Storytime
Encyclopedia
"Storytime" is a song from the Finnish symphonic metal
band Nightwish
's seventh studio album Imaginaerum, as well as the first single
from the album. It was released on November 9, 2011, twenty days prior to the album, along with a music video
. The song premiered on Radio Rock
, a Finnish radio station at 9.00 GMT +2 on November 7, 2011, two days before its commercial release.
Composer and band leader Tuomas Holopainen
has said of Storytime that it "is a single that pretty well represent the whole album", and that it give a better picture of the album than "Eva
" and "Amaranth
" did as the first two singles to the 2007 album Dark Passion Play
.
. On October 26, the first content from the song and video was released in a 50-second teaser video on YouTube
.
The single was released as a CD, download and as a video
through YouTube on November 9, and the day after, Holopainen featured in a YouTube video talking about the video and the background of the song. After a mere week, the band announced that the single was topping the Finnish single chart. On November 18, the lyrics to the song were released in a YouTube video and on the band's website.
has said that "Storytime" is inspired by the 1982 movie The Snowman
, the theme of which
was previously covered by Nightwish for their Oceanborn
album. The idea for the music of "Storytime" was born when Holopainen wondered why no-one had made a remake of the film, and pondered on what his version of the score to the scene in which "Walking in the Air
" plays would sound like.
In a teaser text released prior to the release, Holopainen summarized the song:
The lyrics references several classical pieces of fiction concerning imagination, including the character of Peter Pan
, created by J. M. Barrie
and "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
" by Lewis Carroll
. The lyrics also mention the mythical Gaia
, the Greek primordial Earth goddess
to "Storytime" features the radio version of the song, which is one and a half minute shorter than the album version. The video shows the band playing the song in the suits they wear in the Imaginaerum film, and with characters from the film briefly shown throughout the video. The video cuts between this movie-like scene and footage of the band dressing up, and behind-the-scene footage from the making of the film.
After having done "a few grand fantasy videos" like "Amaranth
" and "The Islander
", the production team wanted a more down-to-earth video, a making-of clip, which would be "pretty interesting to watch for the fans, even a couple of times."
. The cover art was done by Janne "Toxic Angel" Pitkänen, who had previously done the cover art to both Dark Passion Play
(2007) and Imaginaerum, as well as all single covers since "Eva
". The cover features a book with the emblem from the song "The Crow, the Owl and the Dove" and the text "Storytime" on the side. The book stand beside the roller coaster
seen on the Imaginaerum cover, and the background has a winter
theme to reflect the lyrical content. It is the first single since "Sleeping Sun
" to feature the title of the song in another font than Nightwish's traditional.
Symphonic metal
Symphonic metal is a term used to describe heavy metal music that has symphonic elements; that is, elements that are either borrowed from classical music or, as with progressive rock music, create a style reminiscent of it, e.g...
band Nightwish
Nightwish
Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee, Finland. Formed in 1996 by songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former vocalist Tarja Turunen, Nightwish's current line-up has five members, although Tarja has been replaced by Anette Olzon and the...
's seventh studio album Imaginaerum, as well as 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...
from the album. It was released on November 9, 2011, twenty days prior to the album, along with a music video
Music 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...
. The song premiered on Radio Rock
Radio Rock
Radio Rock is a Finnish rock music radio station, owned by Nelonen Media, a part of the media group Sanoma.Radio Rock's broadcasting began on January 1, 2007, at 0.00, with the official spoken programs beginning on January 15, 2007. The first song that the station played was Metallica - Master of...
, a Finnish radio station at 9.00 GMT +2 on November 7, 2011, two days before its commercial release.
Composer and band leader Tuomas Holopainen
Tuomas Holopainen
Tuomas Lauri Johannes Holopainen is a Finnish composer known best for symphonic metal music. He has also studied jazz and classical styles, but prefers to be influenced by harmonic film music....
has said of Storytime that it "is a single that pretty well represent the whole album", and that it give a better picture of the album than "Eva
Eva (song)
-Personnel:*Anette Olzon - lead vocals*Tuomas Holopainen - keyboards*Erno Vuorinen - lead guitar*Jukka Nevalainen - drums*Marco Hietala - bass...
