We Need a Resolution
Encyclopedia
"We Need a Resolution" is an R&B
/electro hop song written by Steve "Static" Garrett
and Tim "Timbaland" Mosley
for Aaliyah
's self-titled third studio album, Aaliyah
(2001). It was produced by Timbaland and released as the album's lead single and Aaliyah's first single released in the new millennium during the second and third quarter of 2001 (see 2001 in music
).
The song was a moderate success internationally. "We Need a Resolution" reached the top 20 of the UK Singles Chart
and the top 30 in Canada
. In October 2011, NME
placed it at number 119 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".
The UK single's cover features the somewhat popular cartoon version of Aaliyah that once appeared on a promotional commercial for the album, while the US CD single's cover features a close up of Aaliyah from a promo shot of the music video.
It uses a clarinet sample from John Ottman
's "Tricks of the Trade". While this particular part of the song is in 10/8 time signature
, Timbaland used quantization
to make the "We Need a Resolution" beat completely in 4/4.
US CD and 12" single
UK 12" single
US 7" single
from April 6-8, 2001 and premiered on BET's
106 & Park
and MTV
's TRL
on April 26, 2001.
The video opens with Aaliyah sitting in a dark room in a black dress and also appearing on a TV screen performing the first verse. Leading up to the chorus she can be seen laying on a glass bed with headphones on.
During the second verse and the next chorus Aaliyah is in a scene with a snake around her neck in a snake pit
. As Timbaland's rap verse begins he can be seen in a dark room wearing shades. Aaliyah performs a dance routine with other dancers during Timbaland's verse. The video closes with Aaliyah in the dark bedroom scene again and Aaliyah with one of the male dancers.
The video placed at #77 on the BET: Notarized top 100 videos of 2001, and at #30 on MTV
's top 50 videos of 2001.
On MTV Germany, the video was one of the most played videos of the year 2001. It ranked in the top 100 of the year-end chart.
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
/electro hop song written by Steve "Static" Garrett
Static Major
Stephen Ellis Garrett also known as Static Major, was a Grammy Award-Winning American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer from Louisville, Kentucky. He was a member of the R&B trio Playa. Static Major gained posthumous fame for appearing on Lil Wayne's 2008 album Tha Carter III on the...
and Tim "Timbaland" Mosley
Timbaland
Timothy Zachery Mosley , better known by his stage name Timbaland, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper....
for Aaliyah
Aaliyah
Aaliyah Dana Haughton , who performed under the mononym Aaliyah , was an American R&B recording artist, actress and model. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in Detroit, Michigan. At the age of 10, she appeared on the television show Star Search and performed in concert alongside...
's self-titled third studio album, Aaliyah
Aaliyah (album)
Aaliyah is the self-titled third and final studio album by American R&B singer Aaliyah, released by Blackground and Virgin Records on July 17, 2001, in the United States...
(2001). It was produced by Timbaland and released as the album's lead single and Aaliyah's first single released in the new millennium during the second and third quarter of 2001 (see 2001 in music
2001 in music
See also:* 2001 in music Record labels established in 2001-Events:*January 1**Comeback of Guns N' Roses in House of Blues**Hum disbands.*January 17 – Bass player Jason Newsted leaves Metallica after 14 years with the band....
).
The song was a moderate success internationally. "We Need a Resolution" reached the top 20 of 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 ...
and the top 30 in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. In October 2011, 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...
placed it at number 119 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".
The UK single's cover features the somewhat popular cartoon version of Aaliyah that once appeared on a promotional commercial for the album, while the US CD single's cover features a close up of Aaliyah from a promo shot of the music video.
Background
In a 2001 interview, Aaliyah explains the background towards choosing the song as the lead single:
"This song is very smooth, but yet it's not a ballad, but it's not your.. um... average up tempo, so I thought it was a really smooth way to make an entrance back into music, with my studio album."
"It's written by Static, and on this album I wanted to speak about relationships and all kinds of relationships. Good ones, bad ones or what have you, and that song speaks of our relationship that's kind of.. in the middle, you know what I mean. It's not, either or, really, it's just at a point where they're not communicating, they have problems and they want to resolve them, then, what's actually cool about it is, not all the time, do you actually come to a resolution, you know what I mean. And at the end of the song, they don't really, they really don't resolve anything, so, and that happens in life, so that really what that songs about."
