45 (song)
Encyclopedia
"45" is a song by the alternative rock
band Shinedown
. The song was released on July 13, 2003, on the album Leave a Whisper
. Following the album's release, "45" became a popular single. An acoustic cover of "45" was featured on the album's re-release on June 15, 2004.
Brent Smith (the lead singer and songwriter) has stated in an interview:
"45" placed twelfth among U.S. Modern Rock and third among U.S. Mainstream Rock songs after its release.
because Shinedown refused to change the words of the chorus.. "45" by Shinedown
was heavily edited to remove the lyrics "the barrel of a .45" and "ashes of another life" from the chorus, forcing the title card of the video to refer to the song by the MTV-originated title "Staring Down..." Singer Brent Smith
later stated that he felt the editing was not only hypocritical in light of other unedited videos MTV played but that the editing blurred the message of the song and that if they didn't wish to play the song as it was written, they should have refrained from playing it at all. Though the edited version of the video was aired a few times without the artists' consent, the song was eventually pulled from the airwaves. MTV's censorship of the Shinedown song can be seen as hypocritical for another reason: Over a half-decade earlier, Depeche Mode's 1997 music video for the song "Barrel of a Gun" was not censored on music video chanels or radio at all; the similarly worded chorus "I've been staring down the barrel of a gun" caused no controversy and was no concern for MTV (who frequently played the video in heavy rotation, including daytime hours).
In an interview, Brent Smith
stated,
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Shinedown
Shinedown
Shinedown is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, formed in 2001 and founded by members Brent Smith , Brad Stewart , Jasin Todd , and Barry Kerch . A few line-up changes followed, and the band's current line-up consists of Smith and Kerch, the band's only two remaining original...
. The song was released on July 13, 2003, on the album Leave a Whisper
Leave A Whisper
Leave a Whisper is the debut album by Shinedown, a hard rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. The album was released on May 27, 2003, faring well due to the success of the singles "Fly from the Inside" and "45"...
. Following the album's release, "45" became a popular single. An acoustic cover of "45" was featured on the album's re-release on June 15, 2004.
Brent Smith (the lead singer and songwriter) has stated in an interview:
"45" placed twelfth among U.S. Modern Rock and third among U.S. Mainstream Rock songs after its release.
Music video and controversy
The music video for "45" was banned from MTVMTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
because Shinedown refused to change the words of the chorus.. "45" by Shinedown
Shinedown
Shinedown is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, formed in 2001 and founded by members Brent Smith , Brad Stewart , Jasin Todd , and Barry Kerch . A few line-up changes followed, and the band's current line-up consists of Smith and Kerch, the band's only two remaining original...
was heavily edited to remove the lyrics "the barrel of a .45" and "ashes of another life" from the chorus, forcing the title card of the video to refer to the song by the MTV-originated title "Staring Down..." Singer Brent Smith
Brent Smith
Brent Smith is the lead vocalist and singer-songwriter of the band Shinedown. His biggest influences as a singer are Otis Redding, Billie Holiday, and Chris Cornell.-Personal life:...
later stated that he felt the editing was not only hypocritical in light of other unedited videos MTV played but that the editing blurred the message of the song and that if they didn't wish to play the song as it was written, they should have refrained from playing it at all. Though the edited version of the video was aired a few times without the artists' consent, the song was eventually pulled from the airwaves. MTV's censorship of the Shinedown song can be seen as hypocritical for another reason: Over a half-decade earlier, Depeche Mode's 1997 music video for the song "Barrel of a Gun" was not censored on music video chanels or radio at all; the similarly worded chorus "I've been staring down the barrel of a gun" caused no controversy and was no concern for MTV (who frequently played the video in heavy rotation, including daytime hours).
In an interview, Brent Smith
Brent Smith
Brent Smith is the lead vocalist and singer-songwriter of the band Shinedown. His biggest influences as a singer are Otis Redding, Billie Holiday, and Chris Cornell.-Personal life:...
stated,