Rush Hour Soul (song)
Encyclopedia
"Rush Hour Soul" is a song by the Britpop
band Supergrass
. It was the fourth and final single from their fourth album Life On Other Planets
. The single failed to chart in the US
, and was outside the Top 75 in the UK upon its release in August 2003, but this was probably because it was released around ten months after Life On Other Planets.
"It's about losing reality and just being really off your head," said Danny Goffey
. "You could be really drugged up or stricken by madness, and then it's about just needing an escape to get out of that. That's why the verses are quite intense and the chorus is more reflective about the place you'd rather be in."
Supergrass themselves are quite fond of the song, and describe it as "rapidly becoming a live monster".
LTD. ED. Green 7" (with free sticker) R6612
The video takes place at night and is filmed in London
, near Piccadilly Circus
. It consists mainly of Gaz Coombes
dressed as a hobo
, singing "Rush Hour Soul" angrily at pedestrians in the street, with the aide of a portable microphone
and speaker
, and running around the London underground
and dark streets and alleyways. During the choruses (and occasionally through the verses), the film reverts to the band (dressed normally) playing the song with rather stern expressions, in a room dimly lit with either coloured or white lights. In this room there are also scenes of the band just about to hit one another with their instruments before the film cuts out, and later on, 'clones
' of Mick Quinn
as he sings part of the song.
Just before the middle eight, the tramp
(AKA Gaz) is beaten up in an alleyway by two men for almost walking into their car, and refusing to move out of the way. As the middle eight does begin, he looks to the night sky from where he is lying on the floor and sees a huge, slowly rotating comet
, or asteroid
, among the stars. The camera focuses on the comet and then zooms out once more to reveal that it is in fact "a comet drifting to the sun" as the song lyrics entail.
The video finishes with Supergrass playing "Rush Hour Soul" in the dimly lit room once more, then finally goes back to Gaz as the homeless person lying on the floor. One of the men from the car is about to launch a kick at him, but the film cuts off before he actually achieves physical contact.
Britpop
Britpop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom. Britpop emerged from the British independent music scene of the early 1990s and was characterised by bands influenced by British guitar pop music of the 1960s and 1970s...
band Supergrass
Supergrass
Supergrass was an English alternative rock band from Oxford. The band consisted of brothers Gaz and Rob Coombes , Mick Quinn and Danny Goffey ....
. It was the fourth and final single from their fourth album Life On Other Planets
Life on Other Planets
Life On Other Planets, or L.O.O.P as it is often abbreviated to, is the fourth album from English rock band Supergrass. It is the first album that includes Rob Coombes as an official member of the band, and originally went under the working title of 'Get Lost'...
. The single failed to chart in the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and was outside the Top 75 in the UK upon its release in August 2003, but this was probably because it was released around ten months after Life On Other Planets.
"It's about losing reality and just being really off your head," said Danny Goffey
Danny Goffey
Daniel Robert Goffey Daniel Robert Goffey Daniel Robert Goffey (born 7 February 1974 in Slough, Buckinghamshire (now Berkshire) is an English musician and singer-songwriter best known as the drummer and backing vocalist for the English Britpop band, Supergrass...
. "You could be really drugged up or stricken by madness, and then it's about just needing an escape to get out of that. That's why the verses are quite intense and the chorus is more reflective about the place you'd rather be in."
Supergrass themselves are quite fond of the song, and describe it as "rapidly becoming a live monster".
Track listing
CD CDR6612- "Rush Hour Soul" (2:55)
- "Everytime" (3:16)
- "Rush Hour Soul (video)"
LTD. ED. Green 7" (with free sticker) R6612
- "Rush Hour Soul" (2:55)
- "Everytime" (3:16)
Music video
- DirectorMusic video directorA music video director is driven by a given music track. These are called music videos and are then used as promotional tools for popular music singles...
: Dom and NicDom and Nicdom&nic is the working name of directors Nic Goffey and Dominic Hawley. They have been directing notable music videos and commercials since 1994....
The video takes place at night and is filmed in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, near Piccadilly Circus
Piccadilly Circus
Piccadilly Circus is a road junction and public space of London's West End in the City of Westminster, built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with the major shopping street of Piccadilly...
. It consists mainly of Gaz Coombes
Gaz Coombes
Gaz Coombes is an English musician and singer-songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the English alternative rock band, Supergrass. He first entered the music scene aged sixteen as the lead singer of the band The Jennifers which featured Supergrass band mate Danny Goffey...
dressed as a hobo
Hobo
A hobo is a term which is often applied to a migratory worker or homeless vagabond, often penniless. The term originated in the Western—probably Northwestern—United States during the last decade of the 19th century. Unlike 'tramps', who work only when they are forced to, and 'bums', who do not...
, singing "Rush Hour Soul" angrily at pedestrians in the street, with the aide of a portable microphone
Microphone
A microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. In 1877, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter...
and speaker
Loudspeaker
A loudspeaker is an electroacoustic transducer that produces sound in response to an electrical audio signal input. Non-electrical loudspeakers were developed as accessories to telephone systems, but electronic amplification by vacuum tube made loudspeakers more generally useful...
, and running around the London underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
and dark streets and alleyways. During the choruses (and occasionally through the verses), the film reverts to the band (dressed normally) playing the song with rather stern expressions, in a room dimly lit with either coloured or white lights. In this room there are also scenes of the band just about to hit one another with their instruments before the film cuts out, and later on, 'clones
Cloning
Cloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
' of Mick Quinn
Mick Quinn
Mick Quinn is an English musician and singer-songwriter, best known as founding member of English rock band Supergrass. He formed the DB Band with bassist Paul Wilson, formerly of Shake Appeal in 2010 and released début EP "Stranger In The Alps" on the 17th September 2011...
as he sings part of the song.
Just before the middle eight, the tramp
Tramp
A tramp is a long term homeless person who travels from place to place as a vagrant, traditionally walking or hiking all year round. In British English meanwhile a tramp simply refers to a homeless person, usually not a travelling one....
(AKA Gaz) is beaten up in an alleyway by two men for almost walking into their car, and refusing to move out of the way. As the middle eight does begin, he looks to the night sky from where he is lying on the floor and sees a huge, slowly rotating comet
Comet
A comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when close enough to the Sun, displays a visible coma and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are both due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind upon the nucleus of the comet...
, or asteroid
Asteroid
Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
, among the stars. The camera focuses on the comet and then zooms out once more to reveal that it is in fact "a comet drifting to the sun" as the song lyrics entail.
The video finishes with Supergrass playing "Rush Hour Soul" in the dimly lit room once more, then finally goes back to Gaz as the homeless person lying on the floor. One of the men from the car is about to launch a kick at him, but the film cuts off before he actually achieves physical contact.