Around the World (Daft Punk song)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

"Around the World" is a song by French
electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroa ...
duo Daft Punk. The song was written by the duo and released in April 1997 as the second single from their debut studio album, ''
Homework Homework is a set of tasks assigned to students by their teachers to be completed outside the classroom. Common homework assignments may include required reading, a writing or typing project, mathematical exercises to be completed, informatio ...
'' (1997). It became a major club hit around the world and reached number one on the dance charts in Canada, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It also peaked at number one in Iceland and Italy. The song's only lyrics are "around the world," repeated 144 times. The
music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...
was directed by
Michel Gondry Michel Gondry (; born 8 May 1963) is a French filmmaker noted for his inventive visual style and distinctive manipulation of mise en scène. Along with Charlie Kaufman, he won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay as one of the writers ...
and choreographed by
Blanca Li Blanca Li, originally Blanca María Gutiérrez Ortiz (born January 12, 1964) is a Spanish choreographer, film director, dancer, and actress. She has created choreographies for the Paris Opera Ballet, The Berlin Ballet, the Metropolitan Opera, ...
. In October 2011, ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' placed it at number 21 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".


Composition

The key
hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...
is a steady bassline and a robotic voice singing "around the world" in continuous chains. Daft Punk recalled that the song "was like making a
Chic Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French word. Pronounced Chick. Etymology '' Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English diction ...
record with a
talk box A talk box (also spelled talkbox and talk-box) is an effects unit that allows musicians to modify the sound of a musical instrument by shaping the frequency content of the sound and to apply speech sounds (in the same way as singing) onto the sou ...
and just playing the bass on the synthesizer". The phrase occurs 144 times in the album version and 80 times in the
radio edit In music, a radio edit or radio mix is a modification, typically truncated or censored, intended to make a song more suitable for airplay, whether it be adjusted for length, profanity, subject matter, instrumentation, or form. Radio edits may al ...
. It is composed in the key of
E minor E minor is a minor scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative major is G major and its parallel major is E major. The E natural minor scale is: : Changes needed ...
and a tempo of 121.3 BPM. Upon analysis of the song,
Michel Gondry Michel Gondry (; born 8 May 1963) is a French filmmaker noted for his inventive visual style and distinctive manipulation of mise en scène. Along with Charlie Kaufman, he won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay as one of the writers ...
noted its distinctive structure: "I realized how genius and simple the music was. Only five different instruments, with very few patterns, each to create numerous possibilities of figures. Always using the repetition, and stopping just before it's too much." He also noted the similarity between the bassline of "Around the World" and that of the Chic song " Good Times".'' The Work of Director Michel Gondry'' companion book (2003) In 2017, computer scientist Colin Morris analyzed 15,000 ''Billboard'' Hot 100 hits for repetitiveness, based on
compression algorithm In information theory, data compression, source coding, or bit-rate reduction is the process of encoding information using fewer bits than the original representation. Any particular compression is either lossy or lossless. Lossless compressio ...
s. "Around the World" was found to be the most repetitive of the songs analyzed. A
cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
of "Around the World" was released in 2006 as "Around the World Again" by Nicky Van She and Dangerous Dan. A remix of the
will.i.am William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "Will-I-am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is the founding and lead member of the musical group Black Eyed Peas. ...
song "
I Got It from My Mama "I Got It from My Mama" is a hip hop song by American rapper will.i.am. The uncredited female vocals in the song are from singer Kat Graham. It was released as the lead single from will.i.am's third solo album, '' Songs About Girls''. It's prima ...
" included a sample from "Around the World". Daft Punk did not approve use of the sample, however, and as such subsequently refused will.i.am permission to release the remix. A music video was produced with the sample included, however. A song titled "Around the World" was released by
rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
P.M. that contains a sample of "Around the World".
Señor Coconut Uwe H. Schmidt (born 27 August 1968), also known as Atom™, Atom Heart, or Señor Coconut, is a German composer, musician and producer of electronic music. He is often regarded as the father of electrolatino, electrogospel, and aciton musi ...
released a cover of "Around the World" on his 2008 album, ''Atom™ presents: Around the World with Señor Coconut and his Orchestra''. "Around the World" was featured in one episode of first season of MTV animated series ''
Daria ''Daria'' is an American adult animated sitcom created by Glenn Eichler and Susie Lewis Lynn. The series ran from March 3, 1997, to January 21, 2002, on MTV. It focuses on the title character, Daria Morgendorffer, an intelligent, cynical high ...
''. It was also used in the video games ''
Dance Central 3 ''Dance Central 3'' is the third game in the ''Dance Central'' series. It was revealed at E3 2012 at the Microsoft Conference. It was released on October 16 in the US, Canada and South America and October 19 everywhere else. Gameplay Gameplay has ...
'', ''
NBA 2K13 ''NBA 2K13'' is a 2012 basketball video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K Sports. It was released on September 19, 2012 for the Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Wii and Xbox 360. A versi ...
'' and the trailers for
Ubisoft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Assassin's Creed'', ''Far Cry'', ...
E3 2007 '' Rayman Raving Rabbids 2''.


