Enemy (Days of the New song)
Encyclopedia
"Enemy" is a song by Days of the New
and the lead single
from their second eponymous album also known as "Green." The song reached #2 on Billboard
's Mainstream Rock Tracks in 1999 and #10 on the Modern Rock Tracks
the same year, becoming only their second song to hit the Top 10 on this chart. "Enemy" also serves as the ninth track on The Definitive Collection
, released in 2008.
' shift into new musical scape on "Green"; whereas the first album established a moderately stripped down acoustic rock style, "Enemy" incorporates classical strings
as well as electronic effects
and percussion comparable to that heard in dance club music
. Regarding this decision, Meeks said, "It was an experiment. It was something that I wanted to try - just like putting red in a painting instead of using more blue, just trying something different." Acoustic guitar
remains well implemented, however, and an echoed horn
is also heard during the chorus. Vocal layering occurs throughout "Enemy" as well with clean singing in the foreground and a distant, hollower voice providing backup vocals. The song fades to silence
as it nears the end. A moody acoustic guitar
then enters which is soon accompanied by a lead
guitar solo
before slowly fading out together.
Meeks described the song composition process in an interview with LAUNCHcast
, stating that he wrote the guitar and vocal pattern first before demoing in the studio. While there, he created the bass
line and composed samples around that. Meeks also expressed hope that fans wouldn't get the impression that "Enemy" stylistically represents the entire album.
Lyrically, "Enemy" appears to focus on a vague dispute between a young man and his authority figure. The first lyric in the song proclaims, "Listen down you little man/I'm not the one who's trying to change you," yet perhaps ironically, also declares later, "you need to change now." Amidst these claims, the narrator also tries to maintain respect between the two and cite that he or she is not an enemy despite the aforementioned demands.
was produced for a remix
ed version of "Enemy" which edits the song length to 4:21 and introduces more electronic effects. A director's cut
was also made available at Launch.com
. Filmed in mid August 1999, "Enemy" was directed by Louisiana
native Chip Dumstorf who was also responsible for the "Green" album's art direction. An Outpost spokesperson declined to comment on the video's storyline, and Days of the New frontman Travis Meeks
's simply stated, "I love this video, and that's all I have to say."
The majority of "Enemy" was shot at The Louisville Palace
with an invitation for fans to appear as extra
s in the August 19 shooting. Scenes taking place outside were shot along the Ohio River
in Indiana
. The video includes fast motion footage such as people using a revolving door
and walking outside an apartment building. A bald, red-skinned figure crouches in front of a stained glass window and becomes the physical embodiment of the masked, feathered man seen on it. Throughout the video, this caped and hooded man plays a game of chess
with Meeks before replacing his mask, reentering the window, and departing in his red-skinned form. The band performs in a dark, foggy room of trees similar to the album's cover art. Various characters in strange wardrobe are seen dancing among the group in an almost rave
-like fashion. Other footage shows Meeks singing alone in the psychedelic
ally colored outdoors; a truss bridge
over the Ohio River can be seen in the background.
Days of the New
Days of the New is an American alternative rock band from Louisville, Kentucky, formed in 1995. The band consists of vocalist/guitarist Travis Meeks and a variety of supporting musicians...
and the lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
from their second eponymous album also known as "Green." The song reached #2 on 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...
's Mainstream Rock Tracks in 1999 and #10 on the Modern Rock Tracks
Modern Rock Tracks
Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs...
the same year, becoming only their second song to hit the Top 10 on this chart. "Enemy" also serves as the ninth track on The Definitive Collection
Days of the New: The Definitive Collection
Days of the New: The Definitive Collection is a compilation album by acoustic rock/world music band Days of the New. It contains all of their singles as well as a few select tracks from the first three albums.-Track listing:# Shelf in the Room...
, released in 2008.
Overview
"Enemy" is a prime example of Travis MeeksTravis Meeks
Travis Shane Meeks , is an American musician, and is the lead singer, guitarist and song writer for acoustic rock band Days of the New.-Early life and career:...
' shift into new musical scape on "Green"; whereas the first album established a moderately stripped down acoustic rock style, "Enemy" incorporates classical strings
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
as well as electronic effects
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
and percussion comparable to that heard in dance club music
Electronic dance music
Electronic dance music is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment...
