"Stray Heart" is a song by American rock band Green Day. It is the seventh track on their tenth studio album, ¡Dos! (2012), and was released as the only single from the album in Europe and Australia on October 15, 2012. It is also the fourth single from the ¡Uno!, ¡Dos! & ¡Tré! trilogy. The song is swapped on the vinyl version of ¡Dos! with the song "Drama Queen" from ¡Tré!, due to the records being printed before the switch, meaning "Drama Queen" appears on both ¡Dos! and ¡Tré!, and that "Stray Heart" never saw a release on vinyl.
| "Stray Heart" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Green Day | ||||
| from the album ¡Dos! | ||||
| Released | October 15, 2012 | |||
| Recorded | February 14–June 26, 2012 | |||
| Studio | Jingletown Studios, Oakland, California | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:44 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | ||||
| Green Day singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Stray Heart" on YouTube | ||||
The single was certified gold by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry for downloads exceeding 15,000 units in Italy.[1]
Background and release
edit"Stray Heart" premiered on Idiot Club, Green Day's official fan club, on October 8, 2012 and premiered on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show on the same day.[2] It was then released as the album's lead single on October 15 in the UK.[3] On October 18, it was announced on Idiot Club that fans could go to downtown LA to appear in the music video for the song on October 19.
"Stray Heart" was also played by Foxboro Hot Tubs as both a warm up song and a practice song.
Theme and composition
edit
"Stray Heart" blends the pop punk sound of Green Day with the garage rock sound of their side project Foxboro Hot Tubs.[2][4]
The song has been described as "an amped-up Motown bounce recalling Britpop progenitors The Jam's classic "A Town Called Malice", but with speaker-bursting modern-rock dynamics".[5]
Music video
editOn November 7, 2012, a music video for "Stray Heart" was released. The video starts with a man (Alex Knox) looking for records at a record store and buying some Green Day vinyl including ¡Uno!, ¡Dos! and ¡Tré!, but as he gives the records to his girlfriend (Leven Rambin), she sees a hole in his chest where his heart should be, and she slams the door on him. As the man is walking down the street, he gets strange reactions and sees trails of blood on the pavements. He follows the trail and chases the heart around the town, where he finally gets to it outside the girl's apartment, where she throws the records back at him.[6] The video was directed by Robert Schober (aka RoboShobo).[7]
Artwork
editThe artwork of "Stray Heart" features a white background with little black dots at the sides, "Green Day" and "Stray Heart" are written in capital black letters using the same font. "Green Day" is placed at the top, and "Stray Heart" is written below where "Green Day" is written. Pink lip stain is shown at the right side, while below the lips there are bones crossed in an X-form, colored in black.
Critical reception
editJon Dolan of Rolling Stone rated the song a three and a half out five stars, commenting "It's not their most high-concept experiment, but it's a pretty fun one".[8]
Credits and Personnel
edit- Songwriting: Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, Tré Cool
- Production: Rob Cavallo, Green Day
Chart positions
edit| Chart (2012–13) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[9] | 20 |
| Israel (Media Forest)[10] | 8 |
| South Korea (Gaon Chart)[11] | 23 |
| UK Rock (Official Charts Company)[12] | 16 |
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Italy (FIMI)[13] | Gold | 15,000* |
|
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
edit- ^ "Italian single certifications – Green Day" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 26 August 2013. Select "Tutti gli anni" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Type "Green Day" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
- ^ a b "Green Day: New Single 'Stray Heart' Released | News @". Ultimate-guitar.com. Archived from the original on 2012-11-13. Retrieved 2012-10-25.
- ^ "iTunes - Music - Stray Heart - Single by Green Day". Itunes.apple.com. 2012-10-15. Retrieved 2012-10-25.
- ^ "Green Day Album Trilogy Continues With Release Of '¡Dos!' And New Single 'Stray Heart' - Stereoboard UK". Stereoboard.com. 2012-10-10. Retrieved 2012-10-25.
- ^ Hogan, Marc (2012-10-09). "Green Day Unveil 'Dos' Track List: Hear Britpoppy 'Stray Heart' | SPIN | Newswire". SPIN. Retrieved 2012-10-25.
- ^ "Green Day Display 'Stray Heart' in Latest Video". Loudwire.com. 2012-09-06. Retrieved 2012-11-08.
- ^ "Green Day, 'Stray Heart' – New Video". diffuser.fm. 2012-11-07. Retrieved 2013-04-26..
- ^ Dolan, Joe (October 28, 2012). "Stray Heart | Song Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 9, 2012. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
- ^ "2012-11-18 Green Day Ultratip Discography". Ultratop. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
- ^ "Media Forest Week 02, 2013". Israeli Airplay Chart. Media Forest.
- ^ "South Korea Gaon International Chart (Week: October 28, 2012 to November 3, 2012)". Gaon Chart.
- ^ "2012-11-24 Top 40 Rock & Metal Singles Archive". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2012-11-20.
- ^ "Italian single certifications – Green Day – Stray Heart" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved July 26, 2018. Select "2013" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Type "Stray Heart" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".