Weak and Powerless
Encyclopedia
"Weak and Powerless" is the first single by the alternative rock
band A Perfect Circle
, from their second album, Thirteenth Step
, and is also their highest charting single to date, reaching #1 on both the Mainstream Rock Tracks
and Modern Rock Tracks
.
of the song was made, entitled "Weak and Powerless (Tilling My Grave Mix)" and featuring instrumentation by Danny Lohner
, Wes Borland
, and Josh Eustis. This version is significantly heavier than the album version and was featured in the soundtrack to Underworld
and The Invisible
. Borland told Cleveland Radio station 100.7 The Buzzard in an interview at the time of the soundtrack's promotion that he and Lohner wrote the remix by putting the song up in Pro Tools
and stripping away everything but Maynard's vocals, leaving the three of them to write new music around the vocals.
, directed by the Brothers Strause
, features a nude woman with long, white hair, as seen in various artwork for the album, crawling through the woods, collecting various reptiles, and throwing them into an amblypygi -filled pit. The commentary by Maynard James Keenan
provided for the video stated the model's name as Tanya, a woman who had never done this type of work before. There are two versions of the video; edited and unedited. In the unedited version the woman's breast and pelvic areas are clearly visible. These areas of the body are darkened and blurred for the television version and the scenes are sped up. Various camera and computer effects
are used throughout the video. The video saw significant airplay upon release and is included on the aMOTION
DVD
/CD.
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band A Perfect Circle
A Perfect Circle
A Perfect Circle is an American rock supergroup formed in 1999 by guitarist Billy Howerdel and Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan. The original incarnation of the band also included Paz Lenchantin on bass, Troy Van Leeuwen on guitar, and Tim Alexander on drums...
, from their second album, Thirteenth Step
Thirteenth Step
Thirteenth Step is the second studio album by American rock band A Perfect Circle, released under Compact Disc format on September 16, 2003. It was a major success reaching the #2 position on the Billboard 200 in its premiere week, selling over 231,000 copies and staying on the charts for 78 weeks....
, and is also their highest charting single to date, reaching #1 on both the 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...
and 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...
.
Remixes
One of the most prominent aspects of "Weak and Powerless" is its various layers of clean guitars and vocals, which build the relatively soft yet highly active verse into a powerful chorus. A remixRemix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
of the song was made, entitled "Weak and Powerless (Tilling My Grave Mix)" and featuring instrumentation by Danny Lohner
Danny Lohner
Daniel Patrick "Danny" Lohner , frequently known as Renholdër, is an American rock musician who plays bass guitar, electric guitar, and keyboards. He worked with Trent Reznor on numerous occasions, both with Nine Inch Nails and on the now defunct Tapeworm project...
, Wes Borland
Wes Borland
Wesley Louden Borland is an American musician and artist, best known as the guitarist for the band Limp Bizkit. He has been in several other bands as well including: Black Light Burns, The Damning Well, Goatslayer, Big Dumb Face, and Combichrist...
, and Josh Eustis. This version is significantly heavier than the album version and was featured in the soundtrack to Underworld
Underworld (2003 film)
Underworld is a 2003 action-horror film about the secret history of Vampires and Lycans . It is the first installment in the Underworld series. The main plot revolves around Selene , a vampire who is a Death Dealer hunting Lycans...
and The Invisible
The Invisible
The Invisible may refer to:*The Invisible , a film released in 2007*The Invisible , a British band*The Invisible , their debut album...
. Borland told Cleveland Radio station 100.7 The Buzzard in an interview at the time of the soundtrack's promotion that he and Lohner wrote the remix by putting the song up in Pro Tools
Pro Tools
Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation platform for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, developed and manufactured by Avid Technology. It is widely used by professionals throughout the audio industries for recording and editing in music production, film scoring, film, and television...
and stripping away everything but Maynard's vocals, leaving the three of them to write new music around the vocals.
Official versions
- "Weak And Powerless" - 3:15
- "Weak And Powerless" (Tilling My Grave Mix) - 3:04
Music video
The music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
, directed by the Brothers Strause
Brothers Strause
Brothers Greg and Colin Strause are a directing duo, most famous for directing Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem and Skyline, and special effects artists who make movies and grew up in Waukegan, Illinois...
, features a nude woman with long, white hair, as seen in various artwork for the album, crawling through the woods, collecting various reptiles, and throwing them into an amblypygi -filled pit. The commentary by Maynard James Keenan
Maynard James Keenan
Maynard James Keenan is an American rock singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, winemaker, and actor. Originally from Ohio, Keenan spent his high school and college years in Michigan. After serving in the Army in the early 1980s, he attended Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids...
provided for the video stated the model's name as Tanya, a woman who had never done this type of work before. There are two versions of the video; edited and unedited. In the unedited version the woman's breast and pelvic areas are clearly visible. These areas of the body are darkened and blurred for the television version and the scenes are sped up. Various camera and computer effects
Computer animation
Computer animation is the process used for generating animated images by using computer graphics. The more general term computer generated imagery encompasses both static scenes and dynamic images, while computer animation only refers to moving images....
are used throughout the video. The video saw significant airplay upon release and is included on the aMOTION
AMOTION
-Personnel:* Christopher Abbas – Director* Josh Abrahams – Remixing* Tim Alexander – Group member* Ken Andrews – Mixing* Wes Borland – Remixing* Brothers Strause – Director* Jerry Casale – Director...
DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
/CD.