Cough Syrup (song)
Encyclopedia
"Cough Syrup" is a song by American alternative rock
band Young the Giant
from their eponymous debut album
. It was composed when the band was named The Jakes, and first appeared on their 2008 EP
Shake My Hand. Released by Young The Giant as a single in 2011, the song peaked at number three on the Billboard
Alternative Songs chart.
's Locals Only radio program, and won a "Best Song" nomination at the 2009 OC
Music Awards.
Bassist
Payam Doostzadeh, in a 2011 interview, said that with "Cough Syrup" being the oldest song in Young the Giant's catalog, "it's kind of hard for us to play it." Doostzadeh added, "I mean, we've had it for four years and it's just now getting on the radio? But our fans don't know that. You've got to sell it. You've got to love it."
Lead vocalist
Sameer Gadhia explained that "Cough Syrup" was written at a time when the band was unsigned, had no money and "didn't really know what to do with ourselves." The group, he continued, "felt somewhat oppressed by the universal expectation of what to do in Orange County
...in suburb
ia in general. I think we really yearned to break out of that and do something a little bit different." Gadhia said the song is "kind of a cry for help" to "break free, not necessarily from oppression, but the common symptoms of suburbia like boredom, normality and homogeneity."
for "Cough Syrup" debuted June 21 on MTV
and played at the top of each music hour beginning at 6 a.m.
Directed by Petro, it features the band in an indoor swimming pool complex along with synchronized swimmers, fish tanks, glitter and fluorescent dyes.
According to Gadhia, the band "wanted more of a visual aspect to the music video because "My Body
" was more of a narrative
. We wanted something that would pop but still make thematic and artistic sense." The video concept, Gadhia said, centered on viscosity
, "the friction of fluids and the obstacles that everyone, any object, has to face in order to evolve."
's Caitlin Meyer, in a review of the Young the Giant album, wrote of the song: "Mellow guitar and cello contrast the sunny preceding tracks, the lyrics contemplate apathy and misdirection, and yet the chorus is still so compelling that you find yourself humming it hours later."
Both Chris Conaton of PopMatters
and Eduardo Rivadavia of Allmusic described "Cough Syrup" as being stylistically similar to Coldplay
's typical sound.
Conaton added that the song is "good, but it seems to follow the script on 'how to do anthemic rock' exactly." Rolling Stone
s Matt Ross called "Cough Syrup" an "album highlight,"
while Chris White of musicOMH
suggested the song is influenced by Kings of Leon
.
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 Young the Giant
Young the Giant
Young the Giant is an American alternative rock band that formed in Irvine, California, in 2004. The band's line-up is Sameer Gadhia , Jacob Tilley , Eric Cannata , Payam Doostzadeh , and François Comtois...
from their eponymous debut album
Young the Giant (album)
Young the Giant is the eponymous debut album by American indie rock band Young the Giant. It was released digitally by the Roadrunner record label on October 26, 2010, and was followed by a physical CD and vinyl release in the United States on January 25, 2011...
. It was composed when the band was named The Jakes, and first appeared on their 2008 EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
Shake My Hand. Released by Young The Giant as a single in 2011, the song peaked at number three on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Alternative Songs chart.
Origins and lyrics
"Cough Syrup" predates Young the Giant, when the band was known as The Jakes. The song appeared on the band's 2008 Shake My Hand EP, received regular airplay on KROQKROQ-FM
KROQ-FM — branded 106.7 KROQ — is a commercial modern rock radio station licensed to Pasadena, California serving the Greater Los Angeles. The call sign is pronounced "kay rock." It is the flagship station of Loveline hosted by Dr...
's Locals Only radio program, and won a "Best Song" nomination at the 2009 OC
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
Music Awards.
Bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
Payam Doostzadeh, in a 2011 interview, said that with "Cough Syrup" being the oldest song in Young the Giant's catalog, "it's kind of hard for us to play it." Doostzadeh added, "I mean, we've had it for four years and it's just now getting on the radio? But our fans don't know that. You've got to sell it. You've got to love it."
Lead vocalist
Lead vocalist
The lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
Sameer Gadhia explained that "Cough Syrup" was written at a time when the band was unsigned, had no money and "didn't really know what to do with ourselves." The group, he continued, "felt somewhat oppressed by the universal expectation of what to do in Orange County
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
...in suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
ia in general. I think we really yearned to break out of that and do something a little bit different." Gadhia said the song is "kind of a cry for help" to "break free, not necessarily from oppression, but the common symptoms of suburbia like boredom, normality and homogeneity."
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 "Cough Syrup" debuted June 21 on MTV
MTV
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....
and played at the top of each music hour beginning at 6 a.m.
Directed by Petro, it features the band in an indoor swimming pool complex along with synchronized swimmers, fish tanks, glitter and fluorescent dyes.
According to Gadhia, the band "wanted more of a visual aspect to the music video because "My Body
My Body (Young the Giant song)
"My Body" is a 2010 song by American alternative rock band Young the Giant from their eponymous debut album. Written by the band and released as a single in 2011, it peaked at number five on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart and number 65 on the singles charts in both the US and Canada...
" was more of a narrative
Narrative
A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...
. We wanted something that would pop but still make thematic and artistic sense." The video concept, Gadhia said, centered on viscosity
Viscosity
Viscosity is a measure of the resistance of a fluid which is being deformed by either shear or tensile stress. In everyday terms , viscosity is "thickness" or "internal friction". Thus, water is "thin", having a lower viscosity, while honey is "thick", having a higher viscosity...
, "the friction of fluids and the obstacles that everyone, any object, has to face in order to evolve."
Critical reception
Consequence of SoundConsequence of Sound
Consequence of Sound, also known often as CoS, is a Chicago-based music website featuring news, album and concert reviews, and editorials. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook micro-site, which serves as an on-line database for music festival news and rumors...
's Caitlin Meyer, in a review of the Young the Giant album, wrote of the song: "Mellow guitar and cello contrast the sunny preceding tracks, the lyrics contemplate apathy and misdirection, and yet the chorus is still so compelling that you find yourself humming it hours later."
Both Chris Conaton of PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
and Eduardo Rivadavia of Allmusic described "Cough Syrup" as being stylistically similar to Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
's typical sound.
Conaton added that the song is "good, but it seems to follow the script on 'how to do anthemic rock' exactly." Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
s Matt Ross called "Cough Syrup" an "album highlight,"
while Chris White of musicOMH
MusicOMH
musicOMH is a United Kingdom-based website which publishes independent reviews, featues and interviews from across all musical genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B.-History:...
suggested the song is influenced by Kings of Leon
Kings of Leon
Kings of Leon is an American rock band that originated in Albion, Oklahoma but formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 1999. The band is composed of brothers Anthony Caleb Followill , Ivan Nathan Followill and Michael Jared Followill Kings of Leon is an American rock band that originated in Albion,...
.
Charts
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Alternative Songs | 3 |
| US Billboard Rock Songs Rock Songs Rock Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks the airplay of songs on alternative, mainstream rock and triple A radio stations. The first chart was published in the issue dated June 20, 2009. "Know Your Enemy" by Green Day was the first number-one song. The Rock Songs... |
11 |