Golden Retriever (song)
Encyclopedia
"Golden Retriever" is a song by Super Furry Animals
. It was the first single
to be issued from the album Phantom Power
and reached number 13 on the UK Singles Chart
on its release in July 2003. The song is about the relationship between singer Gruff Rhys's
girlfriend's two dogs and was written in the same key, with the same guitar tuning
and around the same time as several other songs from Phantom Power.
Critical reaction to the track was generally positive with many reviewers commenting on its "catchiness" and "glam rock
" style. A Jake & Jim directed music video was produced to accompany the song's release as a single featuring the band dressed as yeti
s. A Killa Kela
remix
of "Golden Retriever" appears on the album Phantom Phorce
and the DVD release of Phantom Power.
. The song shares the same key
, D major
, the same guitar tuning
, D-A-D-D-A-D, and was written around the same time as several other songs from Phantom Power
including the "Father Father" instrumentals, "Hello Sunshine
", "Cityscape Skybaby" and "Out of Control". "Golden Retriever" was recorded at the Super Furry Animals' own studio in Cardiff
along with the rest of Phantom Power.
. The track begins with a descending riff on acoustic guitar
before the band joins on 2 seconds with an electric guitar
playing a three note riff (D, F and G) through a fuzz pedal. The first verse follows on 9 seconds with Gruff Rhys
singing about meeting The Devil
at a roundabout
. The first chorus enters at 24 seconds with Rhys being joined by falsetto
harmony backing vocals and a distorted electric guitar playing chords
rather than single notes. A breakdown
verse follows, leading into the extended second chorus which features shouted backing vocals chanting the song's title. The outro begins at 1 minute 55 seconds, with lead guitar lines and heavy drums, featuring flanging
, bringing the track to a climax.
remix
of "Golden Retriever" is included on the DVD version of Phantom Power
and the album Phantom Phorce
. Largely dispensing with the track's instrumental backing (apart from distant bass
and occasional acoustic guitar
) the remix features Kela's beatboxing
alongside Rhys's
lead vocal and follows the arrangement of the original. The track is 2 minutes 33 seconds long and ends with a brief clip of the band's road manager, in the guise of 'Kurt Stern', lamenting the fact that this "perfect rocking track" is simply about a dog.
style—PopMatters
described the track as a "a fun blast of glam rock", the NME
called it "an irresistibly catchy ... glam stomper", and The Guardian
stated that the "unhinged glammy romp" cannot be faulted. The track was also described as being a parody of Robert Johnson type blues by Entertainment Weekly
and a "brilliantly catchy anthem" by Angry Ape. Several critics noted the "goofy" and "silly" nature of the song, with comparisons made between "Golden Retriever" and both the Doctor Who theme music
and The KLF
's "Doctorin' the Tardis". Some criticism was leveled at the song for being "too Radio 1
friendly" and for simply being "more of the same" from the band. In a 2006 feature on the Super Furry Animals' back catalogue Incendiary Magazine went as far as to call the track "hogwash".
at the start of 2003 which didn't come off. The video begins with a close up of a cardboard box featuring a logo of two apples with the title 'Golden'. The band is shown playing along to "Golden Retriever" inside the box with Gruff Rhys
wearing a red sports visor
. Bassist
Guto Pryce
and keyboardist
Cian Ciaran
are both sat on settees
with guitars on their laps which they are not playing. As the chorus begins the band transform into yeti
s and all begin playing "Golden Retriever", several members headbanging
in time with the track. The group wear their regular clothes for the second verse before the yeti costumes reappear for the second chorus. As the video ends the camera zooms out to show a Golden Retriever
approach the box in an alleyway. The Super Furries raise their hands in the air and look up at the dog who then urinates on the box and runs away.
In an interview with BBC Manchester
, drummer
Dafydd Ieuan
stated that, although he finds the video fun to watch, it was hard work to make because the yeti costumes were very heavy and incredibly hot. The band took the suits on tour with them but only wore them for "the last two minutes" of concerts because they were so warm. The video appears on the DVD release of the band's greatest hits album Songbook: The Singles, Vol. 1
.
Super Furry Animals
Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band that lean towards psychedelic rock and electronic experimentation. Since their formation in Cardiff, Wales in 1993, the band has consisted of Gruff Rhys , Huw Bunford , Guto Pryce , Cian Ciaran and Dafydd Ieuan Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band...