" and "Amaranth
Amaranth (song)
-Charts performance:"Amaranth" is Nightwish's most successful single reaching number 1 in Spain, Hungary, Norway and Finland. It went straight to number one in Finland and stayed at number 1 for 3 weeks, dropping to number 2 in its fourth week on the chart. "Amaranth" then returned to the top spot...
" did as the first two singles to the 2007 album Dark Passion Play
Dark Passion Play
Dark Passion Play is the sixth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released on 26 September, 2007 in Finland, 28 September in Europe and 2 October 2007 in the United States. It was the first Nightwish album with the band's current lead singer, Anette Olzon, and the first album...
.
Background
The song was revealed as the first single and music video, to be released on November 11, in early September 2011. A week later, the band released the Imaginaerum cover, tracklist and commentary on each song written by Holopainen, including the first clues concerning the song, hinting on references to yuletide and The SnowmanThe Snowman
The Snowman is a children's book by English author Raymond Briggs, published in 1978. In 1982, this book was turned into a 26-minute animated movie by Dianne Jackson for the fledgling Channel 4. It was first shown on Channel 4 late on Christmas Eve in 1982 and was an immediate success. The film was...
. On October 26, the first content from the song and video was released in a 50-second teaser video on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
.
The single was released as a CD, download and as a video
Music 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...
through YouTube on November 9, and the day after, Holopainen featured in a YouTube video talking about the video and the background of the song. After a mere week, the band announced that the single was topping the Finnish single chart. On November 18, the lyrics to the song were released in a YouTube video and on the band's website.
Musical and lyrical content
Composer and lyricist of the song, Tuomas HolopainenTuomas Holopainen
Tuomas Lauri Johannes Holopainen is a Finnish composer known best for symphonic metal music. He has also studied jazz and classical styles, but prefers to be influenced by harmonic film music....
has said that "Storytime" is inspired by the 1982 movie The Snowman
The Snowman
The Snowman is a children's book by English author Raymond Briggs, published in 1978. In 1982, this book was turned into a 26-minute animated movie by Dianne Jackson for the fledgling Channel 4. It was first shown on Channel 4 late on Christmas Eve in 1982 and was an immediate success. The film was...
, the theme of which
Walking in the Air
"Walking in the Air" is a song written by Howard Blake for the 1982 animated film of Raymond Briggs' 1978 children's book The Snowman. In the film the song was performed by St Paul's Cathedral choirboy Peter Auty...
was previously covered by Nightwish for their Oceanborn
Oceanborn
-Personnel:Credits for Oceanborn adapted from liner notes.The band*Tarja Turunen - Vocals*Tuomas Holopainen - Keyboards*Emppu Vuorinen - Lead guitar*Sami Vänskä - Bass guitar*Jukka Nevalainen - Drums and PercussionMain Crew...
album. The idea for the music of "Storytime" was born when Holopainen wondered why no-one had made a remake of the film, and pondered on what his version of the score to the scene in which "Walking in the Air
Walking in the Air
"Walking in the Air" is a song written by Howard Blake for the 1982 animated film of Raymond Briggs' 1978 children's book The Snowman. In the film the song was performed by St Paul's Cathedral choirboy Peter Auty...
" plays would sound like.
In a teaser text released prior to the release, Holopainen summarized the song:
- "How would it feel to take a midnight flight with a snowman through the most wondrous landscapes, like in the classic animated Yuletide film? The meaning of our very existence is created though stories, tales and imagination. They are at the very core of humanity."
The lyrics references several classical pieces of fiction concerning imagination, including the character of Peter Pan
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie . A mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with...
, created by J. M. Barrie
J. M. Barrie
Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM was a Scottish author and dramatist, best remembered today as the creator of Peter Pan. The child of a family of small-town weavers, he was educated in Scotland. He moved to London, where he developed a career as a novelist and playwright...
and "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is an 1865 novel written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. It tells of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures...
