Twilight Zone (Golden Earring song)
| "Twilight Zone" | ||||||||
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| Single by Golden Earring | ||||||||
| from the album Cut | ||||||||
| Released | 1982 | |||||||
| Format | 7" (45 RPM) | |||||||
| Genre | Hard rock | |||||||
| Length | 7:58 (album version)[1] 4:40 (single) |
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| Writer(s) | George Kooymans | |||||||
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"Twilight Zone" is a 1982 hit song by the Dutch hard rock band Golden Earring. It was written by the band's guitarist George Kooymans, who got the inspiration from a book by Robert Ludlum, The Bourne Identity. "Twilight Zone" appears on their 1982 album Cut. It reached #10 in the US Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Billboard Top Tracks chart, the band's only #1 hit in the country.[2]
Lead vocals on the song are performed first by George Kooymans (who speaks the lines up to, and including, the line "the gun is still warm"), then by Barry Hay who sings the rest of the song. Curiously, if the first 5 or 6 seconds of the song is played in reverse[citation needed], the words "Sirens in my head, my whole life spins into" can be heard which are from two lines and chords later in the song. The full lines, "Yeah, there's a storm on the loose, sirens in my head" and "Cannot decode - my whole life spins into a frenzy" are partly masked because the vocal track is being played at a much lower volume than the reversed chords are.
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[edit] Music video
The music video, directed by Dick Maas, features a storyline with lead singer Barry Hay as an espionage agent who is inevitably apprehended by three henchmen (played by the other members of the band).
The music video was one of the first to feature a cinematic storyline and dance choreography and was a hit on the fledgeling MTV network, helping the song to become the second international hit for the band. Golden Earring followed the success with an extensive tour of the USA, Canada and Europe. MTV commissioned the band to shoot a movie of the final 'homecoming' concert of the tour in the Netherlands. The concert film, also directed by Dick Maas, included a brief introductory segment which was a parody of the TV series The Twilight Zone. The concert was released in 1984 as Live from The Twilight Zone, aired on MTV and published as video and DVD. To date this concert is regarded as one of the best live shows of the band.
The Cut album cover's iconic image of the jack of diamonds playing card being shredded by a bullet is used in the video and represents the life of the rogue agent.
[edit] Twilight Zone in popular culture
"Twilight Zone" was used as the theme song in the 1993 hit pinball game, "The Twilight Zone" (based on the classic TV series), made by Midway Games.[3]
"Twilight Zone" is used as the theme song for the radio news show Wall Street Journal This Morning.[4]
"Twilight Zone" is often heard as bumper music on the Coast to Coast AM radio show.
The song was covered by CSS and was used in a Lincoln commercial titled "Wired Luxury."
The now-defunct Atlanta Knights, who played in the International Hockey League from 1992-96, used "Twilight Zone" as the team's theme song at home games during the pre-game introductions of the starting lineup.
[edit] Chart positions
| Chart (1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Dutch Top 40[5] | 1 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[6] | 10 |
| US Billboard Top Tracks[6] | 1 |
[edit] See also
- List of Dutch Top 40 number-one singles of 1982
- List of number-one mainstream rock hits (United States)
[edit] References
- ^ This song length refers to the full album version. The edited single version was 4:40.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits',' 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 259.
- ^ "Internet Pinball Machine Database: Midway Twilight Zone". http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?gid=2684. Retrieved 2008-10-14.
- ^ "WSJ This Morning". The Wall Street Journal. http://blogs.wsj.com/wsjam/.
- ^ "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 37, 1982". http://www.radio538.nl/web/show/id=44685/chartid=6388. Retrieved 2008-02-18.
- ^ a b Golden Earring Billboard Singles Charts Performance at Allmusic
[edit] External links
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