. It was the first 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...
to be issued from the album Phantom Power
Phantom Power (Super Furry Animals album)
Phantom Power is the sixth album by Welsh indie rock band Super Furry Animals, released on 21 July 2003 by Epic Records in the United Kingdom....
and reached number 13 on the 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 ...
on its release in July 2003. The song is about the relationship between singer Gruff Rhys's
Gruff Rhys
Gruffydd Maredudd Bowen Rhys is a Welsh musician, performing solo and with several bands, including Super Furry Animals who obtained mainstream success in the 1990s. He also most recently formed the electro-pop outfit Neon Neon with Boom Bip. Their album Stainless Style was nominated for the 2008...
girlfriend's two dogs and was written in the same key, with the same guitar tuning
Guitar tunings
Guitar tunings almost always refers to the pitch of the open string, though some tunings may only realistically be attained by the use of a capo on an unmodified instrument....
and around the same time as several other songs from Phantom Power.
Critical reaction to the track was generally positive with many reviewers commenting on its "catchiness" and "glam rock
Glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
" style. A Jake & Jim directed music video was produced to accompany the song's release as a single featuring the band dressed as yeti
Yeti
The Yeti or Abominable Snowman is an ape-like cryptid said to inhabit the Himalayan region of Nepal, and Tibet. The names Yeti and Meh-Teh are commonly used by the people indigenous to the region, and are part of their history and mythology...
s. A Killa Kela
Killa Kela
Killa Kela is an English beatboxer from West Sussex.-Biography:Kela began beatboxing in his teens with the 360 Physicals crew. He was discovered by DJ Vadim when he sent a tape of his beatboxing to Vadim's now defunct label Jazz Fudge...
remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
of "Golden Retriever" appears on the album Phantom Phorce
Phantom Phorce
Phantom Phorce is a remix album of Super Furry Animals' 2003 record Phantom Power. The remixes had previously appeared on the DVD version of Phantom Power—they were re-released as Phantom Phorce on the band's own Placid Casual label as a way of ensuring the remixers would receive royalties for the...
and the DVD release of Phantom Power.
Recording and themes
"Golden Retriever" is about "the relationship between [Gruff Rhys's] girlfriend's two dogs - a male and a female". Rhys has stated that the "road sign and driving theory vocabulary" that he had to absorb when he passed his driving test a few years before he wrote "Golden Retriever" found its way into the songs lyrics which are a parody of the bluesBlues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
. The song shares the same key
Key (music)
In music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways. A common use is to speak of music as being "in" a specific key, such as in the key of C major or in the key of F-sharp. Sometimes the terms "major" or "minor" are appended, as in the key of A minor or in the...
, D major
D major
D major is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature consists of two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor....
, the same guitar tuning
Guitar tunings
Guitar tunings almost always refers to the pitch of the open string, though some tunings may only realistically be attained by the use of a capo on an unmodified instrument....
, D-A-D-D-A-D, and was written around the same time as several other songs from Phantom Power
Phantom Power (Super Furry Animals album)
Phantom Power is the sixth album by Welsh indie rock band Super Furry Animals, released on 21 July 2003 by Epic Records in the United Kingdom....
including the "Father Father" instrumentals, "Hello Sunshine
Hello Sunshine
"Hello Sunshine" is a song by the Welsh band Super Furry Animals from their album Phantom Power. It was the seventeenth single released by the group and reached number 31 on the UK Singles Chart in October 2003....
", "Cityscape Skybaby" and "Out of Control". "Golden Retriever" was recorded at the Super Furry Animals' own studio in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
along with the rest of Phantom Power.
Musical structure
"Golden Retriever" is 2 minutes 28 seconds long and is in the key of D majorD major
D major is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature consists of two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor....
. The track begins with a descending riff on acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
before the band joins on 2 seconds with an electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
playing a three note riff (D, F and G) through a fuzz pedal. The first verse follows on 9 seconds with Gruff Rhys
Gruff Rhys
Gruffydd Maredudd Bowen Rhys is a Welsh musician, performing solo and with several bands, including Super Furry Animals who obtained mainstream success in the 1990s. He also most recently formed the electro-pop outfit Neon Neon with Boom Bip. Their album Stainless Style was nominated for the 2008...
singing about meeting The Devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
at a roundabout
Roundabout
A roundabout is the name for a road junction in which traffic moves in one direction around a central island. The word dates from the early 20th century. Roundabouts are common in many countries around the world...
