Red Flag (song)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

"Red Flag" is a song by Canadian rock group
Billy Talent Billy Talent is a Canadian Rock music, rock band from Mississauga, Ontario. They formed in 1993 with lead vocalist Benjamin Kowalewicz, guitarist Ian D'Sa, bassist Jonathan Gallant, and drummer Aaron Solowoniuk. There have been no lineup change ...
. It was released in September 2006 as second single from their second album, ''
Billy Talent II ''Billy Talent II'' is the second studio album by Canadian rock band Billy Talent, released on June 27, 2006. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 48,000 copies in its first week. The album also reached No. 1 on the G ...
''. The Canadian rock music radio station 102.1 The Edge listed "Red Flag" at #145 of their 200 Best New Rock Songs of the Millennium in 2010.


Music video

The music video for this song, directed by
Floria Sigismondi Floria Sigismondi (, born 1965) is an Italian-Canadian film director, screenwriter, music video director, artist, and photographer. She is best known for writing and directing '' The Runaways'', for directing music videos for performers includ ...
– known for her work with artists such as
Sigur Rós Sigur Rós () is an Icelandic post-rock band that formed in 1994 in Reykjavík. It comprises lead vocalist and guitarist Jónsi, Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, bassist Georg Hólm, and keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson. Known for their ethereal soun ...
and
Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...
– began shooting on July 21, 2005, and first began playing 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 ...
, on January 20, 2006, (on
Scuzz Scuzz was a British 24-hour rock and metal music television channel owned and operated by Sony Pictures Television. It was launched on 17 April 2003 and went on to be the highest-rated rock TV station on the Sky satellite platform, available in ...
). It debuted in Canada on
MuchMusic Much is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. It is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in what was o ...
the following day. The video depicts a spontaneous revolution by youths, with the titular red flag itself being a symbol of
socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
and revolt. It begins with a group of school children locked inside a school, screaming, "We want out!" Finally, they break through the
handcuff Handcuffs are restraint devices designed to secure an individual's wrists in proximity to each other. They comprise two parts, linked together by a chain, a hinge, or rigid bar. Each cuff has a rotating arm which engages with a ratchet t ...
ed doors and proceed to run around the school and surrounding area, covering various symbols of authority and luxury – including a CCTV camera, a
barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (often shortened to BBQ worldwide; barbie or barby in Australia and New Zealand) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that employ live fire and smoke to coo ...
, a boat, a car,
gas pump A gasoline pump or fuel dispenser is a machine at a filling station that is used to pump gasoline (petrol), diesel, or other types of liquid fuel into vehicles. Gasoline pumps are also known as bowsers or petrol bowsers (in Australia and Sou ...
s and eventually the town hall – with red flags. As they run through the town, more people join in. Finally, they arrive at
city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...
where the members of Billy Talent are performing, and which has been covered with red flags. Most children begin to mosh to the song, while others continue to run around, covering things with red flags. One of the children throws history books into the crowd, destroying them. The video ends with the children standing under red smoke, with pages of the books falling behind them, all wearing
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
GP-5
gas masks A gas mask is a piece of personal protective equipment used to protect the wearer from inhaling airborne pollutants and toxic gases. The mask forms a sealed cover over the nose and mouth, but may also cover the eyes and other vulnerable soft ...
. Voices chanting "We want out!" can also be heard at the end of the video.


Track listing

;UK 5" single #Red Flag (Album Version) #Red Flag (Live at MTV Campus Invasion Germany) ;UK 7" single #Red Flag (Album Version) #Where Is the Line? (Demo Version) ;US single #Red Flag (Album Version) #Red Flag (Live at MTV Campus Invasion Germany) #Red Flag (Live at The Horseshoe Tavern) #Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've?)


In popular culture

The demo version of the song originally appeared in 2005 as a part of the soundtracks of a number of
Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...
video games, including '' NHL 06'', ''
Burnout Revenge ''Burnout Revenge'' is a 2005 racing video game developed by Criterion Games and published by Electronic Arts for PlayStation 2, Xbox and Xbox 360. Similar to its predecessor '' Burnout 3: Takedown'', ''Revenge'' focuses on a mixture of racing ...
'', '' Burnout Legends'' and ''
SSX On Tour ''SSX on Tour'' is a 2005 sports video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports BIG label for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox and PlayStation Portable. It is the fourth title in the '' SSX'' series. T ...
''. This demo was released by Atlantic Records on the ''Black Sampler II''. The album version is different from the earlier release, with the
bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...
and
refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeated in poetry or in music">poetry.html" ;"title="Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeat ...
having been changed. It has also been used in the soundtrack for the 2007 movie ''
TMNT ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers trained i ...
''.


Chart performance


Certifications


References


External links

* Music Emissions (3.5/5
link
{{Authority control Billy Talent songs 2005 songs Protest songs Music videos directed by Floria Sigismondi Songs written by Ian D'Sa Songs written by Benjamin Kowalewicz Songs written by Jonathan Gallant Songs written by Aaron Solowoniuk Song recordings produced by Gavin Brown (musician) 2006 singles Atlantic Records singles Warner Music Group singles