The Memory Remains
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "The Memory Remains" | ||||
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| Single by Metallica | ||||
| from the album ReLoad | ||||
| B-side | Fuel for Fire/Memory For Whom the Bell Tolls (Haven't Heard it Yet Mix) |
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| Released | 1997 | |||
| Format | CD single | |||
| Recorded | 1996 | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal | |||
| Length | 4:38 | |||
| Label | Elektra | |||
| Writer(s) | James Hetfield Lars Ulrich |
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| Producer | Bob Rock Metallica |
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| Metallica singles chronology | ||||
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"The Memory Remains" is a song by Metallica from their 1997 album ReLoad. It was first performed live in a "jam" version on July 2, 1996.[1] The song is about a once-great, now forgotten celebrity who is desperate to regain her fame but is driven half-mad with her obscurity. It may be a reference to the film Sunset Boulevard.
The song was the first single from the album. It was written by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich.
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[edit] Other versions
The song was performed on the December 6, 1997 edition of Saturday Night Live when Metallica was the musical guest. It was later performed with the San Francisco Symphony (conducted by the late Michael Kamen) on S&M.
[edit] Covers
Several bands have covered the song, including The Kovenant, Spleen, Iron Horse and The Stanford Harmonics.
[edit] Chart performance
The single would prove to be successful, hitting #28 on the Billboard Hot 100, #3 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and #13 on the UK Singles Chart. It would be Metallica's last appearance in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 until 2008's "The Day That Never Comes".
[edit] Music video
The "Memory Remains" music video features a surreal, anti-gravity concept. The band plays on a large, suspended platform making full and continuous rotations throughout the performance, like an enormous swing. The platform and band are actually stationary and the room spins around it, like the ride "Hex" at Alton Towers in the UK. Marianne Faithfull sings in a dark corridor and turns the crank of a musical instrument. In some scenes money rains down, an allegorical reference.
According to Encyclopedia Metallica, the video was shot at the Van Nuys Airport and cost $400,000, with the large platform costing over $100,000. The video premiered on MTV's Mattrock on November 15, 1997.[1]
There exist two versions of the music video, with a small difference in the beginning five seconds. In one version James Hetfield plays guitar, while in the other Jason Newsted plays bass.
[edit] Track listing
CD Single (UK pt. 1)
- "The Memory Remains" - 4:39
- "Fuel for Fire" (Work in progress with different lyrics)
- "Memory (Demo version)"
CD Single (UK pt. 2)
- "The Memory Remains" - 4:39
- "The Outlaw Torn (Unencumbered by Manufacturing Restrictions Version)" - 10:48
- "King Nothing (Tepid Mix)" - 5:07
CD 2-track Single (US & Canada)
- "The Memory Remains" - 4:39
- "For Whom the Bell Tolls ('Haven't Heard It Yet' mix)"
[edit] References
- ^ a b The Memory Remains EncycMet.com. Retrieved March 21, 2008.