It uses a clarinet sample from John Ottman
John Ottman
John Ottman is an American film editor, composer and director.He is best known for his collaborations with film director Bryan Singer, acting as film editor and composing the scores for The Usual Suspects, Apt Pupil, X2: X-Men United, Superman Returns and most recently...
's "Tricks of the Trade". While this particular part of the song is in 10/8 time signature
Time signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
, Timbaland used quantization
Quantization (sound processing)
In signal processing and digital audio, quantization is the process of approximating a continuous range of values by a relatively small set of discrete symbols or integer values...
to make the "We Need a Resolution" beat completely in 4/4.
Track listing
UK CD single- "We Need a Resolution" (album version featuring Timbaland) - 4:03
- "Messed Up" (UK non-album track) - 3:37
- "Are You Feelin' Me?" (from Romeo Must DieRomeo Must DieRomeo Must Die is a 2000 martial arts film directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak. Starring Jet Li, Aaliyah, Anthony Anderson, Delroy Lindo, Isaiah Washington, Russell Wong, and features action and fight choreography by Corey Yuen...
) - 3:11 - "We Need a Resolution" (enhanced video) - 4:04
US CD and 12" single
- "We Need a Resolution" (album version featuring Timbaland) - 4:02
- "We Need a Resolution" (no rap version) - 3:54
- "We Need a Resolution" (instrumental) - 4:02
- "We Need a Resolution" (a cappella featuring Timbaland) - 4:04
UK 12" single
- "We Need a Resolution" (album version featuring Timbaland) - 4:02
- "We Need a Resolution" (instrumental) - 4:02
- "Messed Up" (UK non-album track) - 3:37
US 7" single
- "We Need a Resolution" (album version featuring Timbaland) - 4:03
- "We Need a Resolution" (instrumental) - 4:03
Music video
The music video for the song was directed by Paul HunterPaul Hunter (director)
Paul Hunter is a music video director known for his high-budget, visually distinctive videos for popular music singles. He has directed over 100 music videos, many television advertisements and was nominated for an Emmy for Nike's Freestyle commercial...
from April 6-8, 2001 and premiered on BET's
Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television is an American, Viacom-owned cable network based in Washington, D.C.. Currently viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide, it is the most prominent television network targeting young Black-American audiences. The network was launched on January 25, 1980, by its...
106 & Park
106 & Park
106 & Park is a Top Ten Hip-Hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that airs weekdays at 6:00 PM on BET . Since its inception, it was the network's #1 rated show...
and 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....
's TRL
Total Request Live
Total Request Live is a television series on MTV that featured popular music videos. TRL was MTV's prime outlet for music videos as the network continues to concentrate on reality-based programming. In addition to music videos, TRL featured daily guests...
on April 26, 2001.
The video opens with Aaliyah sitting in a dark room in a black dress and also appearing on a TV screen performing the first verse. Leading up to the chorus she can be seen laying on a glass bed with headphones on.
During the second verse and the next chorus Aaliyah is in a scene with a snake around her neck in a snake pit
Snake pit
Snake pits are places of horror, torture and even death in European legends and fairy tales. The Viking warlord Ragnar Lodbrok is said to have been thrown into a snake pit and died there, after his army had been defeated in battle by King Aelle II of Northumbria...
. As Timbaland's rap verse begins he can be seen in a dark room wearing shades. Aaliyah performs a dance routine with other dancers during Timbaland's verse. The video closes with Aaliyah in the dark bedroom scene again and Aaliyah with one of the male dancers.
The video placed at #77 on the BET: Notarized top 100 videos of 2001, and at #30 on 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....
's top 50 videos of 2001.
On MTV Germany, the video was one of the most played videos of the year 2001. It ranked in the top 100 of the year-end chart.
Charts
| Chart (2001) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 44 |
| Belgian Singles Chart | 47 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 37 |
| French Singles Chart | 53 |
| 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... |
71 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 46 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 56 |
| Tokio Hot 100 | 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 ... |
20 |
| 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... |
59 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Airplay | 50 |
| U.S. Billboard Latin Tropical/Salsa Airplay | 31 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
15 |
| U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 Rhythmic Airplay Chart The Rhythmic Airplay Chart is an airplay chart that is featured weekly in Billboard Magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on Rhythmic stations, whose playlist includes mostly hit-driven R&B/Hip-Hop, Rhythmic pop, and some Dance tracks... |
38 |