. The first chorus enters at 24 seconds with Rhys being joined by falsetto
Falsetto
Falsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds, in whole or in part...
harmony backing vocals and a distorted electric guitar playing chords
Guitar chord
In music, a guitar chord is a chord, or collection of tones usually sounded together at once, played on a guitar. It can be composed of notes played on adjacent or separate strings or all the strings together...
rather than single notes. A breakdown
Break (music)
In popular music, a break is an instrumental or percussion section or interlude during a song derived from or related to stop-time – being a "break" from the main parts of the song or piece....
verse follows, leading into the extended second chorus which features shouted backing vocals chanting the song's title. The outro begins at 1 minute 55 seconds, with lead guitar lines and heavy drums, featuring flanging
Flanging
Flanging is an audio effect produced by mixing two identical signals together, with one signal delayed by a small and gradually changing period, usually smaller than 20 milliseconds. This produces a swept comb filter effect: peaks and notches are produced in the resultant frequency spectrum,...
, bringing the track to a climax.
Alternative version
A Killa KelaKilla Kela
Killa Kela is an English beatboxer from West Sussex.-Biography:Kela began beatboxing in his teens with the 360 Physicals crew. He was discovered by DJ Vadim when he sent a tape of his beatboxing to Vadim's now defunct label Jazz Fudge...
remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
of "Golden Retriever" is included on the DVD version of Phantom Power
Phantom Power (Super Furry Animals album)
Phantom Power is the sixth album by Welsh indie rock band Super Furry Animals, released on 21 July 2003 by Epic Records in the United Kingdom....
and the album Phantom Phorce
Phantom Phorce
Phantom Phorce is a remix album of Super Furry Animals' 2003 record Phantom Power. The remixes had previously appeared on the DVD version of Phantom Power—they were re-released as Phantom Phorce on the band's own Placid Casual label as a way of ensuring the remixers would receive royalties for the...
. Largely dispensing with the track's instrumental backing (apart from distant bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and occasional acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
) the remix features Kela's beatboxing
Beatboxing
Beatboxing is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of producing drum beats, rhythm, and musical sounds using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice. It may also involve singing, vocal imitation of turntablism, and the simulation of horns, strings, and other musical instruments...
alongside Rhys's
Gruff Rhys
Gruffydd Maredudd Bowen Rhys is a Welsh musician, performing solo and with several bands, including Super Furry Animals who obtained mainstream success in the 1990s. He also most recently formed the electro-pop outfit Neon Neon with Boom Bip. Their album Stainless Style was nominated for the 2008...
lead vocal and follows the arrangement of the original. The track is 2 minutes 33 seconds long and ends with a brief clip of the band's road manager, in the guise of 'Kurt Stern', lamenting the fact that this "perfect rocking track" is simply about a dog.
Critical response
Critical reaction to "Golden Retriever" was generally positive and many reviewers commented on the track's glam rockGlam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
style—PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
described the track as a "a fun blast of glam rock", the 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...
called it "an irresistibly catchy ... glam stomper", and The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
stated that the "unhinged glammy romp" cannot be faulted. The track was also described as being a parody of Robert Johnson type blues by Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
and a "brilliantly catchy anthem" by Angry Ape. Several critics noted the "goofy" and "silly" nature of the song, with comparisons made between "Golden Retriever" and both the Doctor Who theme music
Doctor Who theme music
The Doctor Who theme is a piece of music composed by Ron Grainer and realised by Delia Derbyshire at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Created in 1963, it was one of the first electronic music signature tunes for television and after nearly five decades remains one of the most easily...
and The KLF
The KLF
The KLF were one of the seminal bands of the British acid house movement during the late 1980s and early 1990s....
's "Doctorin' the Tardis". Some criticism was leveled at the song for being "too Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
friendly" and for simply being "more of the same" from the band. In a 2006 feature on the Super Furry Animals' back catalogue Incendiary Magazine went as far as to call the track "hogwash".
Accolades
| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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... |
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... |
Singles of 2003 NME single of the year Every December, British music magazine NME compiles a list of what it considers the best single or track of the year. It was started in 1975. The list is usually published in one of the issues sold before Christmas – in 2006 it was published in the issue for December 9... |
2003 | 20 |
Music video
The music video was directed by Jake & Jim and grew from an idea the band had to record a video in IcelandIceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
at the start of 2003 which didn't come off. The video begins with a close up of a cardboard box featuring a logo of two apples with the title 'Golden'. The band is shown playing along to "Golden Retriever" inside the box with Gruff Rhys
Gruff Rhys
Gruffydd Maredudd Bowen Rhys is a Welsh musician, performing solo and with several bands, including Super Furry Animals who obtained mainstream success in the 1990s. He also most recently formed the electro-pop outfit Neon Neon with Boom Bip. Their album Stainless Style was nominated for the 2008...
wearing a red sports visor
Visor
A visor is a surface that protects the eyes, such as shading them from the sun or other bright light or protecting them from objects....
