Northern Downpour
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"Northern Downpour" 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
Panic! at the Disco Panic! at the Disco was an American pop rock band formed in Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2004 by high school friends Ryan Ross (guitar) and Spencer Smith (musician), Spencer Smith (drums), who recruited classmates Brendon Urie (vocals and ...
from their second studio album, ''
Pretty. Odd. ''Pretty. Odd.'' is the second studio album by American pop rock band Panic at the Disco, first released in the Netherlands on March 21, 2008, and released in the US on March 25, 2008 by Decaydance and Fueled by Ramen. Recorded at the Studio ...
'' (2008). The song was released on November 14, 2008, as the fourth and final single from the album. The song was written by guitarist
Ryan Ross George Ryan Ross III (born August 30, 1986) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter best known for his work as the former lead guitarist, backing and lead vocalist, and primary songwriter of the American rock band Panic! at the Disco b ...
and bassist Jon Walker, and was their final single with the band.


Background

The lyrics were based on the band's touring cycle, their girlfriends, and "everything that's been important to us in the past few years." In an interview, Ross noted that "There's a line in the song that goes, 'I know the world's a broken bone, but melt your headaches, call it home.' I told
Brendon Urie Brendon Boyd Urie (born April 12, 1987) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who is best known as the former lead vocalist and frontman of Panic! at the Disco, the only constant member throughout the band's 19-year run. Many of his ...
to pay special attention to that line." He characterized it as the album's "most meaningful" song.


Reception

Sarah Rodman at ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'' wrote that the song "combine trippy imagery and dreamy melodies that pay homage without naked, outright theft." ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' J. Freedom du Lac interpreted the "plaintive ballad" as a reference to
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
' "
A Day in the Life "A Day in the Life" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as the final track of their 1967 album '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. Credited to Lennon–McCartney, the opening and closing sections of the s ...
". Rob Harvilla of ''
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...
'' felt it "actually quite stirring." Andrew Blackie of
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
praised Urie's vocal performance, writing that "he peels off a new timbre to his panting swank entirely, serving an emotionally bare, Robert Smith-esque performance that doesn’t sound like him at all." James Montgomery of
MTV News MTV News was the news production division of MTV. The service was available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network and an online news team. In 2016, MTV refreshed the MTV News brand to compete with the likes of BuzzFeed and ...
ranked it among the best songs of 2008, writing that the song is "genuinely pretty ..and probably the best thing Panic will ever do."


Music video

At the
MTV Video Music Awards 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 ...
on September 7, 2008, the band stated that "Northern Downpour" would be the next single released from ''
Pretty. Odd. ''Pretty. Odd.'' is the second studio album by American pop rock band Panic at the Disco, first released in the Netherlands on March 21, 2008, and released in the US on March 25, 2008 by Decaydance and Fueled by Ramen. Recorded at the Studio ...
'' and that they were working on the concept for the music video. The
black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...
video was directed by Behn Fannin and produced by Refused TV. It was filmed in Los Angeles in late September 2008. The music video, which is in
black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...
and directed by Behn Fannin, begins with
Ryan Ross George Ryan Ross III (born August 30, 1986) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter best known for his work as the former lead guitarist, backing and lead vocalist, and primary songwriter of the American rock band Panic! at the Disco b ...
playing his guitar and someone digging with a spade. The camera zooms out to reveal the band playing the song in a field. Then the lyrics "Fantastic posing greed" are seen painted on a
billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
in the middle of a city, with a man looking up towards it. The lyrics "We should feed our jewelry to the sea" also appear on a billboard. The lyrics "Fabled Foreign Tongues" appear on the front page of a newspaper that a man sitting on a park bench is reading. The lyrics "Northern Downpour" are written on a mirror in a public restroom. Spencer Smith then tapes "Hey moon" onto everybody's car bumper in a parking lot and runs away. Spray cans are then seen being dropped by Ross, who runs around a corner, after having spray-painted the lyrics "I missed your skin when you were east" on a wall, which soon appears on the news with the headline "Strange Graffiti in the Tri-County Area". A news reporter interviews an
eyewitness Eyewitness or eye witness may refer to: Witness * Witness, someone who has knowledge acquired through first-hand experience ** Eyewitness memory ** Eyewitness testimony Eyewitness testimony is the account a bystander or victim gives in the court ...
about it, who has "You clicked your heels and wished for me" printed on his shirt. After this, there are more shots of the band playing, while young people are digging around them. More lyrics appear in even more places. Afterwards, Jon Walker is seen attaching the lyrics "My one and lonely", which are painted on plastic tags, to security cameras in parking lots, then he runs away. Lyrics are now painted on streets and freeways by
Brendon Urie Brendon Boyd Urie (born April 12, 1987) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who is best known as the former lead vocalist and frontman of Panic! at the Disco, the only constant member throughout the band's 19-year run. Many of his ...
, and the band sneak into two
skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...
s, turning on the lights in such a way that they form the lyrics "Hey moon". The band gets hold of a searchlight and project the lyrics "Hey moon" onto the night sky. The final shot takes place in the field where the band is playing. The lyrics "Never yawn" are seen carved into the field.


Formats and track listing

*;Digital download #"Northern Downpour" — 4:07 #"The Piano Knows Something I Don't Know" (Alternate Version) — 2:20


Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Pretty. Odd.'', Fueled by Ramen and Decaydance Records. ;Recording locations *Music recording – Studio at the Palms (Las Vegas); Abbey Road Studios (London); Legacy Recording Studios (New York) *Mixing – Abbey Road Studios (London) ;Personnel * Songwriting – Ryan Ross (lyrics), Jon Walker (music) * Production – Rob Mathes * Engineering – Mark Everton Gray * Assistant engineer – Claudius Mittendorfer * Mixing – Peter Cobbin * Mixing assistants – Richard Lancaster, Peter Hutchings


References


External links

* {{authority control 2000s ballads Panic! at the Disco songs 2008 singles 2008 songs Rock ballads Song recordings produced by Rob Mathes Songs written by Ryan Ross Songs written by Jon Walker Fueled by Ramen singles Black-and-white music videos