Critical reception

In a retrospective review, Rayna Khaitan from Albumism noted "all its axon-activating joy". She added further, "Indulgently repetitious, echoing the phrase “around the world” precisely 144 times like some soothing vocoded
mantra A mantra ( Pali: ''manta'') or mantram (मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali and other languages believed by practitioners to have religious, ...
, the song rallies the collective as together we teetered toward the turn of the millennium." Larry Flick from '' Billboard'' wrote that with this "tasty slice of disco/ funk, dynamic electronica outfit Daft Punk looks well positioned to build upon the momentum generated by its recent breakthrough hit, '
Da Funk "Da Funk" is an instrumental track by French electronic music duo Daft Punk, initially released as a single in 1995 and later included on their debut album, ''Homework'' (1997). The song and its accompanying music video directed by Spike Jonze ...
. He noted that the group "does an exemplary job of communicating a hum-along chorus without the aid of a vocalist, opting instead for a stream of caustic key-boards and blippy sound effects". Another American music magazine, ''
Blender A blender (sometimes called a mixer or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary blender consists of a blender container with a rotating me ...
'' put "Around the World" at 172nd place on their list of "500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born" in 2007. They wrote, A writer from ''
Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'' stated that "its simplicity made it one of the most catchy", and also noted the "unforgettable"
music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...
, "with all kinds of creatures frolicking around a colorful stage." Andy Beevers from ''
Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...
s ''RM'' rated "Around the World" five out of five, picking it as Tune of the Week. He added that it "brings together the punchiest of boogie basslines, trademark crunchy beats, chirpy synths and the vocodored up title line that is repeated ad nauseum [sic] just in case you should forget which tune you're listening to."
Tomorrowland Tomorrowland is one of the many themed lands featured at all of the Magic Kingdom styled Disney theme parks around the world owned or licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Each version of the land is different and features numerous attractions t ...
included "Around the World" in their official list of "The Ibiza 500" in 2020.


Accolades

(*) indicates the list is unordered.


Music video

Michel Gondry Michel Gondry (; born 8 May 1963) is a French filmmaker noted for his inventive visual style and distinctive manipulation of mise en scène. Along with Charlie Kaufman, he won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay as one of the writers ...
's
music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...
for the song features five groups of characters on a platform representing a
vinyl record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts nea ...
: four
robot A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may ...
s walking around in a circle; four tall athletes (as described by Gondry) wearing
tracksuit A tracksuit is an article of clothing consisting of two parts: trousers and a jacket usually with front zipper. It was originally intended for use in sports, mainly for athletes to wear over competition clothing (such as running shirt and shorts ...
s with small
prosthetic In medicine, a prosthesis (plural: prostheses; from grc, πρόσθεσις, prósthesis, addition, application, attachment), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through trau ...
heads walking up and down stairs; four women dressed like synchronized swimmers (described by Gondry as "disco girls") moving up and down another set of stairs; four skeletons dancing in the center of the platform; and four
mummies A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furt ...
dancing in time with the song's drum pattern. This is meant to be a visual representation of the song; each group of characters represents a different instrument. According to Gondry's notes, the robots represent the singing voice; the physicality and small-minded rapidity of the athletes symbolizes the ascending/descending bass guitar; the femininity of the disco girls represents the high-pitched keyboard; the skeletons dance to the guitar line; and the mummies represent the drum machine. "Around the World" was Gondry's first attempt at bringing organized dancing to his music videos. "I was sick to see choreography being mistreated in videos like filler with fast cutting and fast editing, really shallow. I don't think choreography should be shot in close-ups.""Around the World"
director-file.com. Retrieved on October 17, 2006.
The sequence, initially developed by Gondry, was further expanded and streamlined by choreographer
Blanca Li Blanca Li, originally Blanca María Gutiérrez Ortiz (born January 12, 1964) is a Spanish choreographer, film director, dancer, and actress. She has created choreographies for the Paris Opera Ballet, The Berlin Ballet, the Metropolitan Opera, ...
. Costumes for the video were designed by Florence Fontaine, the mother of Gondry's son. The flashing lights were operated by the director's brother, Olivier "Twist" Gondry. As Michel Gondry stated, "It all came down to a family affair." Elements of the music video appear in the video for the LCD Soundsystem song "
Daft Punk Is Playing at My House "Daft Punk Is Playing at My House" is the fifth single from LCD Soundsystem, released on February 21, 2005. The accompanying music video paid tongue-in-cheek homage to Spike Jonze's and Michel Gondry's music videos for Daft Punk's "Da Funk" and " ...
". The overall design has also been replicated for the Freemasons' " Rain Down Love" video.


Track listings


Charts and certifications


Original version


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


''Alive 2007'' version


Release history


References


External links

*
"Around the World" music video
at MTV Music
Music Video Making Of
at
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
{{Authority control 1997 singles 1997 songs Daft Punk songs French house songs Music videos directed by Michel Gondry Number-one singles in Iceland Number-one singles in Italy Songs written by Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo Songs written by Thomas Bangalter Virgin Records singles