Shock the Monkey
| "Shock the Monkey" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
Single by Peter Gabriel | ||||
| from the album Peter Gabriel (Security) | ||||
| B-side | "Soft Dog" | |||
| Released | 14 September 1982 (1982-09-14) | |||
| Format |
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| Recorded | 23 June 1981 – 10 July 1982 | |||
| Genre | New wave[1] | |||
| Length |
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| Label | Geffen | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Peter Gabriel | |||
| Producer(s) |
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Peter Gabriel singles chronology | ||||
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"Shock the Monkey" is a song by English rock musician Peter Gabriel. It was released in September 1982 as the second single from his fourth self-titled album, issued in the US under the title Security.
The song peaked at number 29 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number one on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.[2] The song was Gabriel's first Top 40 hit in the US. In the UK, the song charted at number 58.
Contents
1 Critical reception
2 Music video
3 Interpretation
4 Releases
5 Remix contest
6 Charts
7 Coal Chamber featuring Ozzy Osbourne version
7.1 Track listing
7.2 Music video
7.3 Chart positions
7.4 Personnel
8 Other cover versions
9 Use in other media
10 See also
11 Notes
12 References
13 External links
Critical reception
According to AllMusic, the song has a "relentlessly repeated hook" that "sounded nothing like anything else on the radio at the time".[3]
Music video
The track is also known for its popular, and somewhat disturbing, music video, written and directed by Brian Grant, which was played heavily in the early days of MTV featuring Gabriel (in white face paint) and a frightened-looking capuchin monkey. The music video features Gabriel in two guises; the one is as a businessman-type in a dark suit, and the other is as a mysterious persona in a white suit with white face paint. The video occurs as a back-and-forth between two rooms, each vaguely resembling an office. A movie projector plays zoo footage of a gibbon (technically, a lesser ape, not a monkey) in both rooms. As the video proceeds, events in the 'normal' (black suit) office become increasingly irregular and disturbing, with Gabriel displaying increasing pressure, anger, and fear, and with objects in the room in increasing disarray. The office footage is increasingly interspersed with black-and-white footage of Gabriel fleeing from something unknown in a wilderness, and a disoriented Gabriel in different settings including central London and what looks to be a hospital. At the end of the video, the dark-suited Gabriel appears to have merged with the face-painted Gabriel, and to have accepted whatever he was fleeing or resisting previously. In the final shot, the two Gabriel's faces are superimposed over that of the gibbon.
Interpretation
Due to its title and the content of the video, the song is frequently assumed to be either an animal rights song or a reference to the famous experiments by Stanley Milgram described in his book Obedience to Authority.[4] It is neither, although another Gabriel song, "We Do What We're Told (Milgram's 37)", from his 1986 album So, does deal directly with Milgram. Gabriel himself has described "Shock the Monkey" as "a love song" that examines how jealousy can release one's basic instincts; the monkey is not a literal monkey, but a metaphor for one's feelings of jealousy.[5]
Releases
"Shock the Monkey" was released as a 7-inch picture disc in addition to the 7-inch and 12-inch black vinyl singles. Club DJ remix service Hot Tracks crafted an 8:12 version that intersperses verses and choruses sung by Gabriel in German with the more familiar English lyrics. A seven-minute-long concert version of the song appears on Gabriel's album Plays Live (1983). It is also included on the compilation albums Greenpeace (1985), Shaking the Tree (1990) and Hit (2003). The music video appears on the DVD compilation Play (2004).
Remix contest
An online contest was held in September 2006 by Realworld Remixed in which musicians and engineers were invited to submit a remix of the song. The original tracks were made available for download, offering a rare opportunity to work with the raw material from a hit song. The winner was Multiman's "Simian Surprise".
Charts
|
Coal Chamber featuring Ozzy Osbourne version
| "Shock the Monkey" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
Single by Coal Chamber featuring Ozzy Osbourne | ||||
| from the album Chamber Music | ||||
| Released | 1999 (1999) | |||
| Format | CD single | |||
| Genre |
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| Length |
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| Label | Roadrunner | |||
| Producer(s) | Josh Abraham | |||
Coal Chamber singles chronology | ||||
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Ozzy Osbourne singles chronology | ||||
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The nu metal band Coal Chamber covered "Shock the Monkey" on their 1999 album Chamber Music. The cover featured guest vocals by Ozzy Osbourne.
Track listing
- Maxi single
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Shock the Monkey" | 3:45 |
| 2. | "Shock the Monkey" (Gorilla Mix) | 3:35 |
| 3. | "El Cu Cuy" (Alternate Mix) | 4:20 |
| 4. | "Shock the Monkey" (music video) | 3:33 |
- Promo single
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Shock the Monkey" (LP Version) | 3:45 |
Music video
The music video was directed by Dean Karr. It shows the band playing with Osbourne and it has shots of a monkey.
Chart positions
| Chart (1999) | Position |
|---|---|
US Main[10] | 26 |
UK[11] | 83 |
Personnel
- Coal Chamber
B. Dez Fafara – lead vocals- Meegs Rascón – guitar
- Rayna Foss-Rose – bass
- Mike "Bug" Cox – drums
- Additional
Ozzy Osbourne – guest vocals
E. Blue – keyboards, backing vocals
Other cover versions
- Hawaiian recording artist Don Ho covered "Shock the Monkey" on the 2002 compilation album When Pigs Fly: Songs You Never Thought You'd Hear.
- Finnish metal band Suburban Tribe covered "Shock the Monkey" on their 2007 album Recollection.
- The Vitamin String Quartet featured the song on their Peter Gabriel tribute album.
- The Italian acid jazz pioneers Gazzara covered the song in a Motown style on their 2013 album The Bossa Lounge Experience.
American grunge duo Local H performed a version of the song in June 2015 for The A.V. Club's A.V. Undercover series.[12]
Use in other media
 | This section indiscriminately collects miscellaneous information. (April 2018) |
- "Shock the Monkey" is included in the opening sequence to the film Project X.
- The song is used in the South Park episode "Raisins". After Wendy breaks up with Stan, he asks Wendy's friend Bebe how to win her back. She tells Stan to "stand outside her window, and play Peter Gabriel" (a reference to Lloyd Dobler's playing "In Your Eyes" in the movie Say Anything), so he chooses this song to play on the boombox. However, Stan sees Token standing beside Wendy.
- The song and the artist, Peter Gabriel, are mentioned in The Key of Awesome's parody of Walk off the Earth's "Somebody That I Used to Know" cover.
- "Shock the Monkey" is used in the Houston hosted morning radio show by Walton & Johnson in their "Taser Report" as an intro.
See also
- List of number-one mainstream rock hits (United States)
Notes
^ "Peter Gabriel". encyclopedia.com. Archived from the original on 25 July 2014.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link) .mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 246.
^ Allmusic song review. Retrieved 7 June 2008.
^ iFilm synopsis. Retrieved 7 June 2008.[dead link]
^ Chris Welch (1998). The Secret Life of Peter Gabriel: p.136
^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. p. 120. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
^ Canada Top Singles peak
^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
^ Billboard.com. Retrieved 22 June 2008.
^ "Mainstream Rock Songs: Coal Chamber Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
^ "Coal Chamber Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
^ Modell, Josh (30 June 2015). "Local H covers Peter Gabriel". The A.V. Club. Onion, Inc. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
References
| This section has an unclear citation style. (April 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) |
- Martin C. Strong (2004). The Great Rock Discography (7th Edition)
- Dean Clark..((cover))...1977
External links
Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
