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Graveyard Girl

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Graveyard Girl"
Single by M83
from the album Saturdays = Youth
Released28 April 2008 (2008-04-28)
Recorded2007; Rockfield Studios, Wales
Genre
Length4:51
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Ken Thomas (producer)
  • Ewan Pearson
  • Anthony Gonzalez (co-producers)
M83 singles chronology
"Couleurs"
(2008)
"Graveyard Girl"
(2008)
"Kim & Jessie"
(2008)

"Graveyard Girl" is a song by French electronic act M83. Written by Anthony Gonzalez with his brother Yann, it was released in April 2008 as the second single from M83's fifth studio album, Saturdays = Youth.

Background and composition

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Anthony Gonzalez cited English band Tears for Fears and Scottish band Cocteau Twins, as well as John Hughes teen films The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles, as inspirations for Saturdays = Youth.[4][5] A girl resembling Molly Ringwald appears on the album cover, and the lyrics and music video for "Graveyard Girl" further highlight these influences.[6] "I wanted to have the feeling of a teenager mixed with this period of the Eighties," Gonzalez said.[4] The song tells the story of a goth girl Gonzalez once knew who "worships Satan" but "dreams of a sister like Molly Ringwald."[7]

Critical reception

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Spin's Mosi Reeves called "Graveyard Girl" one of the album's "few compelling songs."[8] Dave Hughes of Slant Magazine said the song is "certainly the most typically, successfully pop moment this difficult, often transcendent act has ever produced."[6] Pitchfork's Amy Phillips wrote that "Anthony Gonzalez makes the teen years seem idyllic, a time in life when all emotion is pure and beautiful," and that the song is "melodramatic, overblown, and even a little bit silly. But then again, so is high school."[9] Jer Fairall of PopMatters suggested that on "Graveyard Girl", M83 found "pure pop perfection by dipping into the pool of mid-'80s synth-pop."[1] Treble's Tyler Parks noted: "It is quite possible that no one has ever sung quite so sweetly of someone worshipping Satan."[10]

Accolades

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Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Pitchfork US Top 100 Tracks of 2008[9] 2008 46
PopMatters US Best 50 Singles of 2008[1] 2008 17
Rockdelux Spain Lo Mejor de 2008[11] 2009 40
Treble US Top 50 Songs of 2008[10] 2008 1
The Village Voice US 2008 Pazz & Jop[12] 2008 46

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Graveyard Girl"
  • Anthony Gonzalez
  • Yann Gonzalez
4:51
2."Graveyard Girl" (Yuksek remix)
  • A. Gonzalez
  • Y. Gonzalez
5:13

Other versions and appearances

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A remix by French DJ-producer Yuksek serves as the single's B-side. ParkerLab's Dusted remix appears on M83's We Own the Sky EP, released in 2009.[4] "Graveyard Girl" is used in the 2010 film The Last Song.[13]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "The Best Singles of 2008". PopMatters. 7 December 2008. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  2. ^ Leas, Ryan (13 April 2018). "M83 'Saturdays = Youth' Turns 10". Stereogum. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  3. ^ Reeves, Mosi (April 2008). "M83 - Saturdays = Youth". Spin. Vol. 24, no. 4. SPIN Media LLC. p. 100. ISSN 0886-3032. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Stosuy, Brandon (7 April 2008). "New M83 Video - 'Graveyard Girl'". Stereogum. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  5. ^ Leven, Jeff (15 April 2008). "M83: 'Saturdays = Youth' - Music Reviews". Paste. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  6. ^ a b Hughes, Dave (14 April 2008). "Review: M83, Saturdays=Youth". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  7. ^ Norris, John (24 June 2008). "M83's Anthony Gonzalez Talks 'Saturdays = Youth', His Ode To Teenage Life". MTV. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  8. ^ Reeves, Mosi (April 2008). "Reviews: New CDs". Spin. 24 (4): 100. ISSN 0886-3032.
  9. ^ a b "The 100 Best Tracks of 2008". Pitchfork. 15 December 2008. p. 6. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  10. ^ a b Parks, Tyler (8 December 2008). "The Top 50 Songs of 2008". Treble. p. 5. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  11. ^ "Lo Mejor de 2008". Rockdelux. 1 (269). January 2009. ISSN 1138-2864.
  12. ^ "Pazz & Jop Singles". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on 1 February 2009. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  13. ^ Reynolds, Simon (26 April 2010). "'The Last Song' - Movie Review". Digital Spy. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
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