Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk
Encyclopedia
"Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk" is a song written and performed by the Canadian-American
singer-songwriter
Rufus Wainwright
. It appears as the opening track on his second studio album
, Poses (2001). The song addresses decadence and desire, and has been called an "ode to subtle addictions and the way our compulsions rule our lives".
A reprise version of the song appears as the last track on the album.
for the track, directed by Giles Dunning and released by DreamWorks in 2001, features Wainwright performing the song at a piano
inside a warehouse, and scenes of him walking around New York City
. The audio track of the video is actually the reprise version, with the added percussion backing.
/ Brian Wilson
pop feels along with a strong sense of French cabaret
show tune
s", and called the shifts in modulation
coupled with dissonant
chords "intoxicating".
to the Italian film Caos Calmo, as well as the following compilation album
s: Live at the World Café: Handcrafted (2002), 107.1 KGSR Radio Austin - Broadcasts Vol.10 (2002), Oh What a Feeling 3 (2006), and Northern Songs: Canada's Best and Brightest
(2008). The reprise version appears on the soundtrack to the film The Last Kiss
(2006). It also appeared in the How I Met Your Mother
season 5 episode "Last Cigarette Ever
".
by Djelem Project appears on their 2008 album, A Sky with No Clouds.
Canadian-American
A Canadian American is someone who was born or someone who grew up in Canada then moved to the United States. The term is particularly apt when applied or self-applied to people with strong ties to Canada, such as those who have lived a significant portion of their lives in, or were educated in,...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Rufus Wainwright
Rufus Wainwright
Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. He has recorded six albums of original music, EPs, and tracks on compilations and film soundtracks.-Early years:...
. It appears as the opening track on his second studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
, Poses (2001). The song addresses decadence and desire, and has been called an "ode to subtle addictions and the way our compulsions rule our lives".
A reprise version of the song appears as the last track on the album.
Music video
The music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for the track, directed by Giles Dunning and released by DreamWorks in 2001, features Wainwright performing the song at a piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
inside a warehouse, and scenes of him walking around New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The audio track of the video is actually the reprise version, with the added percussion backing.
Reception
In his review for Allmusic, Matthew Greenwald wrote that the song "combines classic GershwinGeorge Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
/ Brian Wilson
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group...
pop feels along with a strong sense of French cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
show tune
Show tune
A show tune is a popular song originally written as part of the score of a "show" , especially if the piece in question has become a "standard", more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context...
s", and called the shifts in modulation
Modulation (music)
In music, modulation is most commonly the act or process of changing from one key to another. This may or may not be accompanied by a change in key signature. Modulations articulate or create the structure or form of many pieces, as well as add interest...
coupled with dissonant
Consonance and dissonance
In music, a consonance is a harmony, chord, or interval considered stable, as opposed to a dissonance , which is considered to be unstable...
chords "intoxicating".
Personnel
- Rufus WainwrightRufus WainwrightRufus McGarrigle Wainwright is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. He has recorded six albums of original music, EPs, and tracks on compilations and film soundtracks.-Early years:...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, stringString sectionThe string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...
arrangementArrangementThe American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
s - Jeff Hill – bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
- Jim KeltnerJim KeltnerJames Lee "Jim" Keltner is an American drummer known primarily for his session work. He has contributed to the work of many well-known artists...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Yves Desrosiers – banjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Pierre MarchandPierre MarchandPierre Marchand is a Canadian songwriter, musician and record producer.Pierre Marchand is known for his ongoing collaboration with Sarah McLachlan, having produced all of her albums since Solace...
– string arrangements - Stephanie Allard – violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
- Jean-Marc LeBlanc – violin
- Melanie Belair – violin
- Genevieve Beaudry – violin
- Julie Dupras – violaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
- Wilma Hos – viola
- Veronique Potuin – viola
- Greg Hay – viola
- Carla Antoun – celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
- Christine Giguere – cello
- Jean Paquin – French hornHorn (instrument)The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
- Pierre Savoie – French horn
- Normand Forget – oboeOboeThe oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
Appearances
Apart from being the opening and closing track on Poses, a live performance of "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk" from Central Park SummerStage appeared on Wainwright's 2005 music DVD, All I Want. Wainwright also performs the song on the 2001 DVD Circuit 9. "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk" appears on the soundtrackSoundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
to the Italian film Caos Calmo, as well as the following compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
s: Live at the World Café: Handcrafted (2002), 107.1 KGSR Radio Austin - Broadcasts Vol.10 (2002), Oh What a Feeling 3 (2006), and Northern Songs: Canada's Best and Brightest
Northern Songs: Canada's Best and Brightest
Northern Songs: Canada's Best and Brightest is a compilation album of songs performed by some of Canada's "best and brightest" musicians, released in September 2008 under Rhino Records and sold exclusively at Starbucks locations through their Hear Music label.-Track listing:#Feist -...
(2008). The reprise version appears on the soundtrack to the film The Last Kiss
The Last Kiss
The Last Kiss is a 2006 American romantic comedy-drama film which is based on the 2001 Italian film L'ultimo bacio, directed by Gabriele Muccino. The plot revolves around a young couple and their friends struggling with adulthood and issues of relationships and commitment.The film stars Zach Braff,...
(2006). It also appeared in the How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother is an American sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 19, 2005, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays.As a framing device, the main character, Ted Mosby with narration by Bob Saget, in the year 2030 recounts to his son and daughter the events that led to his meeting...
season 5 episode "Last Cigarette Ever
Last Cigarette Ever
"Last Cigarette Ever" is the eleventh episode of the fifth season of the CBS situation comedy How I Met Your Mother and 99th episode overall. It aired on December 14, 2009.- Plot :...
".
Covers
On Yellow Lounge: Compiled by Rufus Wainwright, a 2007 compilation album of Wainwright's favorite classical pieces, the Fauré Quartet performs instrumental versions of Wainwright's songs "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk" and "Hometown Waltz". A cover versionCover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
by Djelem Project appears on their 2008 album, A Sky with No Clouds.
External links
- [ Review] from Allmusic
- Rufus Wainwright's official site