"Check My Brain" is a song by the American rock band Alice in Chains, featured on their fourth studio album Black Gives Way to Blue (2009). It was released as the first official single from the album on August 14, 2009, marking it as the band's first single in a decade (since 1999's "Fear the Voices"). The single topped the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks and Billboard Rock Songs charts in September 2009. This was the first time an Alice in Chains song would hit No. 1 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart since their 1994 single "No Excuses". This is Alice in Chains' first and currently only song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 92, and also their first No. 1 on the Alternative Songs chart. "Check My Brain" received a nomination for "Best Hard Rock Performance" at the 52nd Grammy Awards.
Video Check My Brain
Lyrics
"Check My Brain" features the lyric "California's all right/Somebody check my brain...". The lyric is in reference to guitarist Jerry Cantrell moving to Los Angeles, California in 2003, with Cantrell commenting, "I like how I am right now...and I like where I'm living."
Cantrell on the song:
There's a certain aspect of sarcasm, I guess, being a guy from Seattle who lives in L.A., ex-drug addict who lives in the belly of the beast and doesn't partake, and being totally cool with that...It's like being the bad gambler and living in Vegas. It's right there. It's just the irony of that and a little bit of sarcasm. And it's not putting this place down at all. It's just kind of like, 'Wow, you know, check my brain, wow.'
Maps Check My Brain
Composition
It is in F minor. The tonic (F) is played as Fb bent up, so it can be unbent back to Fb. (The guitars are downtuned (which is "standard Alice in Chains tuning" according to Cantrell) and the bass is drop D.) Both the bass and rhythm guitar do this. Also the vocals follow. The chords in the chorus are F5, E?5, B?5, A?5, B?5, C5, F5.
Release and reception
On August 12, 2009, the band released a 30-second sample of the new single. On August 14, 2009, the full version of the song was released to radio stations as the first official single from the album. "A Looking in View" was available for purchase and was streaming for free on the band's website in June 2009, but it wasn't released as the album's first single.
Ronald Hart of Billboard said that the song "is faithful to the grunge terrain Alice in Chains mapped out in 1995. Written by guitarist/chief songwriter Jerry Cantrell, who shares lead vocal duties with William DuVall, the song revolves around Cantrell's distaste for his relocation from rainy Seattle to sunny Los Angeles. The band's classic, downtuned stomp could easily pass for an unreleased track from the "Dirt" era and is sure to keep longtime fans feeling pleasantly dystopic."
In 2012, Loudwire ranked the song at No. 39 on their list of "Top 50 Hard Rock Songs of the 21st Century".
In popular culture
"Check My Brain" was released as downloadable content for the Rock Band and Rock Band 2 music video games for the Xbox 360, Wii and PlayStation 3 consoles, as part of Alice In Chains Pack 01, which also includes older hits "Rooster", "Would?", and "No Excuses", along with "A Looking in View", also from Black Gives Way to Blue. It was added to the Xbox Live Marketplace and in-game Music Store for the Wii on September 29, 2009 and it was added to the PlayStation Network on October 1, 2009.
The song was featured in the Season 4 premiere of the Showtime series Californication, "Exile on Main St." in 2011, when Charlie picks up Hank from jail.
Music video
The music video for "Check My Brain" premiered on September 14, 2009 and was directed by Alexandre Courtes. The video shows the band in a discolored setting in Los Angeles, California where Cantrell moved in 2003.
On October 1, 2009, Alice in Chains released a behind-the-scenes video about the making of the music video.
Live performances
Alice in Chains debuted "Check My Brain" on August 1, 2009 in Marlay Park, Dublin, Ireland. They played it again the next day at the Sonisphere Festival in Knebworth Park, Stevenage, United Kingdom, and again two days later on August 4, 2009 at The Scala in London. The song is regularly performed at the band's concerts.
Cover versions
L.A. Guns covered the song on their 2010 album Covered in Guns.
Personnel
- Jerry Cantrell - lead vocals, lead guitar
- William DuVall - backing vocals, rhythm guitar
- Mike Inez - bass
- Sean Kinney - drums
- Production
- Mastering - Ted Jensen
- Mixing - Randy Staub
Chart performance
"Check My Brain" has become one of the band's most commercially successful singles of their career, especially on rock radio. This was their second number one on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, after 1994's "No Excuses". It became their first number-one song on the Alternative Songs chart and also topped Billboard's Rock Songs chart, which combines mainstream and alternative rock airplay. "Check My Brain" debuted at #99 of the Hot 100 on the chart issue of October 3, 2009, peaking at #92. In addition, it has charted on the Canadian Hot 100, reaching #62.
Positions
See also
- List of number-one Billboard Rock Songs
- List of Billboard number-one alternative singles of the 2000s
- List of Billboard Mainstream Rock number-one songs of the 2000s
References
External links
- Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
- Official Music Video on YouTube
- The Making of "Check My Brain" on YouTube
Source of article : Wikipedia
0 Comments