Heat of the Moment

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"Heat of the Moment"

Cover of the European single
Single by Asia
from the album Asia
B-side "Time Again" (UK)
"Ride Easy" (outside of UK)
Released April 1982
Format 7" vinyl + Song on Asia album Tape and 33.
Recorded 1981
Genre Progressive rock, Arena rock
Length 3:50
Label Geffen
Writer(s) John Wetton, Geoff Downes
Producer Mike Stone
Asia singles chronology
"Heat of the Moment"
(1982)		 "Here Comes the Feeling"
(1982)
Music sample
"Heat of the Moment"

"Heat of the Moment" is the first single released by progressive rock band Asia from their 1982 eponymous debut. The song was the most popular of the album, and a big hit in the USA, peaking at #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and #4 on the Billboard Top Singles chart.[1][2] It was written by John Wetton and Geoff Downes. "Heat of the Moment" is featured at the beginning of another Asia song called "Don't Call Me" as a dialing number from a telephone.

Contents

[edit] Interpretation

The lyrics contain the line, "And now you find yourself in 82". While this is often interpreted to refer to the year 1982, Wetton has said that it refers to a location.[3] However, in live versions, Wetton has often substituted the current year for "82" in the second verse and rhymed it with another word.

[edit] B-sides

"Time Again" is the B-side of the UK release. The song was written by all the band members, Geoff Downes, Steve Howe, Carl Palmer and John Wetton, and can also be found on the Asia album.

"Ride Easy" is the B-side of the singles released outside of the UK. This song was written by Wetton and Howe. It was never given a regular release on a studio album, but it was included in the EP Aurora, released only in Japan in 1986. During an interview on the 2007 released Asia DVD Fantasia: Live in Tokyo, Wetton indicated that "Ride Easy" is one of his favourite Asia songs.

[edit] Track listing

US 7" single
No. Title Length
1. "Heat of the Moment"   3:50
2. "Ride Easy"   4:35
UK 7" single
No. Title Length
1. "Heat of the Moment"   3:50
2. "Time Again"   4:45

[edit] Chart performance

Chart (1982) Peak
position
UK Singles Chart[4] 46
Canadian RPM Top Singles[5] 4
German GfK chart[6] 33
Dutch Top 40[7] 34
Irish Singles Chart[8] 30
Swiss Singles Chart[9] 2
US Billboard Pop Singles[1][2] 4
US Billboard Mainstream Rock[1][2] 1

[edit] Popular culture

  • "Heat of the Moment" was repopularized in 2005 when it was featured in the motion pictures The 40-Year-Old Virgin and The Matador.
  • In the episode "Kenny Dies" of the TV show South Park, Eric Cartman sings the song to the United States Congress to convince them to reverse a ban on stem cell research (telling them that he wanted to save his 8-year-old friend Kenny McCormick from muscular dystrophy), eventually leading members of Congress in a maudlin sing-along.[10]
  • In the Supernatural episode "Mystery Spot", the song is repeatedly played on Tuesday morning, and Dean Winchester rocks out to it as well.
  • The song is featured in the Season 4 episode "Shuffle, Ball Change" of Cold Case
  • The song is a playable track in the video game Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s.
  • The song is in the score of the musical Rock of Ages.
  • In Sleepaway Camp one of the characters is wearing this song's cover on his shirt.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (8 ed.). Billboard Publications. p. 35. 
  2. ^ a b c "allmusic ((( Asia > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))". http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p3579/charts-awards/billboard-singles. Retrieved 16 May 2009 (2009-05-16). 
  3. ^ "LET IT ROCK - John WETTON interview". April 2003. http://dmme.net/interviews/wetton.html. Retrieved 16 May 2009 (2009-05-16). 
  4. ^ "Chart Stats - Asia - Heat Of The Moment". http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=10029. Retrieved 16 May 2009 (2009-05-16). 
  5. ^ "RPM Volume 36 No. 17, June 05 1982 - RPM". http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.6555&volume=36&issue=17&issue_dt=June%2005%201982&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=mvd3le5ecktjsfm8c2odk6sps0. Retrieved 16 May 2009 (2009-05-16). 
  6. ^ "dutchcharts.nl - Asia - Heat Of The Moment (in Dutch)". http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Asia&titel=Heat+Of+The+Moment&cat=s. Retrieved 16 May 2009 (2009-05-16). 
  7. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40, week 24, 1982 (in Dutch)". http://www.top40.nl/index.aspx?week=24&jaar=1982. Retrieved 16 May 2009 (2009-05-16). 
  8. ^ "irishcharts.ie search results". http://www.irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 16 May 2009 (2009-05-16). 
  9. ^ "Asia - Heat Of The Moment - hitparade.ch (in German)". http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=Asia&titel=Heat+Of+The+Moment&cat=s. Retrieved 16 May 2009 (2009-05-16). 
  10. ^ "The Heat of the Moment (Season 5, Episode 13) - Video Clips". South Park Studios. http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/153158. Retrieved 2012-02-20. 
Asia
Studio albums and EPs
Live albums
Compilations
Singles
  • "Heat of the Moment"
  • "Here Comes the Feeling"
  • "Only Time Will Tell"
  • "Sole Survivor"
  • "Time Again"
  • "Wildest Dreams"
  • "Don't Cry"
  • "True Colors"
  • "The Heat Goes On"
  • "Daylight"
  • "The Smile Has Left Your Eyes"
  • "Go"
  • "Wishing"
  • "Too Late"
  • "Days Like These"
  • "Prayin' 4 a Miracle"
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