Tighten Up (The Black Keys song)
Encyclopedia
"Tighten Up" is the first single from The Black Keys
album, Brothers
, released on May 18, 2010. Dan Auerbach
told The Sun
how this song came about: "That was the last song we did for the record. We had a couple of days off and so did Brian (Danger Mouse
) and since we are friends and like hanging out with each other we thought it would be fun to go into the studio and see if we could come up with a tune. We always have a blast when the three of us get together." "Tighten Up" has been licensed to appear in the video game FIFA 11
, the music video game Rocksmith
, the television program Gossip Girl
, a Subaru
commercial, and the films I Am Number Four
and Bad Teacher
. The song has become the most successful Black Keys single in the United States, being their first charting song and reaching number one on the Alternative Songs and Rock Songs charts.
The official music video was released on May 18, 2010. It shows Auerbach and his fictional son walking to the park. Auerbach sits next to Carney on a bench while their fictional sons play with toy trucks. Auerbach's son looks up on the playground to see a little girl, after which he starts to lip sync to the song. He climbs up on the playground and goes in to kiss her but then he opens his eyes to realize Carney's son has lured her away. After he attempts to kiss her, Auerbach's son begins to fight with Carney's son. After Auerbach and Carney attempt to break the fight up in vain, they see the mother of the girl (played by Carlotta Bosch) and begin to fight like their sons. They hit each other using mostly Carney's drumset and after the woman sees them fighting, she walks away. Their sons come to them looking at them with disappointment.
The official music video appears on Pitchfork
's top music videos of 2010.
. It re-entered at #87 on the week ending January 22, 2011. The single also achieved early success on rock
radio, hitting #1 on both the Alternative Songs chart (for ten weeks) and the Rock Songs
chart (for twelve weeks).
Additional musicians
Technical personnel
The Black Keys
The Black Keys are an American rock duo consisting of vocalist/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer/producer Patrick Carney. The band was formed in Akron, Ohio, in 2001. As of October 2011, the band has sold over 2 million albums in the U.S....
album, Brothers
Brothers (The Black Keys album)
Brothers is the sixth album and Grammy Award-winner of Best Alternative Music Album by American blues-rock duo, The Black Keys. The album was announced on March 2, 2010 by Pitchfork Media and became the band's third release from Nonesuch Records on May 18, 2010...
, released on May 18, 2010. Dan Auerbach
Dan Auerbach
Daniel Quine Auerbach is an American musician. A multi-instrumentalist, he is best known as the guitarist and vocalist for The Black Keys, a blues rock band from Akron, Ohio. He is married to Stephanie Gonis, with whom he has a daughter, Sadie Little Auerbach, born in 2008.- Childhood and early...
told The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
how this song came about: "That was the last song we did for the record. We had a couple of days off and so did Brian (Danger Mouse
Danger Mouse
Brian Joseph Burton , better known by his stage name Danger Mouse, is an American musician, songwriter and producer. He came to prominence in 2004 when he released The Grey Album, which combined vocal performances from Jay-Z's The Black Album with instrumentals from The Beatles' White Album.He...
) and since we are friends and like hanging out with each other we thought it would be fun to go into the studio and see if we could come up with a tune. We always have a blast when the three of us get together." "Tighten Up" has been licensed to appear in the video game FIFA 11
FIFA 11
FIFA 11 is the 18th title in Electronic Arts' FIFA series of football video games. Developed by EA Canada, it was published by Electronic Arts worldwide under the EA Sports label...
, the music video game Rocksmith
Rocksmith
Rocksmith is a music video game produced by Ubisoft similar to Guitar Hero, Rock Band, Power Gig: Rise of the SixString and Offbeat Guitarist, and based on the technology in Guitar Rising. The game's main focus is the unique feature that allows players to plug in virtually any electric guitar and...
, the television program Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl is an American young adult novel series written by Cecily von Ziegesar and published by Little, Brown and Company, a subsidiary of the Hachette Group. The series revolves around the lives and romances of the privileged teenagers at the Constance Billard School for Girls, an elite...
