Wicked Game
Encyclopedia
"Wicked Game" is a 1989 song by Chris Isaak
Chris Isaak
Christopher Joseph "Chris" Isaak is an American rock musician and occasional actor.-Early life:Isaak was born in Stockton, California, the son of Dorothy , a potato chip factory worker, and Joe Isaak, a forklift driver. Isaak's mother is Italian American, originating from Genoa...

 from his third studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...

 Heart Shaped World. Despite being released as a single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 in 1989, it did not become a hit until it was later featured in the David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...

 film Wild at Heart
Wild at Heart (film)
Wild at Heart is a 1990 American film written and directed by David Lynch, and based on Barry Gifford's 1989 novel Wild at Heart: The Story of Sailor and Lula. Both the book and the film revolve around Sailor Ripley and Lula Pace Fortune , a young couple from Cape Fear, North Carolina who go on...

. Lee Chesnut, an Atlanta radio station music director who loved David Lynch films, began playing the song and it quickly became a nationwide top ten hit in January 1991, reaching #6 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 chart, making it the only hit song of his career in the U.S. James Calvin Wilsey played the distinctive lead guitar solo on the song.

The song is written in the mode of B Dorian
Dorian mode
Due to historical confusion, Dorian mode or Doric mode can refer to three very different musical modes or diatonic scales, the Greek, the medieval, and the modern.- Greek Dorian mode :...

. Through several years, many different versions and arrangements of the song were made before the final version was released. Both the bassline and drums (except the cymbals) were sampled
Sampler (musical instrument)
A sampler is an electronic musical instrument similar in some respects to a synthesizer but, instead of generating sounds, it uses recordings of sounds that are loaded or recorded into it by the user and then played back by means of a keyboard, sequencer or other triggering device to perform or...

 from previous recordings of the song and then looped
Music loop
In electroacoustic music, a loop is a repeating section of sound material. Short sections of material can be repeated to create ostinato patterns...

.

Music videos

The music video
Music 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...

 of the song was directed by Herb Ritts
Herb Ritts
Herbert "Herb" Ritts was an American fashion photographer who concentrated on black-and-white photography and portraits, often in the style of classical Greek sculpture.-Early life and career:...

, shot in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

 and featured top model Helena Christensen
Helena Christensen
Helena Christensen is a Danish fashion model, Victoria's Secret Angel, beauty queen, and photographer. She has also served as creative director for Nylon magazine, designed clothing, and supported funding for breast cancer organizations and other charities.-Early life:Christensen was born in...

 rolling and frolicking on the beach with Isaak. It was filmed in black and white. Christensen was topless
Toplessness
Toplessness is the state in which a female's breasts are uncovered, with the areolae and nipples visible, usually in a public space. It can also refer to a female not wearing any clothing above the waist, which is the female equivalent to a male barechestedness.The history and even the present-day...

 and Isaak was shirtless through most of the video, although clever camera angles concealed any actual nudity. Viewers still reacted to Christensen's sexually suggestive performance, and the video was later featured on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

's Sexiest Video of All-Time countdown. The video won the MTV Video Music Awards
MTV Video Music Awards
An MTV Video Music Award , is an award presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in music videos...

 for Best Male Video
MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video
The MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video is one of the four original general awards that have been handed out every year since the very first MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. In 2007, though, the award was briefly renamed Male Artist of the Year, and it awarded the artist's whole body of work...

, Best Cinematography
MTV Video Music Award for Best Cinematography
The following is a list of MTV Video Music Award winners for Best Cinematography in a Video. Madonna is the biggest Winner in this category with 3 wins....

 and Best Video from a Film
MTV Video Music Award for Best Video from a Film
The MTV Video Music Award for Best Video from a Film was first awarded in 1987, recognizing the best videos whose songs were a part of a movie soundtrack or featured in a film. As time went on, though, music videos taken from movie soundtracks became more rare, and so the last of this award was...

. A previous version of the video was commissioned for the Wild at Heart
Wild at Heart (film)
Wild at Heart is a 1990 American film written and directed by David Lynch, and based on Barry Gifford's 1989 novel Wild at Heart: The Story of Sailor and Lula. Both the book and the film revolve around Sailor Ripley and Lula Pace Fortune , a young couple from Cape Fear, North Carolina who go on...

soundtrack, and was directed by David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...

.

The video was ranked #13 on VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...

's 100 Greatest Videos and was also ranked #4 on VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...

's 50 Sexiest Video Moments. The video was ranked #73 on 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...

magazine's "The 100 Top Music Videos". The video ranked #1 on Fuse
Fuse TV
Fuse is an American national television network dedicated exclusively to music. It features original series and specials, exclusive interviews, live concerts and video blocks....

