"Seasons (Waiting on You)"
Single by Future Islands
from the album Singles
B-side"One Day"
ReleasedFebruary 4, 2014 (2014-02-04)
RecordedAugust 2013
StudioDreamland Studios
(Hurley, New York)
GenreSynthpop, electronic rock
Length3:46
Label4AD
Songwriter(s)
  • William Cashion
  • Samuel T. Herring
  • J. Gerrit Welmers
Producer(s)Chris Coady
Future Islands singles chronology
"Tomorrow" / "The Fountain"
(2012) 		"Seasons (Waiting on You)"
(2014) 		"A Dream of You and Me"
(2015)
Music video
"Seasons (Waiting on You)" on YouTube

"Seasons (Waiting on You)" is a song by American synthpop band Future Islands. It is the opening track on their fourth studio album Singles, and was released as the album's lead single on February 4, 2014.[1] The song received much critical acclaim, topping The Village Voice's annual year-end Pazz & Jop critics' poll[2] and also being named the best track of 2014 by publications such as NME,[3] Pitchfork,[4] and Spin.[5] In 2019, it was named the 34th best song of the 2010s by Pitchfork,[6] and was ranked 94th on Rolling Stone's 100 Best Songs of the 2010s.[7]

Critical reception

Accolades

Accolades for "Seasons (Waiting on You)"
Publication Accolade Rank
Consequence of Sound Top 50 Songs of 2014[8] 1
Pitchfork The 100 Best Tracks of 2014[9] 1
Pazz & Jop Single of the Year 2014[10] 1
Spin The 101 Best Songs of 2014[11] 1
NME Top 50 Tracks of 2014[12] 1
PopMatters The 75 Best Songs of 2014[13] 2
Drowned in Sound 40 Favourite Songs of 2014[14] 4
Slant Magazine The 25 Best Singles of 2014[15] 8
Paste The 50 Best Songs of 2014[16] 8
Rolling Stone 50 Best Songs of 2014[17] 9
American Songwriter Top 50 Songs of 2014[18] 14
Pitchfork The 200 Best Tracks of the Decade So Far (2010–2014)[19] 123
Pitchfork The 200 Best Songs of the 2010s[6] 34

Live performances

The band's performance of the song on Late Show with David Letterman became an internet hit[20] due to frontman Samuel T. Herring's visual and vocal performance, which included elaborate and angular dance moves and death metal-style growls. Herring also put on a similarly unusual performance during the band's performance of the song on Later... with Jools Holland.[21]

Track listing

  1. "Seasons (Waiting on You)" – 3:46
  2. "One Day" – 4:27
  1. "Seasons (Waiting on You)" (BADBADNOTGOOD Reinterpretation) – 3:43

Charts

Chart performance for "Seasons (Waiting on You)"
Chart (2014) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA Hitseekers)[23] 13
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[24] 50
UK Indie (OCC)[25] 25
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[26] 50
US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[27] 27
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[28] 37

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[29] Gold 40,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[30] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release history for "Seasons (Waiting on You)"
Region Date Format Label
United States[1][22] February 4, 2014 7-inch vinyl 4AD Records
June 30, 2014 Digital download

References

  1. ^ a b c "Seasons (Limited Edition)". Amazon.com. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  2. ^ "The Village Voice's 42nd Pazz & Jop Music Critics' Poll: The Last Word on the Year in Music (Singles)". The Village Voice. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  3. ^ "NME's Top 50 Tracks Of 2014". NME. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  4. ^ "The 100 Best Tracks of 2014". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  5. ^ "The 101 Best Songs of 2014". Spin. December 8, 2014. Retrieved December 25, 2014.
  6. ^ a b "the 200 Best Tracks of the 2010s". Pitchfork. 7 October 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  7. ^ Will Hermes; Brittany Spanos; Christian Hoard; Suzy Exposito; Charles Holmes; Claire Shaffer; Jon Freeman; Joseph Hudak; David Browne; Jon Dolan; Rob Sheffield; Joe Levy; Nick Catucci; Simon Vozick-Levinson; Andy Greene; Brenna Ehrlich; Brendan Klinkenberg; Hank Shteamer; Angie Martoccio; Jerry Portwood (December 4, 2019). "The 100 Best Songs of the 2010s". Rolling Stone.
  8. ^ "Top 50 Songs of 2014". Consequence of Sound. 5 December 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  9. ^ "The 100 Best Tracks of 2014". Pitchfork. 15 December 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  10. ^ "Single of the Year 2014". Pazz & Jop. The Village Voice. 13 January 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  11. ^ "The 101 Best Songs of 2014". Spin. 8 December 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  12. ^ "Top 50 Tracks of 2014". NME. 26 November 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  13. ^ "The 75 Best Songs of 2014". PopMatters. 22 December 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  14. ^ "40 Favourite Songs of 2014". Drowned in Sound. 8 December 2014. Archived from the original on 2 February 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  15. ^ "The 25 Best Singles of 2014". Slant Magazine. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  16. ^ "The 50 Best Songs of 2014". Paste. 2 December 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  17. ^ "50 Best Songs of 2014". Rolling Stone. 3 December 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  18. ^ "Top 50 Songs of 2014". American Songwriter. 3 December 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  19. ^ "The 200 Best Tracks of the Decade So Far (2010–2014)". Pitchfork. 18 August 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  20. ^ "Future Islands - "Seasons" @ Letterman 3/3/14". YouTube. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
  21. ^ Published on Sep 30, 2014 (2014-09-30). "Future Islands perform Seasons (Waiting On You) | Later... with Jools Holland - BBC". YouTube. Retrieved 2020-03-22.((cite web)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  22. ^ a b "Seasons (Waiting On You) [BADBADNOTGOOD Reinterpretation] – Single by Future Islands". iTunes Store. United States. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  23. ^ "ARIA Report: Issue 1302" (PDF). ARIA. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 6, 2015. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  24. ^ "Future Islands – Seasons (Waiting on You)" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  25. ^ "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  26. ^ "Future Islands Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  27. ^ "Future Islands Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  28. ^ "Future Islands Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  29. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Future Islands – Seasons (Waiting on You)". Music Canada. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  30. ^ "British single certifications – Future Islands – Seasons (Waiting on You)". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
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