. Bassist
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
Guto Pryce
Guto Pryce
Guto Dafydd Pryce is a bass guitar player in the band Super Furry Animals.The name Guto is pronounced in Welsh....
and keyboardist
Musical keyboard
A musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument, particularly the piano. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, shorter keys that repeats at the...
Cian Ciaran
Cian Ciaran
Cian Ciaran is the keyboard player in the band, Super Furry Animals.Ciaran is the brother of Dafydd Ieuan . He plays keyboards, electronics and occasional guitar, drums, steel drum and vocals...
are both sat on settees
Couch
A couch, also called a sofa, is an item of furniture designed to seat more than one person, and providing support for the back and arms. Typically, it will have an armrest on either side. In homes couches are normally found in the family room, living room, den or the lounge...
with guitars on their laps which they are not playing. As the chorus begins the band transform into yeti
Yeti
The Yeti or Abominable Snowman is an ape-like cryptid said to inhabit the Himalayan region of Nepal, and Tibet. The names Yeti and Meh-Teh are commonly used by the people indigenous to the region, and are part of their history and mythology...
s and all begin playing "Golden Retriever", several members headbanging
Headbanging
Headbanging is a type of dance which involves violently shaking the head in time with the music, most commonly in the rock and heavy metal music genres.-Origin:The term "headbanger" was coined during Led Zeppelin's first US tour in 1969...
in time with the track. The group wear their regular clothes for the second verse before the yeti costumes reappear for the second chorus. As the video ends the camera zooms out to show a Golden Retriever
Golden Retriever
The Golden Retriever is a medium-sized breed of dog. They were historically developed as gundogs to retrieve shot waterfowl such as ducks and upland game birds during hunting and shooting parties. As such, they were bred to have a soft mouth to retrieve game undamaged and have an instinctive love...
approach the box in an alleyway. The Super Furries raise their hands in the air and look up at the dog who then urinates on the box and runs away.
In an interview with BBC Manchester
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...
, drummer
Drum kit
A 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 ....
Dafydd Ieuan
Dafydd Ieuan
Dafydd Ieuan is the drummer with the band, Super Furry Animals and The Peth. He currently lives in Cardiff with his wife Debbie, and their two children Cai and Lleucu....
stated that, although he finds the video fun to watch, it was hard work to make because the yeti costumes were very heavy and incredibly hot. The band took the suits on tour with them but only wore them for "the last two minutes" of concerts because they were so warm. The video appears on the DVD release of the band's greatest hits album Songbook: The Singles, Vol. 1
Songbook: The Singles, Vol. 1
Songbook: The Singles, Vol. 1 collects all of the Super Furry Animals singles released between 1996 and 2004 as well as B-side "Blerwytirhwng?" . Songbook... was released in the UK in October 2004, debuting at #18 on the UK album charts...
.
Single track listing
All songs by Super Furry Animals.- DigipakDigipakDigipak is a patented style of CD, DVD or BD packaging, and is a registered trademark of AGI World Ltd., an Atlas Holdings company.-Features:...
CD (6739062), 7" (6739067)- "Golden Retriever" – 2:28
- "Summer Snow" – 2:30
- "Blue Fruit" – 4:43
- DVD (6739069)
- "Golden Retriever (Video)" – 2:28
- "Summer Snow" – 2:30
- "Blue Fruit" – 4:43
Personnel
- Gruff RhysGruff RhysGruffydd Maredudd Bowen Rhys is a Welsh musician, performing solo and with several bands, including Super Furry Animals who obtained mainstream success in the 1990s. He also most recently formed the electro-pop outfit Neon Neon with Boom Bip. Their album Stainless Style was nominated for the 2008...
– vocals - Huw BunfordHuw BunfordHuw "Bunf" Bunford is the guitarist in the rock band, Super Furry Animals.-Biography:...
– 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... - Guto PryceGuto PryceGuto Dafydd Pryce is a bass guitar player in the band Super Furry Animals.The name Guto is pronounced in Welsh....
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Cian CiaranCian CiaranCian Ciaran is the keyboard player in the band, Super Furry Animals.Ciaran is the brother of Dafydd Ieuan . He plays keyboards, electronics and occasional guitar, drums, steel drum and vocals...
– keyboards - Dafydd IeuanDafydd IeuanDafydd Ieuan is the drummer with the band, Super Furry Animals and The Peth. He currently lives in Cardiff with his wife Debbie, and their two children Cai and Lleucu....
– 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 .... - Rachel Thomas – backing vocals
Singles chart positions
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Ireland Ireland Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth... Singles Chart |
38 |
| 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 ... |
13 |