"Tighten Up"
Single by the Black Keys
from the album Brothers
B-side"Howlin' for You"
ReleasedApril 23, 2010
StudioThe Bunker (Brooklyn, New York)
Genre
Length3:34
LabelNonesuch
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Danger Mouse
The Black Keys singles chronology
"Same Old Thing"
(2008) 		"Tighten Up"
(2010) 		"Next Girl"
(2010)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Rolling Stone[2]

"Tighten Up" is a song by American rock band the Black Keys. It is the third track on their 2010 album Brothers and was released as the record's first single on April 23, 2010.[3][4]

The song has become one of the most successful Black Keys singles in the United States, being their first song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 and reaching number one on the Alternative Songs and Rock Songs charts.[5] At the 53rd Grammy Awards in 2011, the song won Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal (the last song to receive the award),[6] while also receiving a nomination for Best Rock Song. Musically, the song is in the key of F sharp minor.

Music video

The original music video for the song was a low-budget clip starring a puppet dinosaur named Frank who is standing beside a plant. The video shows him dancing and miming the words a little, whilst subtitles go on saying different facts about the video, the band, and Frank; e.g. "Frank has a profile on eHarmony..." "He is a puppet, not a real dinosaur." This goes along the same direction of using sort of "obvious" or "simple" ways to say things like the album cover does; e.g. "This is a song by the Black Keys", "It's from an album called Brothers", etc. The video was made by director Chris Marrs Piliero as the label asked them to do a placeholder video for "Tighten Up" as a teaser for Brothers. Piliero was inspired by both "stupid kid shit that could still be for adults, like Yo Gabba Gabba! and "all these weird and sometimes creepy old-school puppet stuff from the 50s, 60s, 70s.", considering at first an ALF doll before settling on the dinosaur. He later made a similar teaser video for "Next Girl", where Frank interacts with bikini-clad models.[7]

The official music video, also directed by Piliero, was released on May 18, 2010.[8][9] It shows Auerbach and his fictional son walking to the park. Auerbach sits next to Carney on a bench while their fictional sons play with toy trucks. Auerbach's son looks up on the playground to see a little girl, after which he starts to lip sync to the song. He climbs up on the playground and goes in to kiss her but then he opens his eyes to realize Carney's son has lured her away. After he attempts to kiss her, the two boys begin to fight. After Auerbach and Carney attempt in vain to break up the fight, they see the mother of the girl, played by Spanish actress Carlotta Elektra Bosch,[10][11] and begin to fight like their sons. They hit each other using mostly Carney's drum kit and after the woman sees them fighting, she walks away in disgust. Their boys come to them and shake their heads at them with disappointment.

The official music video won the 2010 MTV Video Music Award for Breakthrough Video,[12] and it appears on Pitchfork's top music videos of 2010.

Reception

"Tighten Up" is widely considered to be one of the Black Keys' greatest songs. In 2012, Complex ranked the song number one on their list of the 15 greatest Black Keys songs,[13] and in 2019, Paste ranked the song number three on their list of the 10 greatest Black Keys songs.[14] In 2011, Rolling Stone put the song on its list of the 15 Best Whistling Songs of All Time.[15]

Track listing

All songs were written by the Black Keys.

  1. "Tighten Up" – 3:30
  2. "Howlin' for You" – 3:11[16]

Personnel

The Black Keys

Additional musicians

Technical personnel

Chart performance

On the week ending November 6, 2010, "Tighten Up" debuted at number 93 on the Billboard Hot 100.[17] It re-entered at number 87 on the week ending January 22, 2011. The single also achieved early success on rock radio, hitting number one on both the Alternative Songs chart (for 10 weeks) and the Rock Songs chart (for 12 weeks).

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[28] Gold 40,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[29] Silver 200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[30] Platinum 1,000,000‡

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Usage in media

"Tighten Up" has been licensed to appear in EA Sports game FIFA 11, the musical video games Rocksmith, Rock Band 3 (as downloadable content for both) and Guitar Hero Live, the TV series Gossip Girl, a Subaru commercial, a Molson commercial, and the films I Am Number Four, Bad Teacher, and Spring Breakers.

In 2015, a cover by Justin Young was used in the sci-fi TV series The Expanse, in the first episode of season 1, "Dulcinea".[31] The lyrics of the song were translated to the Belter Creole, a constructed language made for the TV series by Nick Farmer, that was spoken in the show by Belters, the inhabitants of the asteroid belt and outer planets.[32] The full version of the song was later song was placed on the TV series The Collector's Edition version of the soundtrack, that was realized on December 13, 2019.[31]

See also

References

  1. ^ Nattress, Katrina (November 22, 2019). "30 Alternative Rock Songs That Defined the 2010s". iHeartMedia. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  2. ^ O'Donnell, Kevin (April 8, 2010). "The Black Keys "Tighten Up"". Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 13, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
  3. ^ "The Black Keys Official Website — Track News". Theblackkeys.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  4. ^ "The Black Keys Official Website — Album News". Theblackkeys.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Tighten Up - The Black Keys - Chart history. Billboard.com.
  6. ^ "Winners: Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal". Grammy.com. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  7. ^ Dombal, Ryan (June 22, 2010). "Director's Cut: Black Keys: "Next Girl"". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved April 6, 2013.
  8. ^ "The Black Keys - Tighten Up (Official Music Video)". YouTube. May 20, 2010. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
  9. ^ "The Black Keys' Myspace video". Archived from the original on May 23, 2010. Retrieved May 18, 2010.
  10. ^ "Carlotta Bosch | Actress | Model | Screenwriter". www.carlottabosch.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2008. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  11. ^ "Carlotta Elektra Bosch". IMDb.com. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  12. ^ "VMA Playlist: All-Time Best Breakthrough Videos". MTV. 2010. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
  13. ^ Diep, Eric (November 20, 2012). "The 15 Best Black Keys Songs". Complex. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
  14. ^ Johnson, Ellen; Edelstone, Steven; Schramm, Molly (June 28, 2019). "The 10 Best Black Keys Songs". Paste. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
  15. ^ Murphy, Kate (September 30, 2011). "The 15 Best Whistling Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 21, 2012.
  16. ^ "Nonesuch Records Albums by Release Date". Nonesuch Records Official Website. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  17. ^ The Black Keys Album & Song Chart History - Hot 100 Billboard.com.
  18. ^ "The Black Keys – Tighten Up" (in Dutch). Ultratip.
  19. ^ "The Black Keys Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
  20. ^ "The Black Keys Chart History (Canada Rock)". Billboard.
  21. ^ "The Black Keys – Tighten Up" (in Danish). Tracklisten.
  22. ^ "The Black Keys Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  23. ^ "The Black Keys Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard.
  24. ^ "The Black Keys Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard.
  25. ^ "Hot Rock Songs – Year-End 2010". Billboard. January 2, 2013. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  26. ^ "Hot Rock Songs – Year-End 2011". Billboard. January 2, 2013. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  27. ^ "Decade-End Charts: Hot Rock Songs". Billboard. October 31, 2019. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  28. ^ "Canadian single certifications – The Black Keys – Tighten Up". Music Canada. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
  29. ^ "British single certifications – Black Keys – Tighten Up". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  30. ^ "American single certifications – The Black Keys – Tighten Up". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
  31. ^ a b "The Expanse - The Collector's Edition". Open.spotify.com. December 13, 2019. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  32. ^ Dreyfuss, Emily. "That Cool Dialect on The Expanse Mashes Up 6 Languages". Wired.
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