Shock to the System (Billy Idol song)
Encyclopedia
"Shock to the System" is single by Billy Idol
, released to promote his 1993 album Cyberpunk
.
.) It depicted an individual who records the Cyber-cops beating a man, only to be noticed and attacked himself. His camera is destroyed and the Cyber-cops leave him unconscious on the ground, as they are busy trying to put down a riot elsewhere in the city. Alone, his camera equipment lands on him and is absorbed into his body, causing him to dramatically morph into a cyborg. The cyborg then joins the riot, leading the rebels to victory.
Idol explained that he was trying to capture the political and economic conflict that had created the LA Riots, and that the camcorder
– as displayed in the witnessing of the Rodney King beating
– was a "potent way of conveying ideas" and an important metaphor for technology used in rebellion.
The make-up effects were achieved through stop motion
, with Billy Idol moving in slow stages during points of the filming. Stan Winston
, who had previously worked on the Terminator
series and Jurassic Park
, supervised and created the special effects for the video. The music video for "Shock to The System" was nominated for "Best Special Effects in a Video" and "Best Editing in a Video" at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards
, losing both times to Peter Gabriel's
video for "Steam
".
, in his 2005 book, The Souls of Cyberfolk.
's song of the same name
, composed and written by Lou Reed
. The cover of "Heroin" also included the lyric "Jesus died for somebody's sins/But not mine", written by Patti Smith
for her cover of "Gloria". The Australian, Japan, Netherlands, and U.S. releases included the track "Aftershock", which was not included in the Cyberpunk CD.
U.K. double CD release
Billy Idol
William Michael Albert Broad , better known by his stage name Billy Idol, is an English rock musician. A member of the Bromley Contingent of Sex Pistols fans, Idol first achieved fame in the punk rock era as a member of the band Generation X...
, released to promote his 1993 album Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk (album)
Cyberpunk is a concept album by English rock musician Billy Idol, released in 1993 by Chrysalis Records. Inspired by his personal interest in technology and his first attempts to use computers in the creation of his music, Idol based the album on the cyberdelic subculture of the late 80s and early...
.
Conception
Idol explained for MTV News, he had originally created the song with an entirely different set of lyrics, but upon witnessing the Los Angeles riots of 1992 on television, he immediately rewrote and recorded them that day.Music video
A music video was created for the song, and was set in a dystopian future controlled by Cyber-cops (referred to as such by director Brett LeonardBrett Leonard
Brett Leonard is an American film director, producer and music video director specializing in the science-fiction and horror genres. A few of his films such as The Lawnmower Man and Virtuosity feature groundbreaking computer animation and visual effects...
.) It depicted an individual who records the Cyber-cops beating a man, only to be noticed and attacked himself. His camera is destroyed and the Cyber-cops leave him unconscious on the ground, as they are busy trying to put down a riot elsewhere in the city. Alone, his camera equipment lands on him and is absorbed into his body, causing him to dramatically morph into a cyborg. The cyborg then joins the riot, leading the rebels to victory.
Idol explained that he was trying to capture the political and economic conflict that had created the LA Riots, and that the camcorder
Camcorder
A camcorder is an electronic device that combines a video camera and a video recorder into one unit. Equipment manufacturers do not seem to have strict guidelines for the term usage...
– as displayed in the witnessing of the Rodney King beating
Rodney King
Rodney Glen King is an American best known for his involvement in a police brutality case involving the Los Angeles Police Department on March 3, 1991...
– was a "potent way of conveying ideas" and an important metaphor for technology used in rebellion.
The make-up effects were achieved through stop motion
Stop motion
Stop motion is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence...
, with Billy Idol moving in slow stages during points of the filming. Stan Winston
Stan Winston
Stanley Winston was an American visual effects supervisor, makeup artist, and film director. He was best known for his work in the Terminator series, the Jurassic Park series, Aliens, the Predator series, Iron Man, Edward Scissorhands, and Avatar...
, who had previously worked on the Terminator
Terminator (franchise)
The Terminator series is a science fiction franchise encompassing a series of films and other media concerning battles between Skynet's artificially intelligent machine network, and John Connor's Resistance forces and the rest of the human race....
series and Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park (film)
Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. It stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Martin Ferrero, and Bob Peck...
, supervised and created the special effects for the video. The music video for "Shock to The System" was nominated for "Best Special Effects in a Video" and "Best Editing in a Video" at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards
1993 MTV Video Music Awards
The 1993 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 2, 1993, honoring the best music videos from June 16, 1992, to June 15, 1993. The show was hosted by Christian Slater at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. This was Kurt Cobain's final VMA appearance.This year marked the introduction of...
, losing both times to Peter Gabriel's
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
video for "Steam
Steam (Peter Gabriel song)
"Steam" is the second single from Peter Gabriel's 1992 album, Us. It reached #10 on the UK singles chart, #32 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart....
".
Reception
The video and song were also heavily analyzed for the overtones of racial, sexual, and physical trauma presented within them by Thomas Foster, associate professor at Indiana UniversityIndiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
, in his 2005 book, The Souls of Cyberfolk.
Track listing
Several singles for "Shock to the System" were released to various countries. Several included various remixes of "Heroin", a cover of The Velvet UndergroundThe Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
's song of the same name
Heroin (song)
"Heroin" is a song by The Velvet Underground, released on their 1967 debut album, The Velvet Underground & Nico. Written by Lou Reed in 1964, the song is one of the band's most celebrated compositions, overtly depicting heroin use and abuse...
, composed and written by Lou Reed
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
. The cover of "Heroin" also included the lyric "Jesus died for somebody's sins/But not mine", written by Patti Smith
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses....
for her cover of "Gloria". The Australian, Japan, Netherlands, and U.S. releases included the track "Aftershock", which was not included in the Cyberpunk CD.
U.K. double CD release
Charts
| Chart (1991) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
44 |
| French Singles Chart | 25 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 17 |
| Sweden Singles Chart | 25 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 37 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
30 |
| U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles The Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It lists the top 25 singles below number 100 that have not yet charted on the Billboard Hot 100. Sometimes, however, singles halt their progress on this chart, and never appear on the Hot 100... |
5 |
| U.S. 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... |
7 |
| U.S. 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... |
23 |
External links
- "Shock to the System", on the Clipland database.
- "Shock to the System", ChrysalisChrysalis RecordsChrysalis Records was a British record label that was created in 1969. The name was both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis...
, Yahoo! MusicYahoo! MusicYahoo! Music, owned by Yahoo!, is the provider of a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming...
, 2008. - "Shock to the System", EMI America RecordsEMI America RecordsEMI America Records was started in 1978 by EMI as a second US label next to Capitol Records. It absorbed Liberty Records in 1984. In the late 1980s EMI America was consolidated with Manhattan Records to form EMI Manhattan Records, which later became known simply as EMI in 1990, then part of EMI...
, YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, June 26, 2008. - "Shock to the System", ChrysalisChrysalis RecordsChrysalis Records was a British record label that was created in 1969. The name was both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis...
/EMI RecordsEMI RecordsEMI Records is the flagship record label founded by the EMI company in 1972 and launched in January 1973 as the successor to its Columbia label. The EMI label was launched worldwide...
, SingingFool.