"Miss Murder" is a song by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band AFI. It was released on April 3, 2006, as the

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

from their seventh studio album ''

Decemberunderground ''Decemberunderground'' is the seventh studio album by American rock band AFI, released on June 6, 2006, through Interscope Records. The album was supported by three singles, " Miss Murder", " Love Like Winter", and " The Missing Frame". Recordi ...

''. It was initially scheduled to premiere on

LIVE 105 KITS (105.3 FM, "Live 105") is a commercial radio station in San Francisco, California. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock radio format known as "Live 105". The studios and offices are co-located with formerly co-owne ...

on April 13, 2006; however, it was released early due to overwhelming fan reaction. "Miss Murder" was released to radio on April 25, 2006. It was released in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

on April 24 and July 29, 2006. It was written by

Davey Havok David Paden Marchand (born David Paden Passaro, November 20, 1975), known professionally as Davey Havok, is an American singer who is the lead vocalist of the Rock music, rock band AFI (band), AFI, the synth-pop band Blaqk Audio, the hardcore pu ...

and produced by Jerry Finn. The song received favorable reviews from music critics, who complimented its musicianship. It is the band's most commercially successful single to date, reaching number 24 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and topping the

Alternative Songs Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-play ...

chart. Internationally, the song was a moderate success, charting within the United Kingdom, Australia and Germany. It won in the category Best Rock Song at the 2006

MTV Video Music Award The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

s and was nominated for the

Kerrang! Award for Best Single The ''Kerrang!'' Award for Best Single is an honor presented at the Kerrang! Awards, ''Kerrang!'' Awards, an annual ceremony established in 1993 to recognise achievements in rock music. The award was renamed 'Best Song' for the 2018 ceremony onwar ...

. An accompanying

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

was directed by

Marc Webb Marc Preston Webb (born August 31, 1974) is an American filmmaker and music video director. He made his feature film directorial debut in 2009 with the romantic comedy '' (500) Days of Summer.'' He then directed ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' (2012 ...

(who has previously directed videos for AFI) and premiered on

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

shortly after the single's release.

Composition

The song originated with guitarist

Jade Puget Jade Errol Puget (born November 28, 1973) is an American musician and producer, best known as the guitarist for the rock band AFI (joined in 1998), the guitarist/writer for the straight edge hardcore band XTRMST, and the keyboardist/synthes ...

playing a bass hook on his guitar and vocalist

coming up with the "Miss Murder" lyric as a throwaway line which ended up sticking. Havok told ''

Kerrang ''Kerrang!'' is a British music webzine and quarterly magazine that primarily covers rock, punk and heavy metal music. Since 2017, the magazine has been published by Wasted Talent Ltd (the same company that owns electronic music publication ...

'': "We beat this song down. We reworked the chorus over and over again, and in some abyss I sang the melody of the chorus with a scratched lyric that went, 'Hey, miss murder, can I?'" Havok was skeptical of the unconventional hook, but

Interscope Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

insisted it should stay as it was. Havok later revealed that he wanted to exclude the song from ''

'', opining that the unreleased "The View from Here" is a better song. There are several popular theories as to the meaning of the song. These include

Satan Satan, also known as the Devil, is a devilish entity in Abrahamic religions who seduces humans into sin (or falsehood). In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for the '' yetzer hara'', or ' ...

's fall from grace,

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

abandoning humanity,

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

's 1890 novel ''

The Picture of Dorian Gray ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' is an 1890 philosophical fiction and Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish writer Oscar Wilde. A shorter novella-length version was published in the July 1890 issue of the American period ...

'' (in which Gray sells his soul to preserve his beauty), or Havok's personal struggle with fame. Havok refuses to confirm or deny any rumors: "I don't necessarily need for people to understand specifically what it means. If they want to take something from it and use it in a personal way, I think that's great. I wouldn’t want to risk destroying that just so someone can get a better understanding of me personally."

Music video

A music video directed by

for the song premiered on television shortly after the track's release. It was filmed at

Los Angeles City Hall Los Angeles City Hall, completed in 1928, is the center of the government of the city of Los Angeles, California, and houses the Mayor of Los Angeles, mayor's office and the meeting chambers and offices of the Los Angeles City Council. It is loca ...

. The music video opens with Davey Havok finding a note, possibly written by Miss Murder. The note features the three black rabbits symbol featured on the cover of ''Decemberunderground''. Havok appears at his desk singing the song, while the band members are shown performing the song in a large room. Havok then appears on a balcony, rallying a chanting crowd below, and unfolds large posters of the band members themselves. During the bridge of the song, black rabbits surround Havok's desk. After he looks down the balcony, the crowd has disappeared and instead sees Miss Murder staring back at him. He returns to his desk where Miss Murder approaches. She places her hand on his shoulder, then he shuts his eyes. The video ends with the black rabbit watching the murder. An extended version of the music video was released afterward, featuring extra footage at the beginning of the video while the introductory track of ''Decemberunderground'', "

Prelude 12/21 "Prelude 12/21" is the first song on AFI's seventh album ''Decemberunderground'', written by Hunter Burgan, Adam Carson, David Paden Marchand, and Jade Puget, released in 2006. The song has a secret beginning if the CD is rewound twenty seconds ...

" is playing. It features Miss Murder writing a note, then consuming the note, which appears in Havok's mouth. The band is shown performing the track as well.

Track listings

US promo single #"Miss Murder" (edit) – 3:18 UK / AU single #"Miss Murder" (edit) – 3:24 #"Don't Change" (

INXS INXS (a phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian rock band, formed as the Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney. The founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboardist Andrew Farriss, drummer Jon Farriss, gu ...

cover) – 3:16 #"Silver and Cold" (live acoustic) – 4:07 #"Miss Murder" (music video) 7" vinyl picture disc #"Miss Murder" – 3:20 #"Don't Change" (INXS cover) – 3:16 10" vinyl picture disc #"Miss Murder" – 3:20 #"Rabbits are Roadkill on Route 37" – 3:51 Promo CDM #"Miss Murder (

VNV Nation VNV Nation, also known as Victory Not Vengeance, are a British-Irish electronic music group formed in London and led by Ronan Harris in the roles of singer, songwriter and producer, with live members being keyboardists Mike Wimer and David Ger ...

remix)" – 6:00 #"Miss Murder (VNV Nation instrumental)" – 6:00 #"Miss Murder (

Broken Spindles Broken Spindles was a band solely consisting of Joel Petersen of Omaha, Nebraska, who also played bass, guitar and keyboards in the Faint. The band's music ranged from instrumental electronic songs to sparse piano pieces to rock-influenced pop ...

remix)" – 4:12 #"Miss Murder (Broken Spindles instrumental)" – 4:12

Official versions

*"Miss Murder" (album version) – 3:27 *"Miss Murder" (edit) – 3:18 *"Miss Murder" (top 40 edit) – 3:05 *"Miss Murder" (

remix) – 6:00 *"Miss Murder" (

instrumental) – 6:00 *"Miss Murder" (

remix) – 4:12 *"Miss Murder" (

instrumental) – 4:12

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

* * {{authority control 2005 songs 2006 singles AFI (band) songs Post-hardcore songs Music videos directed by Marc Webb Interscope Records singles Songs written by Hunter Burgan Songs written by Adam Carson Songs written by Davey Havok Songs written by Jade Puget