Running (No Doubt song)

"Running" is a song written by Tony Kanal and Gwen Stefani for No Doubt's fifth studio album Rock Steady (2001) and was released worldwide as the album's fourth and final single on July 1, 2003. The song was also used on the last episode of the TV series Sabrina, the Teenage Witch in 2003.

The song received mixed reviews from music critics and was compared to Depeche Mode-style songs. The song only charted on the official charts of the United States, where it became the band's lowest charting single, and in Germany, where it had longest charting period. The song was accompanied by a music video which was directed by Chris Hafner, which featured many old and new pictures as well as clippings of the band members.

Background

The song was written by Stefani and bassist Tony Kanal in Kanal's living room. They used an old Yamaha keyboard that Kanal's father had purchased for him when he was in eighth grade and developed the song's harmony first and then wrote the lyrics. The band worked on the track to give it a "spacier sound" but were displeased with the result so they took the song to producer Nellee Hooper, who stripped Running down to the basics.The song was then produced by him, with whom Stefani collaborated again for her solo project two years later. Whatever the intent, the result was a track that resonated with catchy "Mario Bros." background instrumentation throughout the entire song.

Running (Information Society song)

Running is a single by the band InSoc (Information Society) originally released on the Creatures of Influence album in 1985. The single for Running was distributed to club DJs, and became a favorite all over clubs, particularly in the Latin clubs of New York City. The single was later remixed by Tommy Boy Records and the remix single was released and became even more of a club hit, eventually reaching #2 on the Dance/Club Airplay charts and becoming an enduring classic of the Freestyle genre. Tommy Boy Records signed Information Society in 1986 and their self-titled album soon followed, featuring a mix of the single. In 1988 Information Society's self-titled album was released and went platinum.

Unlike other singles in the catalogue, "Running" does not feature Kurt Harland on lead vocals, as the song was written and recorded by short-lived band member Murat Konar, who left the band in 1985 and would later be an integral part of the development of both SoundEdit (a Mac hosted sound editing application) and Adobe Flash applications. For a very long period of time, the band would not perform "Running" live, requesting not to be asked to play it and generally refusing all questions pertaining to their dislike of the song. It is generally believed this is due to the song being very difficult to play live, and because the song was written at a particularly fractious period in the band's life.

Running (film)

Running is a 1979 drama/sports film directed by Steven Hilliard Stern. It is about the fictional American marathon runner and Olympics hopeful Michael Andropolis and his struggle to compete in the Olympic Games. It stars Michael Douglas and Susan Anspach.

Overview

Michael Andropolis (Douglas) is a US hopeful for the 1976 Olympic Games as a marathon runner. However, his life is fraught with trouble. His marriage, which produced two children, has fallen apart and ended in divorce. He struggles with unemployment and at one point in the movie is seen snapping due to frustration with the unemployment office bureaucracy. Additionally, his coach is reluctant to endorse him for the games. Andropolis always starts races strong, but because of his over-competitive strive, he pulls ahead of the pack too soon, sapping strength he'll need for the final minutes of the race. So he tends to not come in first, having used his stamina too early. His coach feels he is a quitter.

However, he providentially makes it through to the Montreal Olympics by finishing fourth in the qualifiers, but getting the ticket due to an injury in one of the top three finishers. Andropolis surprises everyone, by pacing himself early in the race, only pulling ahead halfway through the race. Well on his way to the finish line ahead of the main pack, Andropolis slips on wet leaves rounding a turn. The fall leaves him with shoulder and leg injuries as other runners pass him by.

Scarecrow

A scarecrow or hay-man is a decoy or mannequin in the shape of a human. It is usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds such as crows or sparrows from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.

Uses

The 1881 Household Cyclopedia of General Information gives the following advice:

The most effectual method of banishing them from a field, as far as experience goes, is to combine with one or other of the scarecrows in vogue the frequent use of the musket. Nothing strikes such terror into these sagacious animals as the sight of a fowling-piece and the explosion of gun powder, which they have known so often to be fatal to their race.

Such is their dread of a fowling-piece, that if one is placed upon a dyke or other eminence, it will for a long time prevent them from alighting on the adjacent grounds. Many people now, however, believe that crows like most other birds, do more good by destroying insects and worms, etc., than harm by eating grain.

Scarecrow (comics)

Scarecrow, in comics, may refer to:

See also

Scarecrow (John Mellencamp album)

Scarecrow is the eighth album by John Mellencamp. Released in September 1985, it peaked at #2 on the U.S. chart behind Heart's comeback album, Heart. The remastered version was released May 24, 2005 on Mercury/Island/UMe and includes one bonus track.

This album contained three Top 10 hits, a record for a Mellencamp album: "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.," which peaked at #2 in the U.S.; "Lonely Ol' Night," which peaked at #6; and "Small Town," which also peaked at #6. "Lonely Ol' Night" also peaked at #1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, his second chart-topping single on this chart.

In 1989, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Scarecrow #95 on its list of the 100 greatest albums of the 1980s, saying: "Scarecrow consolidated the band's rugged, roots-rock thrash and the ongoing maturation of Mellencamp's lyrics."

Rolling Stone also reported that band spent a month in rehearsals, playing a hundred rock and roll songs from the Sixties before going into the studio. According to the record's producer, Don Gehman, the idea was to "learn all these devices from the past and use them in a new way with John's arrangements."