Tell 'Em
Encyclopedia
"Tell 'Em" is a song by American recording synth-pop duo Sleigh Bells
from their debut album Treats
. Written by Miller and sung by Alexis Krauss, the song is the album's opening track, and was released as its lead single
.
Prior to the album's release, the track was available as a free download on April 28, 2010 via the Mom + Pop website. It was well received by critics, and frequently noted as a highlight of the album. The song was released to U.S. radio stations on April 28, 2010, but it failed to enter any charts.
, Krauss referred to the song among others as "more collaborative in terms of me doing more work on melodies, harmonies and we plan on further explorations of this in the future." Miller, when asked about the duo's loud sound, referenced the song, stating, "It has this intense melody on it. I was afraid to do it for so long because I had abandoned heavy drone for a few years. But it was just there, always in the background and I was just craving it." Miller has also described the song as being "preach-y without being righteous. It's like we're disappointed but optimistic." The song's lyrics describe a disappointment in today's youths and an encouragement for teens to strive to be better, and it was one of the last to be recorded for the album.
song composed of an intro, which has been described as a mixture of "piledriving beats" and a "towering riff trigger", "bazooka beats and syncopated snaps" incorporated with "heavy metal guitar riffs", and a chorus featuring Krauss' vocals over "machine-gun drums". The song also incorporates various snaps and claps.
singer M.I.A.
Lisa Wright, a writer from NME, lauded the song, declaring "not since Miss Arulpragasam herself has there been a track that makes violence sound so goddamn danceable." Zach Baron of Village Voice
praised the song's production, comparing it to "winning a video game shootout inside of a disco that's on neon fire." Michael Saba of Paste
also wrote highly of the song, calling it "a beast of a track—three minutes of the crunchy, glitched-out riffs and titanic hooks". PopMatters'
editor Arnold Pan, like other critics, commented on the song's intensity, writing, "You’ll probably be too shellshocked by the anxiety-inducing and heart-palpitating thrills of the leadoff track 'Tell ‘Em' to do anything else but take it all in, even if your eardrums tell you to turn off the racket." Ryan Dombal of Pitchfork Media
commented positively on the song, stating that "nobody has made a guitar sound so hawkish since Jack White
. Because it's got the both the bone crunch of third and long and the pom-pom chants built in." Rolling Stone
s Eric Magnuson, impressed with the song's sound, referred to it as "a body-shaker that sounds like a choir girl showing up to a street fight with a howitzer and a holster full of lasers. Danceable lasers." Matthew Cole of Slant Magazine
described the song as "a call to the dance floor, mosh pit, or wherever it is that folks from your scene get down, it's undeniable." In Sputnikmusic
's review of the album, the song was described as "the perfect litmus test: buzzsaw guitars, frenetic bass, and Alexis Krauss’ melodic, choir-girl vocal hooks make for something as initially uncomfortable as it is incredibly catchy." Erik Adams of The A.V. Club
stated "tracks like 'Tell ’Em' and 'Treats' trade on some of the last three decades of pop music’s most noxious textures—harmonized, Joe Satriani-esque guitar heroics; dark stabs of synthesizers lifted from crunk and snap—but those sounds are transformed into undeniable hooks when filtered through Miller’s songwriting smarts and laid under the deceptively sweet vocals of Alexis Krauss.
placed the song at number forty on its list of The 50 Best Songs of 2010. Matthew Cole of Slant Magazine
deemed the song the best album opener of 2010.
's show "The Rumour Room". It was also featured in a commercial for The X Games
.
Sleigh Bells
Sleigh Bells is an American noise pop music duo. The group released their debut album, Treats, on May 11, 2010.-History:Based in Brooklyn, New York, Sleigh Bells is composed of Derek E. Miller and Alexis Krauss...
from their debut album Treats
Treats (album)
Treats is the debut studio album by American noise pop duo Sleigh Bells, released jointly on May 11, 2010 by Mom + Pop Music and N.E.E.T. Recordings.-Track listing:*"Rill Rill" samples "Can You Get to That?" by Funkadelic.-Recording:...
. Written by Miller and sung by Alexis Krauss, the song is the album's opening track, and was released as its 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...
.
Prior to the album's release, the track was available as a free download on April 28, 2010 via the Mom + Pop website. It was well received by critics, and frequently noted as a highlight of the album. The song was released to U.S. radio stations on April 28, 2010, but it failed to enter any charts.
Writing and recording
In an interview with Drowned in SoundDrowned in Sound
DrownedinSound.com or DiS is a UK based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway . The site is an editorially independent music website.-History:...