's "40 Sexiest Videos" in 2010.

Uses in popular culture

  • The song was used as a theme for supercouple
    Supercouple
    A supercouple or super couple is a popular or financially wealthy pairing that intrigues and fascinates the public in an intense or even obsessive fashion...

     Jack and Jennifer in the soap opera Days of our Lives
    Days of our Lives
    Days of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around...

  • The song was used in the Brett Ratner
    Brett Ratner
    Brett Ratner is an American film director, film producer and music video director. He is best known for directing the Rush Hour film series, The Family Man, Red Dragon, X-Men: The Last Stand, and Tower Heist. He was also a producer on the Fox drama series, Prison Break.- Early life :Ratner was...

     film, The Family Man
    The Family Man
    The Family Man is a 2000 drama film directed by Brett Ratner and starring Nicolas Cage and Téa Leoni. Cage's production company, Saturn Films, helped produce the film....

    , and the Ridley Scott film, Matchstick Men
    Matchstick Men (film)
    Matchstick Men is a 2003 American drama film directed by Ridley Scott. Based on Eric Garcia's novel Matchstick Men: A Novel about Grifters with Issues , the motion picture stars Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell, and Alison Lohman.-Plot:...

    ; both starred Nicolas Cage
    Nicolas Cage
    Nicolas Cage is an American actor, producer and director, having appeared in over 60 films including Raising Arizona , The Rock , Face/Off , Gone in 60 Seconds , Adaptation , National Treasure , Ghost Rider , Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans , and...

    .
  • The song was used in 2 episodes of Beverly Hills, 90210
    Beverly Hills, 90210
    Beverly Hills, 90210 is an American drama series that originally aired from October 4, 1990 to May 17, 2000 on Fox and was produced by Spelling Television in the United States, and subsequently on various networks around the world. It is the first series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise...

    "One Man and a Baby" from Season 1
    Beverly Hills, 90210 (season 1)
    Season 1 of Beverly Hills, 90210, an American teen drama television series, began airing on October 4, 1990 on FOX television network. The season concluded on May 9, 1991 after 22 episodes....

     and "Wildfire" from Season 2
    Beverly Hills, 90210 (season 2)
    Season 2 of Beverly Hills, 90210, an American teen drama television series, began airing on July 11, 1991 on FOX television network. The season concluded on May 7, 1992 after 28 episodes....

    . It was also used in its spin-off, 90210
    90210 (TV series)
    90210 is an American teen drama television series developed by Rob Thomas, Jeff Judah and Gabe Sachs, and the fourth series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise created by Darren Star. 90210 is the first series produced by CBS Productions under the company's re-launch, but is now produced by CBS...

    in the season 3
    90210 (season 3)
    The third season of 90210, an American television series, premiered on Monday September 13, 2010. The CW officially renewed the show for a third season on February 16, 2010. With the reveal of the networks fall 2010 schedule, they announced their decision to move 90210 to Monday...

     episode "How Much Is That Liam on the Window".
  • The song was used in two episodes The One with the Prom Video
    The One with the Prom Video
    "The One with the Prom Video" is the fourteenth episode of the second season of the American television situation comedy Friends, which first aired on NBC on February 1, 1996. The episode focuses on the main characters watching Monica and Rachel getting ready for their high school prom in the...

     (2x14) and "The One Where Ross And Rachel...You Know" (2x15) from season 2
    Friends (season 2)
    The second season of Friends, an American situation comedy created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, premiered on NBC on September 21, 1995. Friends was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television. The season contains 24 episodes and concluded airing...

     of Friends
    Friends
    Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...

    .
  • The song was used in the 1992 movie Leaving Normal
    Leaving Normal (film)
    Leaving Normal was a 1992 American road movie which featured two female leads. Directed by Edward Zwick and written by Ed Solomon, the film's plot resembled the more commercially-lucrative 1991 film Thelma & Louise...

    directed by Edward Zwick
    Edward Zwick
    Edward M. Zwick is an American filmmaker and film producer noted for his epic films about social and racial issues. He has been described as a "throwback to an earlier era, an extremely cerebral director whose movies consistently feature fully rounded characters, difficult moral issues, and plots...

    .
  • The song was also used in the soap opera The Young and the Restless
    The Young and the Restless
    The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...

    ,
    One Life to Live
    One Life to Live
    One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...

    ,
    and General Hospital
    General Hospital
    General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....