. Regarding this decision, Meeks said, "It was an experiment. It was something that I wanted to try - just like putting red in a painting instead of using more blue, just trying something different." Acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
remains well implemented, however, and an echoed horn
Horn (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 ....
is also heard during the chorus. Vocal layering occurs throughout "Enemy" as well with clean singing in the foreground and a distant, hollower voice providing backup vocals. The song fades to silence
Fade (audio engineering)
In audio engineering, a fade is a gradual increase or decrease in the level of an audio signal. The term can also be used for film cinematography or theater lighting, in much the same way ....
as it nears the end. A moody acoustic guitar
Guitar
The 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...
then enters which is soon accompanied by a lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
guitar solo
Guitar solo
In popular music, a guitar solo is a melodic passage, section, or entire piece of music written for an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. Guitar solos, which often contain varying degrees of improvisation, are used in many styles of popular music such as blues, jazz, rock and metal styles such...
before slowly fading out together.
Meeks described the song composition process in an interview with LAUNCHcast
LAUNCHcast
Yahoo! Music Radio is an Internet radio service offered by CBS Radio through Yahoo! Music. The service, formerly offered by LAUNCH Media, and originally developed by Todd Beaupré and Jeff Boulter, debuted on November 11, 1999, and was purchased by Yahoo! in October, 2001...
, stating that he wrote the guitar and vocal pattern first before demoing in the studio. While there, he created the bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
line and composed samples around that. Meeks also expressed hope that fans wouldn't get the impression that "Enemy" stylistically represents the entire album.
Lyrically, "Enemy" appears to focus on a vague dispute between a young man and his authority figure. The first lyric in the song proclaims, "Listen down you little man/I'm not the one who's trying to change you," yet perhaps ironically, also declares later, "you need to change now." Amidst these claims, the narrator also tries to maintain respect between the two and cite that he or she is not an enemy despite the aforementioned demands.
Music video
A 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...
was produced for a remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
ed version of "Enemy" which edits the song length to 4:21 and introduces more electronic effects. A director's cut
Director's cut
A director's cut is a specially edited version of a film, and less often TV series, music video, commercials, comic book or video games, that is supposed to represent the director's own approved edit...
was also made available at Launch.com
LAUNCHcast
Yahoo! Music Radio is an Internet radio service offered by CBS Radio through Yahoo! Music. The service, formerly offered by LAUNCH Media, and originally developed by Todd Beaupré and Jeff Boulter, debuted on November 11, 1999, and was purchased by Yahoo! in October, 2001...
. Filmed in mid August 1999, "Enemy" was directed by Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
native Chip Dumstorf who was also responsible for the "Green" album's art direction. An Outpost spokesperson declined to comment on the video's storyline, and Days of the New frontman Travis Meeks
Travis Meeks
Travis Shane Meeks , is an American musician, and is the lead singer, guitarist and song writer for acoustic rock band Days of the New.-Early life and career:...
's simply stated, "I love this video, and that's all I have to say."
The majority of "Enemy" was shot at The Louisville Palace
The Louisville Palace
The Louisville Palace is a theatre, in downtown Louisville, Kentucky, located in the city's theater district, on the east side of Fourth Street, between Broadway and Chestnut Street. It has a seating capacity of 2,700 people and is owned by Live Nation...
with an invitation for fans to appear as extra
Extra (actor)
A background actor or extra is a performer in a film, television show, stage, musical, opera or ballet production, who appears in a nonspeaking, nonsinging or nondancing capacity, usually in the background...
s in the August 19 shooting. Scenes taking place outside were shot along the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
in Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
. The video includes fast motion footage such as people using a revolving door
Revolving door
A revolving door typically consists of three or four doors that hang on a center shaft and rotate around a vertical axis within a cylindrical enclosure. Revolving doors are energy efficient as they prevent drafts, thus preventing increases in the heating or cooling required for the building...
and walking outside an apartment building. A bald, red-skinned figure crouches in front of a stained glass window and becomes the physical embodiment of the masked, feathered man seen on it. Throughout the video, this caped and hooded man plays a game of chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
with Meeks before replacing his mask, reentering the window, and departing in his red-skinned form. The band performs in a dark, foggy room of trees similar to the album's cover art. Various characters in strange wardrobe are seen dancing among the group in an almost rave
Rave
Rave, rave dance, and rave party are parties that originated mostly from acid house parties, which featured fast-paced electronic music and light shows. At these parties people dance and socialize to dance music played by disc jockeys and occasionally live performers...
-like fashion. Other footage shows Meeks singing alone in the psychedelic
Psychedelic
The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...
ally colored outdoors; a truss bridge
Truss bridge
A truss bridge is a bridge composed of connected elements which may be stressed from tension, compression, or sometimes both in response to dynamic loads. Truss bridges are one of the oldest types of modern bridges...
over the Ohio River can be seen in the background.
Chart positions
| Chart | Peak position |
Year |
|---|---|---|
| Billboard Modern Rock Tracks Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs... |
10 | 1999 |
| Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock Tracks Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue... |
2 | 1999 |
| Canadian Rock/Alternative Chart RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... |
1 | 1999 |