, Krauss referred to the song among others as "more collaborative in terms of me doing more work on melodies, harmonies and we plan on further explorations of this in the future." Miller, when asked about the duo's loud sound, referenced the song, stating, "It has this intense melody on it. I was afraid to do it for so long because I had abandoned heavy drone for a few years. But it was just there, always in the background and I was just craving it." Miller has also described the song as being "preach-y without being righteous. It's like we're disappointed but optimistic." The song's lyrics describe a disappointment in today's youths and an encouragement for teens to strive to be better, and it was one of the last to be recorded for the album.
Composition
"Tell 'Em" is a noise-popNoise pop
Noise pop is a subgenre of alternative rock developed in the mid 1980s in the UK and US, that mixes atonal noise or feedback, or both, with the melodic instrumentation and production elements more often found in pop music, making it more melodic and angst-free than noise rock.-History:Noise pop has...
song composed of an intro, which has been described as a mixture of "piledriving beats" and a "towering riff trigger", "bazooka beats and syncopated snaps" incorporated with "heavy metal guitar riffs", and a chorus featuring Krauss' vocals over "machine-gun drums". The song also incorporates various snaps and claps.
Critical response
Since its release, the song has been hailed by music critics for its intense sound, with one noting its similarity to the songs of electronicElectronic 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...
singer M.I.A.
M.I.A. (artist)
Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam , better known by her stage name M.I.A. , is an English singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, painter and director of Sri Lankan Tamil descent. Her compositions combine elements of hip hop, electronica, dance, alternative and world music. M.I.A...
Lisa Wright, a writer from NME, lauded the song, declaring "not since Miss Arulpragasam herself has there been a track that makes violence sound so goddamn danceable." Zach Baron of Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
praised the song's production, comparing it to "winning a video game shootout inside of a disco that's on neon fire." Michael Saba of Paste
Paste (magazine)
Paste is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine published in the United States by Wolfgang's Vault. Its tagline is "Signs of Life in Music, Film and Culture."-History:...
also wrote highly of the song, calling it "a beast of a track—three minutes of the crunchy, glitched-out riffs and titanic hooks". PopMatters'
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
editor Arnold Pan, like other critics, commented on the song's intensity, writing, "You’ll probably be too shellshocked by the anxiety-inducing and heart-palpitating thrills of the leadoff track 'Tell ‘Em' to do anything else but take it all in, even if your eardrums tell you to turn off the racket." Ryan Dombal of Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
commented positively on the song, stating that "nobody has made a guitar sound so hawkish since Jack White
Jack White (musician)
Jack White , often credited as Jack White III, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and occasional actor...
. Because it's got the both the bone crunch of third and long and the pom-pom chants built in." Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
s Eric Magnuson, impressed with the song's sound, referred to it as "a body-shaker that sounds like a choir girl showing up to a street fight with a howitzer and a holster full of lasers. Danceable lasers." Matthew Cole of Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
described the song as "a call to the dance floor, mosh pit, or wherever it is that folks from your scene get down, it's undeniable." In Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic, or simply Sputnik, is a music website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites...
's review of the album, the song was described as "the perfect litmus test: buzzsaw guitars, frenetic bass, and Alexis Krauss’ melodic, choir-girl vocal hooks make for something as initially uncomfortable as it is incredibly catchy." Erik Adams of The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
stated "tracks like 'Tell ’Em' and 'Treats' trade on some of the last three decades of pop music’s most noxious textures—harmonized, Joe Satriani-esque guitar heroics; dark stabs of synthesizers lifted from crunk and snap—but those sounds are transformed into undeniable hooks when filtered through Miller’s songwriting smarts and laid under the deceptively sweet vocals of Alexis Krauss.
Accolades
Daily news site indieWIREIndieWire
indieWIRE is a daily news site for the independent film community. It covers indie, documentary and foreign language films, as well industry news, film festival reports, filmmaker interviews and movie reviews...
placed the song at number forty on its list of The 50 Best Songs of 2010. Matthew Cole of Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
deemed the song the best album opener of 2010.
Pop culture
A part of the song is used as the theme of TRTÉTRTÉ
TRTÉ is a programming block which airs on RTÉ Two targeting children between 8 and 16 years of age. It operates along its sister strand RTÉjr, which targets children of less than 8 years of age. The strand also appears on RTÉ Junior....
's show "The Rumour Room". It was also featured in a commercial for The X Games
X Games
The X Games is a commercial annual sports event, controlled and arranged by US sports broadcaster ESPN, which focuses on action sports. The inaugural X Games was held in the summer of 1995 in Rhode Island....
.
Personnel
- Derek E. Miller - SongwriterSongwriterA songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, guitaristGuitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Alexis Krauss - Vocals, SongwriterSongwriterA songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...