"Heads Will Roll" is a song by American indie rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs, released as the second single from their third studio album, It's Blitz! (2009). The CD and 7-inch singles were released in the United Kingdom on June 29, 2009.[4]
| "Heads Will Roll" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Yeah Yeah Yeahs | ||||
| from the album It's Blitz! | ||||
| Released | June 29, 2009 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:41 | |||
| Label |
| |||
| Songwriter(s) | Yeah Yeah Yeahs | |||
| Producer(s) | ||||
| Yeah Yeah Yeahs singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Heads Will Roll" on YouTube | ||||
| A-Trak Remix digital single cover | ||||
 | ||||
A remix by Canadian DJ A-Trak appeared in the film Project X. The remix was placed at number 124 of Rolling Stone's list of the 200 Greatest Dance Songs.[5][6]
Composition
The song is built around a vintage sounding string riff, which was sampled from a Mellotron sound card: "Roxy SFX 2" from the Mellotron M4000D Sound Card 02.[7]
Music video
The music video for "Heads Will Roll" was directed by Richard Ayoade, and premiered on NME.com on May 26, 2009.[8] It features the band playing in a (presumably) underground venue when a dancing werewolf whose dancing is reminiscent of Michael Jackson (who died four days before the single was released and 30 days after the music video premiered) appears on stage. A light flashes halfway through the music video and the werewolf transforms. He then proceeds to chase after the audience and kills most of them. The video then ends with the band having been murdered while Karen O continues singing, her head severed from her body. The music video contains some mockery of horror in general; instead of blood, there is red glitter and confetti and Karen O keeps singing while decapitated. In the UK, there are two different versions of this video, the second replacing the violent conclusion with repeated clips from the previous section of the video, but it shows the confetti falling onto the band.[9]
It was nominated for a MTV Video Music Award for Breakthrough Video.[10]
Track listings
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Heads Will Roll" | 3:44 |
| 2. | "Heads Will Roll" (Passion Pit Remix) | 4:39 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Heads Will Roll" (Passion Pit Remix) | 4:37 |
| 2. | "Heads Will Roll" (Tommie Sunshine Remix) | 5:21 |
| 3. | "Heads Will Roll" (Little Vampire Remix) | 4:47 |
| 4. | "Heads Will Roll" (James Iha Remix) | 4:15 |
Charts
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Belgium (BEA)[23] | Gold | 15,000* |
| Germany (BVMI)[24] | 3× Gold | 450,000‡ |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE)[25] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[26] | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
Other versions
The song was performed by Scarlett Johansson in 2021 for Universal's computer animated feature Sing 2 as a porcupine named "Ash".
Heads will Roll was Amber Glenn's short program music for the 2023-2024 Figure Skating Season. Amber won the womans National Championship Title with this performance.
References
External links
- Yeah Yeah Yeahs Leave Heads Rolling On The Road at Billboard.com