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"Wicked Game" is a 1989 song by Chris Isaak from his third studio album Heart Shaped World. It is written in the key of B minor and utilizes the B Dorian modal scale.[citation needed] Despite being released as a single in 1989, it didn't become a hit until it was later featured in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart. Lee Chesnut, an Atlanta radio station music director who was obsessed with David Lynch films, began playing the song and it quickly became a nationwide top ten hit in January 1991, reaching #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making it the only hit song of his career in the U.S.
[edit] Chris Isaak version
[edit] Music videos
The music video of the song was directed by Herb Ritts and featured top model Helena Christensen rolling on the beach with Isaak. It was shot in black and white. Christensen was topless 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's Sexiest Video of All-Time countdown.[citation needed] The video won the MTV Video Music Awards for Best Male Video, Best Cinematography and Best Video from a Film. A previous version of the video was commissioned for the Wild at Heart soundtrack, and was directed by David Lynch.[1]
The video was ranked #13 on VH1's 100 Greatest Videos and was also ranked #4 on VH1's 50 Sexiest Video Moments. The video was ranked #73 on Rolling Stone magazine's "The 100 Top Music Videos".
[edit] Meaning
The song is a classic Love/Hate relationship. The narrator (Isaak) acknowledges that “no one could save me but you” in the first line but then paradoxically says it was “foolish” to partake in the second line. The chorus pines for not wanting to fall in love yet is sung with such passion that one knows he is, or has been in love. He expresses his reluctance, yet hints at wanting to "fall in love" knowing this love of worldly desire will most likely break his heart. The almost silent "don't" in the chorus line "No, I don't want to fall in love" also indicates a longing for this person, being in conflict with reason.
[edit] Uses in popular culture
[edit] Track listings
- CD maxi - Europe
- "Wicked Game" by Chris Isaak
- "Cool Cat Walk" by Angelo Badalamenti
- "Dark Spanish Symphony" (string version) by Angelo Badalamenti — 2:34
- CD maxi - Promo - U.S.
- "Wicked Game" (album version) — 4:46
- "Wicked Game" (edit) — 4:06
- "Wicked Game" (instrumental) — 4:48
- Cassette
- "Wicked Game" (edit) — 4:06
- "Wicked Game" (instrumental) — 4:48
|
- 12" maxi - UK
- "Wicked Game" by Chris Isaak
- "Cool Cat Walk" by Angelo Badalamenti
- "Dark Spanish Symphony" (string version) by Angelo Badalamenti — 2:34
- 7" single - Europe
- "Wicked Game" by Chris Isaak — 4:06
- "Cool Cat Walk" by Angelo Badalamenti — 3:22
|
[edit] Certifications
| Country |
Certification |
Date |
Sales certified |
| U.S.[2] |
Gold |
April 17, 1991 |
500,000 |
[edit] Charts
[edit] Cover versions
[edit] HIM cover
The Finnish 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, then another recording on their first album Greatest Love Songs Vol. 666, and lastly on the British and American versions of their second album Razorblade Romance. 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. HIM frontman Ville Valo 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 didn't 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."
[edit] Track listings
- German release
- "Wicked Game" – 3:54
- "For You" – 4:00
- "Our Diabolikal Rapture" – 5:20
- "Wicked Game" (666 Remix) – 3:58
- Finnish release
- "Wicked Game"
- "For You"
- 2000 UK release
- "Wicked Game" – 3:36
- "When Love and Death Embrace" (Amnt mix) – 3:34
- "The Heartless" (Serdlidlim Mix) – 3:11
- 2000 Swedish release
- "Wicked Game" 2000
- "When Love and Death Embrace" (Amnt mix) – 3:34
[edit] Other versions
- VAST plays a cover of Wicked Game during some of their live performances. [8]
- Australian musician Edward Guglielmino plays it as a cover at his live performances.
- The industrial band Crossbreed recorded a version of this song for their 1998 release .01.
- The Swiss video artist Pipilotti Rist also recorded a version of this song for her 1998 album Remake of a weekend, changing the title to I'm a Victim of this song. She also made a video shot in the interior of a European café.
- Irish band JJ72 released an acoustic version of the song on their 2003 UK single release 'Always and Forever'
- Giant Drag added a cover of the track to the European release of their Hearts and Unicorns album
- The German dance/techno-outfit Novaspace recorded a version of the song for their 2004 album Cubes.
- Heather Nova included a cover on her 2005 album Redbird.
- The gregorian chant -inspired music group Gregorian made a cover of the song for their album Masters of Chant Chapter III.
- R.E.M. included a cover of the song on their 1995 Fan Club Christmas Single.
- The winner of Australian Idol Damien Leith performed the song in 2006.
- Ima Robot did a cover of the song, which appeared on their MySpace site in 2006, and then on their mindviz site in early 2007.
- Corey Taylor of Stone Sour 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.
- Adam Gontier of Three Days Grace performed this song acoustic in the bands tours of 2007 and this version is available for download on the iTunes version of their cd, One-X.
- West Australian hard rock band, Karnivool often play a small version of this song live in the middle of L1fel1ke.
- Lights of Euphoria recorded a remixed version of this song
- British girl group Girls Aloud recorded a cover of the Chris Isaak original, but it remains unreleased.[9]
- British band Turin Brakes have played the song during various radio sessions, as well as playing it live on their live dates in late 2007. However, they have yet to release a studio version.
- Green Carnation covered this song for the bonus section of their DVD "Alive and well... In Krakow"
- Maroon 5 has played a portion of the song on its 2008 tour as a lead-in to their song "She Will Be Loved".
- Aaron Lewis of Staind has done a cover version of this song on his solo acoustic tour.
- Stone Sour included a version on their album "Come What(ever) May".
- Bossasonic did a Bossa version for their album "Club Life".
- The video was parodied in the Bloodhound Gang video Screwing You on the Beach at Night.
[edit] References