" by Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
. The lyrics also mention the mythical Gaia
Gaia (mythology)
Gaia was the primordial Earth-goddess in ancient Greek religion. Gaia was the great mother of all: the heavenly gods and Titans were descended from her union with Uranus , the sea-gods from her union with Pontus , the Giants from her mating with Tartarus and mortal creatures were sprung or born...
, the Greek primordial Earth goddess
Protogenoi
In Greek mythology the Prôtogenoi are a genealogy of primordial Greek gods, the name literally means "first born" or "primeval" and are a group of deities born in the beginning of the universe....
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...
to "Storytime" features the radio version of the song, which is one and a half minute shorter than the album version. The video shows the band playing the song in the suits they wear in the Imaginaerum film, and with characters from the film briefly shown throughout the video. The video cuts between this movie-like scene and footage of the band dressing up, and behind-the-scene footage from the making of the film.
After having done "a few grand fantasy videos" like "Amaranth
Amaranth (song)
-Charts performance:"Amaranth" is Nightwish's most successful single reaching number 1 in Spain, Hungary, Norway and Finland. It went straight to number one in Finland and stayed at number 1 for 3 weeks, dropping to number 2 in its fourth week on the chart. "Amaranth" then returned to the top spot...
" and "The Islander
The Islander (song)
-Chart performance:"The Islander" went straight to #1 in Finland on the first day of its release. Recently, Nightwish have had major success in Spain and "The Islander" reached #5 in the Spanish Singles Chart, continuing a run of Top 5 singles from Dark Passion Play.-Personnel:*Marco Hietala – Male...
", the production team wanted a more down-to-earth video, a making-of clip, which would be "pretty interesting to watch for the fans, even a couple of times."
Packaging
"Storytime" was released simultaneously as a CD, as a download and as a YouTube 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...
. The cover art was done by Janne "Toxic Angel" Pitkänen, who had previously done the cover art to both Dark Passion Play
Dark Passion Play
Dark Passion Play is the sixth studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released on 26 September, 2007 in Finland, 28 September in Europe and 2 October 2007 in the United States. It was the first Nightwish album with the band's current lead singer, Anette Olzon, and the first album...
(2007) and Imaginaerum, as well as all single covers since "Eva
Eva (song)
-Personnel:*Anette Olzon - lead vocals*Tuomas Holopainen - keyboards*Erno Vuorinen - lead guitar*Jukka Nevalainen - drums*Marco Hietala - bass...
". The cover features a book with the emblem from the song "The Crow, the Owl and the Dove" and the text "Storytime" on the side. The book stand beside the roller coaster
Roller coaster
The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...
seen on the Imaginaerum cover, and the background has a winter
Winter
Winter is the coldest season of the year in temperate climates, between autumn and spring. At the winter solstice, the days are shortest and the nights are longest, with days lengthening as the season progresses after the solstice.-Meteorology:...
theme to reflect the lyrical content. It is the first single since "Sleeping Sun
Sleeping Sun
"Sleeping Sun" is a power ballad by Nightwish. The song was written by Tuomas Holopainen and dedicated to the solar eclipse that arose on the European sky in 1999, and recorded during the Oceanborn sessions...
" to feature the title of the song in another font than Nightwish's traditional.
Track listing
The track listing was revealed on the website of Nightwish's official fanshop on September 2, as the pre-sales began.Charts
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Top 40 Singles 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... |
57 |
| Finnish Singles Chart | 1 |
| 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... |
39 |
| Hungarian Singles Chart Mahasz Mahasz is the Hungarian music industry association, founded in 1992. Mahasz hands out the Hungarian Music Awards and maintains the music charts for Hungary.... |
2 |
| Swiss Top 100 Singles Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
31 |
| UK Rock Chart | 5 |
| Spanish Physical Singles PROMUSICAE Spanish Music Producers is a trade group representing the Spanish recording industry... |
2 |