Highly Evolved (song)
Encyclopedia
"Highly Evolved" is the opening track and first single from The Vines
' debut album of the same name (Highly Evolved
). The song was written by Craig Nicholls
.
, and Jamola from their fourth album Melodia). The track's primary melody consists of four chords
in E minor
. It begins with a tribal beat, with bassist Patrick Matthews
muting his notes slightly and Nicholls singing in a cool and collected manner. When the chorus comes in, the vocals become more abrasive, with Nicholls snarling like Johnny Rotten or Liam Gallagher
. In the second verse, the vocals are overdubbed with Nicholls on two tracks: one similar to the first verse, and the second shifted up an octave. After the guitar solo, more guitar tracks are introduced before the song descends to just the drums before the final "highly evolved" lyric.
in 2002 (the world premiere televised live performance of the song). Other noteworthy performances were on Rove, where it was played together the band's other hit "Get Free" as well as an appearance on Top of the Pops
in 2002.
magazine. It was also nominated for Best Song at the 2002 NME Awards
and was placed at #30 on NME's Top 100 Best Songs of 2002.
The Vines
https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Special:LandingCheck?landing_page=L11_1121_WMUK_Jimmy_DDOptimised&utm_medium=sitenotice&utm_campaign=C11_1121_WMUK_DDvOneOff&utm_source=B11_1121_WMUK_Jimmy&language=en&country=GB...
' debut album of the same name (Highly Evolved
Highly Evolved
Highly Evolved is the debut album by Australian alternative rock band The Vines, released in July 2002. Produced by Rob Schnapf, Highly Evolved was an immensely popular debut, part of a trend towards garage rock revival bands known as much for the relentless hype from the UK music press as for...
). The song was written by Craig Nicholls
Craig Nicholls
Craig Robert Nicholls, is the lead singer, songwriter and guitarist of the Australian alternative rock group The Vines. He formed the band in 1994 in Sydney, New South Wales...
.
Song
Clocking in at slightly over 90 seconds, Highly Evolved is the Vines' third shortest song (after Gross Out from their third album, Vision ValleyVision Valley
Vision Valley is the third studio album by Australian alternative rock band The Vines. It was released on 1 April 2006 in Australia and on 3 April 2006 everywhere else except in the USA, where it was released on 4 April 2006...
, and Jamola from their fourth album Melodia). The track's primary melody consists of four chords
Chord progression
A chord progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that "aims for a definite goal" of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord. In other words, the succession of root relationships...
in E minor
E minor
E minor is a minor scale based on the note E. The E natural minor scale consists of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. The E harmonic minor scale contains the natural 7, D, rather than the flatted 7, D – to align with the major dominant chord, B7 .Its key signature has one sharp, F .Its...
. It begins with a tribal beat, with bassist Patrick Matthews
Patrick Matthews
Patrick Matthews is the former bassist of Australian garage rock band The Vines and currently the bassist of Youth Group. Matthews founded The Vines with Craig Nicholls. The two met while working at McDonald's in Sydney. Matthews stayed with the band for two albums...
muting his notes slightly and Nicholls singing in a cool and collected manner. When the chorus comes in, the vocals become more abrasive, with Nicholls snarling like Johnny Rotten or Liam Gallagher
Liam Gallagher
William John Paul "Liam" Gallagher is an English musician and singer-songwriter, the former frontman of the English rock band Oasis and currently of the band Beady Eye. Gallagher's erratic behaviour, distinctive singing style, and abrasive attitude have been the subject of commentary in the press...
. In the second verse, the vocals are overdubbed with Nicholls on two tracks: one similar to the first verse, and the second shifted up an octave. After the guitar solo, more guitar tracks are introduced before the song descends to just the drums before the final "highly evolved" lyric.
Video
The video for "Highly Evolved" has been described as 'the ultimate low rent video'. The video opens with the message "A lot can happen in 90 seconds, use your imagination" in white letters on a black screen. Then, a pressure gauge appears and a timer begins to count down from 90 seconds in the lower right hand corner. In the last 30 seconds, the gauge goes into the red as the timer begins to buzz around the screen before "The Vines / Highly Evolved" appears as a title before the video ends.Live performance
There have been many live performances of "Highly Evolved". The most noteworthy is regarded to be when it was performed on CD:UKCD:UK
CD:UK was a British music television programme. Originally run in conjunction with SMTV Live, the programme was first aired on ITV on 29 August 1998 to rival the BBC's Live & Kicking and was the replacement for The Chart Show, which had been airing on the network for nine and a half years.In...
in 2002 (the world premiere televised live performance of the song). Other noteworthy performances were on Rove, where it was played together the band's other hit "Get Free" as well as an appearance on Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
in 2002.
Awards
Upon its release, "Highly Evolved" was made single of the week by NMENME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
magazine. It was also nominated for Best Song at the 2002 NME Awards
NME Awards
The NME Awards is an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine, NME .The first awards show was held in 1953 as the NME Poll Winners Concerts, shortly after the founding of the magazine....
and was placed at #30 on NME's Top 100 Best Songs of 2002.