    .
  • The master recording song was featured in Konami's rebooted version of their singing video game called "Karaoke Revolution
    Karaoke Revolution (2009 video game)
    Karaoke Revolution is a video game for the Xbox 360, Wii and PlayStation 3. It is developed by Blitz Games and published by Konami. Konami recently announced that Karaoke Revolution Glee was released exclusively for the Wii and is based on the popular musical TV sitcom by 20th Century...

    ".

Track listings

CD maxi - Europe
  1. "Wicked Game" by Chris Isaak
  2. "Cool Cat Walk" by Angelo Badalamenti
  3. "Dark Spanish Symphony" (string version) by Angelo Badalamenti — 2:34


CD maxi - Promo - U.S.
  1. "Wicked Game" (album version) — 4:46
  2. "Wicked Game" (edit) — 4:06
  3. "Wicked Game" (instrumental) — 4:48


Cassette
  1. "Wicked Game" (edit) — 4:06
  2. "Wicked Game" (instrumental) — 4:48


12" maxi - UK
  1. "Wicked Game" by Chris Isaak
  2. "Cool Cat Walk" by Angelo Badalamenti
  3. "Dark Spanish Symphony" (string version) by Angelo Badalamenti — 2:34


7" single - Europe
  1. "Wicked Game" by Chris Isaak — 4:06
  2. "Cool Cat Walk" by Angelo Badalamenti — 3:22


Peak positions

Chart (1990/91) Peak
position
Australian ARIA 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...

15
Dutch Top 40
Dutch Top 40
The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting...

5
French SNEP Singles Chart 42
German Singles Chart 9
Irish Singles Chart
Irish Singles Chart
The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...

10
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart 7
Swedish Singles Chart 3
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 ...

10
U.S. Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

6
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks 10
U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks 2


End of year charts

End of year chart (1991) Position
Dutch Top 40 30
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 79

Certifications

Country Certification Date Sales certified
U.S. Gold April 17, 1991 500,000


HIM cover

The Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 band HIM remade this song, first using it in their demo This is Only the Beginning, then in their EP 666 Ways To Love: Prologue
666 Ways to Love: Prologue
666 Ways to Love: Prologue is an EP by HIM, released in 1996, only in Finland. It is produced by Hiili Hiilesmaa, and was registered in Finnvox, MD and Peacemakers, Helsinki. It is their first release after a demo in 1995...

, then another recording on their first album Greatest Love Songs Vol. 666
Greatest Love Songs Vol. 666
Greatest Lovesongs Vol. 666 is the debut album by Finnish band, HIM. It was produced by Hiili Hiilesmaa and guest vocals were provided by Sanna-June Hyde and Asta Hannula on " The Reaper" and "For You", respectively. In keeping with the theme of 666, the album is 66 minutes and 6 seconds long,...

, and lastly on the British
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 versions of their second album Razorblade Romance
Razorblade Romance
Razorblade Romance is the second studio album by HIM, released on 19 December 1999 in Finland and 24 January 2000 in the rest of Europe - except for the UK, where it was released 15 May 2000. It was produced by John Fryer and recorded at Rockfield recording studios in Wales by John Fryer and Paul...

. The last recording they made of it then reappeared on their compilation album And Love Said No: The Greatest Hits 1997–2004. With "Wicked Game" on their EP and first album, HIM gained fame in their native Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

. HIM frontman Ville Valo
Ville Valo
Ville Hermanni Valo is a Finnish singer, songwriter and frontman of the Finnish rock band HIM. He has received the "Golden God" award in 2004 by the heavy metal magazine Metal Hammer. Valo has a baritone vocal range. Valo was ranked number 80 in Hit Paraders Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time...

 had this to say about "Wicked Game": "I went to Pasila's library and borrowed the soundtrack-vinyl of Wild At Heart and recorded it on tape. So with Linde we tried to 'learn' the song from the tape. It was kind of funny, that we learnt the song a bit wrong. We did not hear the guitar parts well enough from that 'bad quality' tape. We also heard the lyrics wrong, and when the song was later recorded to our first EP, there were a few funny mistakes in the lyrics."

