 |
| Portuguese Singles Chart Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa The Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa is currently the only recording industry association in Portugal. Created in 1989, it succeeded GPPFV and UNEVA .... |
17 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
35 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
75 |
| U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 11 |
In popular culture
- Portions of the song were featured in the promo for FOXFox Broadcasting CompanyFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
's Fall 2007 series New AmsterdamNew Amsterdam (TV series)New Amsterdam is an American television drama, which premiered March 4, 2008 on Fox, and ended after its eighth episode.-Premise and plot:...
. - The song was played at Shea StadiumShea StadiumWilliam A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008...
when New York MetsNew York MetsThe New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
' pitcher Scott SchoeneweisScott SchoeneweisScott David Schoeneweis is an American Major League Baseball left-handed relief pitcher who is currently a free agent.In the five seasons from 2003–07, Schoeneweis allowed only one home run to left-handed batters...
came in to pitch. - The song is also available as downloadable content for Guitar Hero 5Guitar Hero 5Guitar Hero 5 is a music video game and the fifth main entry in the Guitar Hero series. The game was developed by Neversoft and published by RedOctane and Activision, and released internationally in September 2009 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, 3 and Wii consoles...
as of February 4, 2010. - The song was covered by Dutch pop punkPop punkPop punk is a fusion music genre that combines elements of punk rock with pop music, to varying degrees. Allmusic describes the genre as a strand of alternative rock, which typically merges pop melodies with speedy punk tempos, chord changes and loud guitars...
band MakeBelieve.
Personnel
- Jared LetoJared LetoJared Joseph Leto is an American actor, director, producer, occasional model and musician. Leto has appeared in both big budget Hollywood films and smaller projects from independent producers and art houses. He rose to prominence for playing Jordan Catalano in the teenage drama My So-Called Life...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Tomo MiličevićTomo MiličevićTomislav "Tomo" Miličević is a Bosnian-American musician. He is the lead guitarist of the alternative rock band 30 Seconds to Mars.- Family :...
– guitar, programmingProgramming (music)Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices, often sequencers or computer programs, to generate music. Programming is used in nearly all forms of electronic music and in most hip hop music since the 1990s. It is also frequently used in modern pop and rock... - Shannon LetoShannon LetoShannon Leto is an American drummer and an occasional actor. He is the older brother of musician and actor Jared Leto; both are part of the rock band 30 Seconds to Mars. -Career:...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Matt WachterMatt WachterMatthew Walter "Matt" Wachter is the bassist, keyboardist, and the backing vocalist in the rock band Angels & Airwaves. He was the former bassist for alternative rock group 30 Seconds to Mars, He was with the band from 2001 to 2007...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, keyboardKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s - Oliver Goldstein – additional synthesizers