, a Subaru
Subaru
; is the automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate Fuji Heavy Industries .Subaru is internationally known for their use of the boxer engine layout popularized in cars by the Volkswagen Beetle and Porsche 911, in most of their vehicles above 1500 cc as well as...
commercial, and the films I Am Number Four
I Am Number Four
I Am Number Four is a 2011 American teen action science fiction film, directed by D. J. Caruso, starring Alex Pettyfer, Dianna Agron, Timothy Olyphant, Teresa Palmer, Kevin Durand, and Callan McAuliffe...
and Bad Teacher
Bad Teacher
Bad Teacher is a 2011 comedy film directed by Jake Kasdan based on a screenplay by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, and starring Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, and Jason Segel...
. The song has become the most successful Black Keys single in the United States, being their first charting song and reaching number one on the Alternative Songs and Rock Songs charts.
Music video
The original music video for the song was a low budget clip starring a puppet dinosaur named Frank who is standing beside a plant. The video shows him dancing and miming the words a little, whilst subtitles go on explaining different facts about the video, the band, and Frank; e.g. "Frank has a profile on eharmony.com..." "He is a puppet, not a real dinosaur." This goes along the same direction of using sort of "obvious" or "simple" ways to say things like the album cover does; e.g. "This is a song by the Black Keys", "It's from an album called Brothers", etc.The official music video was released on May 18, 2010. It shows Auerbach and his fictional son walking to the park. Auerbach sits next to Carney on a bench while their fictional sons play with toy trucks. Auerbach's son looks up on the playground to see a little girl, after which he starts to lip sync to the song. He climbs up on the playground and goes in to kiss her but then he opens his eyes to realize Carney's son has lured her away. After he attempts to kiss her, Auerbach's son begins to fight with Carney's son. After Auerbach and Carney attempt to break the fight up in vain, they see the mother of the girl (played by Carlotta Bosch) and begin to fight like their sons. They hit each other using mostly Carney's drumset and after the woman sees them fighting, she walks away. Their sons come to them looking at them with disappointment.
The official music video appears on Pitchfork
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 music videos of 2010.
Chart positions
On the week ending November 6, 2010, "Tighten Up" debuted at #93 on the Billboard Hot 100Billboard 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...
. It re-entered at #87 on the week ending January 22, 2011. The single also achieved early success on rock
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...
radio, hitting #1 on both the Alternative Songs chart (for ten weeks) and the 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...
chart (for twelve weeks).
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| 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) |
1 |
Track listing
All songs written by The Black Keys.- "Tighten Up" – 3:30
- "Howlin' for You" – 3:11
Personnel
The Black Keys- Dan AuerbachDan AuerbachDaniel Quine Auerbach is an American musician. A multi-instrumentalist, he is best known as the guitarist and vocalist for The Black Keys, a blues rock band from Akron, Ohio. He is married to Stephanie Gonis, with whom he has a daughter, Sadie Little Auerbach, born in 2008.- Childhood and early...
– 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...
s, 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...
, keyboardsKeyboard 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...
, productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
on "Howlin' for You" - Patrick CarneyPatrick CarneyPatrick J. Carney is a multi-instrumentalist best known as the drummer for The Black Keys, a blues-rock band from Akron, Ohio...
– 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 ....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, production on "Howlin' for You"
Additional musicians
- Nicole WrayNicole WrayNicole Monique Wray, also known as simply Nicole, is an American R&B and hip hop singer. Her 1998 debut single, "Make It Hot"—written and produced by Timbaland and co-written by and featuring Missy Elliott—was certified gold.-Musical career:...
– backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
on "Howlin' for You"
Technical personnel
- Tchad BlakeTchad BlakeTchad Blake is an American record producer, audio engineer, mixer and musician.He has worked with numerous artists and musicians, including State Radio, Apartment 26, Elvis Costello, Peter Gabriel, Pearl Jam, Tom Waits, Richard Thompson, Brazilian Girls, Sheryl Crow, November 2nd, Travis, Marike...
– mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may... - Danger MouseDanger MouseBrian Joseph Burton , better known by his stage name Danger Mouse, is an American musician, songwriter and producer. He came to prominence in 2004 when he released The Grey Album, which combined vocal performances from Jay-Z's The Black Album with instrumentals from The Beatles' White Album.He...
at The Bunker, Brooklyn, NY – production - Brian Lucey at Magic Garden Mastering – masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
- Mark Neil at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio – engineeringAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
and production on "Howlin' for You" - Kennie Takahashi – engineering on "Tighten Up"