"1901" is a song by French alternative rock band Phoenix and is featured on their fourth studio album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. It was released in February 2009 as the album's lead single, originally as a free download from the band's official website, but was issued as a retail single due to the song's popularity. A music video for the song was released in May.^[1] In July, the song entered the U.S. Billboard Alternative Songs chart, where it later went on to peak at number one,^[2] becoming only the fourth single released on an independent record label to achieve such a feat.^[3] The single was re-issued in the UK in February 2010.^[4] According to lead singer Thomas Mars, the song is about early 20th century Paris. Mars said, "Paris in 1901 was better than it is now. So the song is a fantasy about Paris."^[5]

Critical reception

The song has received very positive reviews from music critics, with Pitchfork Media's Jason Crock saying it is "just as smooth and spirited and dementedly catchy as any of their best singles."^[6] In October 2009, "1901" ranked number 228 in Pitchfork's list of "The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000's,"^[7] the fifth-highest placement on the list amongst 2009 songs.^[8] The NMEs Gavin Haynes praised the song's "rave-like stop-go guitars,"^[9] while Evan Sawdey of PopMatters said it might be Phoenix's "finest song to date."^[10] Philadelphia Inquirer music critic Dan DeLuca described the song as "joyously exultant riff-happy pop."^[11] The song was ranked number two on Spin magazine's list of the "20 Best Summer Songs of 2009."^[12]

In popular culture

Phoenix performed "1901" on television programs such as The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien,^[13] Late Show with David Letterman,^[14] Saturday Night Live,^[15] and MTV's It's On with Alexa Chung.^[14] The song was also featured in episodes of Gossip Girl, Melrose Place, The Vampire Diaries and Hellcats, the trailer for the film New York, I Love You,^[16] television advertisements for PlayStation^[4] and the 2010 Cadillac SRX,^[13] and appears on the soundtrack to the NHL 2K10 video game.^[17] The song was released for the Rock Band series on January 19, 2010 along with "Lisztomania." It was released as part of a Phoenix Track Pack for Guitar Hero 5 on April 8, 2010. It appears on the Test Drive Unlimited 2 soundtrack. The song is also featured as the default music for the "Modern" template in the iOS version of iMovie. An edited version is also used as the theme tune for BBC Radio 5 Live's 6-0-6 football phone-in show. Samples from the song were also used for Girl Talk's fifth studio album, All Day, on the track "Triple Double," and the free2play MMOTPS sandbox game APB Reloaded (All Points Bulletin Reloaded).

Track list

Promo CD Single

1. "1901" (Mars) 3:13

Chart performance

For the week ending December 19, 2009, "1901" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 90. It peaked at number 84 for the week ending January 23, 2010. The single also reached number 73 on the Canadian Hot 100.

Certifications