Track listings

German release
  1. "Wicked Game" – 3:54
  2. "For You" – 4:00
  3. "Our Diabolikal Rapture" – 5:20
  4. "Wicked Game" (666 Remix) – 3:58


Finnish release
  1. "Wicked Game"
  2. "For You"


2000 UK release
  1. "Wicked Game" – 3:36
  2. "When Love and Death Embrace" (Amnt mix) – 3:34
  3. "The Heartless" (Serdlidlim Mix) – 3:11


2000 Swedish release
  1. "Wicked Game" 2000
  2. "When Love and Death Embrace" (Amnt mix) – 3:34

Other versions

  • Australian musician Edward Guglielmino
    Edward Guglielmino
    Edward Guglielmino is a musician in Brisbane, Australia.-Music career:Edward Guglielmino is a musician, an academic and a blogger; he originally started pursuing music in high-school in 2000. He writes quirky guitar pop. One of his gigs listed as a highlight in April in the book Australia Year in...

     plays it as a cover at his live performances.
  • The German dance/techno-outfit Novaspace
    Novaspace
    Novaspace is a German Eurodance project which, between 2002 and 2004, covered several 1980s hits, such as "Time After Time", "Guardian Angel" and "Beds Are Burning"...

     recorded a version of the song for their 2004 album Cubes.
  • Heather Nova
    Heather Nova
    Heather Nova, is a Bermudian singer-songwriter and poet. She has released eight full-length albums and has found lasting success in Germany where two of her albums South and Storm have made their way into the Top-5 of German official album chart.-Biography:Heather Nova was born in Bermuda...

     included a cover on her 2005 album Redbird.
  • The gregorian chant -inspired music group Gregorian
    Gregorian (band)
    Gregorian is a German band headed by Frank Peterson that performs Gregorian chant-inspired versions of modern pop and rock songs. The band features both vocal harmony and instrumental accompaniment.- Band history :...

     made a cover of the song for their album Masters of Chant Chapter III
    Masters of Chant Chapter III
    Masters of Chant III is the fourth album by Gregorian.- Track listing :# "Join Me" – 4:10 # "Be" – 5:20...

    .
  • R.E.M.
    R.E.M.
    R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...

     included a cover of the song on their 1995 Fan Club Christmas Single.
  • Corey Taylor
    Corey Taylor
    Corey Todd Taylor sometimes known by the number 8, is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of Slipknot and Stone Sour. Taylor was raised by his single mother. He developed a fond feeling toward classic rock after his grandmother introduced him to it...

     of Stone Sour
    Stone Sour
    Stone Sour is an American rock band from Des Moines, Iowa. Since 2006, the group has been composed of Corey Taylor , Jim Root , Josh Rand, , Shawn Economaki and Roy Mayorga . Original drummer Joel Ekman left the group in 2006...

     and Slipknot
    Slipknot (band)
    Slipknot is an American heavy metal band from Des Moines, Iowa. Formed in 1995, the group was founded by percussionist Shawn Crahan and bassist Paul Gray...

     performed this song acoustic in the band's tours of 2006 and 2007. A live acoustic version of the song is on the special edition version of the Stone Sour album Come What(ever) May
    Come What(ever) May
    Come What May is the second studio album by American alternative metal band Stone Sour. It was recorded and produced by the band and Nick Raskulinecz at Studio 606 in Los Angeles, California, and was released on August 1, 2006, through Roadrunner Records...

    .
  • Adam Gontier
    Adam Gontier
    Adam Wade Gontier is a Canadian musician and songwriter. He is the lead singer, rhythm guitarist, and main songwriter of the rock band Three Days Grace...

    of Three Days Grace
    Three Days Grace
    Three Days Grace is a Canadian rock band, formed in Norwood, Ontario, Canada in 1992, originally under the name Groundswell. After a breakup in late 1997, the band regrouped in the same year under its current name and with a line-up consisting of guitarist and lead vocalist Adam Gontier, drummer...

    performed this song acoustic in the bands tours of 2007 and this version is available for download on the iTunes version of their album, One-X
    One-X
    -Notes:* The songs, "Animal I Have Become", and "Riot", were both featured in the video game, WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007-Personnel:*Adam Gontier – lead vocals, rhythm guitar*Barry Stock – lead guitar*Brad Walst – bass guitar, backing vocals...

    .
  • The video was parodied in the Bloodhound Gang
    Bloodhound Gang
    Bloodhound Gang is a Collegeville, Pennsylvania-based American comedy band, although it began as a rap group and gradually changed its genre throughout the years...

     video Screwing You on the Beach at Night
    Screwing You on the Beach at Night
    "Screwing You on the Beach at Night" is a 2007 single by the Bloodhound Gang. It was first released on iTunes on July 17, 2007, and later as a CD single...

    .
  • Tangerine Dream
    Tangerine Dream
    Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music group founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The band has undergone many personnel changes over the years, with Froese being the only continuous member...

    , in their 2010 album Under Cover - Chapter One
    Under Cover - Chapter One (Tangerine Dream album)
    Under Cover - Chapter One is an album by electronic group Tangerine Dream, which was released in December of 2010. The idea for the album is said to have started in 2008 in Los Angeles. The band was touring in the west coast area at the time, and their promoter jokingly told the band they should...

    .
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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