"Y Control"
A red-haired woman stands in front of a bright blue background, wearing a navy blue dress. She looks up and spreads her arms out. Both the artist and song's name are superimposed on the cover.
Single by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
from the album Fever to Tell
ReleasedJune 1, 2004 (2004-06-01)
StudioHeadgear (Brooklyn)
Genre
Length4:00
LabelInterscope
Songwriter(s)Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Producer(s)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs singles chronology
"Maps"
(2004) 		"Y Control"
(2004) 		"Gold Lion"
(2006)
Music video
"Y Control" on YouTube

"Y Control" is a single by Yeah Yeah Yeahs, from their debut album Fever to Tell. Some say the name of the song refers to the emotional control of a female, referring to the male Y chromosome, though this is only personal interpretation. The song's music video was controversial for its disturbing imagery; nonetheless, it received some play on MTV and its sister station, MTV2. The song is part of the soundtrack of the 2009 video game Dirt 2.

Critical reception

The song was met with universal acclaim upon its release, with many critics noting it as one of the album's highlights. Pitchfork Media listed "Y Control" as the 213th best song of the decade.[3]

Music video

The music video for "Y Control", directed by Spike Jonze, was controversial for its images of children carrying the body of a dead dog, giving the middle finger, and a subtitled portrayal of child mutilation including the chopping of a boy's hand and another boy disemboweling himself with a knife.[4][5] MTV and MTV2 agreed to air the video; however, they included a disclaimer from Jonze at the beginning, and blurred out some of the video's more offensive material.[5] The unedited version is available on their "Tell Me What Rockers to Swallow" DVD.[5]

Entertainment Weekly gave a negative review of the video, describing it as "a sort of fairy tale gone wrong," and calling it "amateurish." It was put into rotation on MTV and MTV2.[5]

Commercial performance

The song reached number 54 on the UK Singles chart. It was the least successful single from Fever to Tell.[6]

Track listing

  1. "Y Control"
  2. "Y Control" (The Faint remix)
  3. "Y Control" (Live at the Fillmore)

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Fever to Tell.[7]

Charts

Weekly chart positions for "Y Control"
Chart (2004) Peak
position
Scotland (OCC)[8] 59
UK Singles (OCC)[6] 54

References

  1. ^ Neill, Chris (29 October 2018). "In The Ring: Yeah Yeah Yeahs' 'Fever To Tell' v 'It's Blitz!'". Junkee. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  2. ^ Petridis, Alexis (April 24, 2003). "Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Fever to Tell". The Guardian. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  3. ^ "The Top 500 Tracks of the Decade". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 19 August 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  4. ^ Perez, Rodrigo. "YEAH YEAH YEAHS SUMMON THE SPIRIT OF JACKO IN SPIKE JONZE-HELMED CLIP". MTV. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d Endelman, Michael. "Yeah Yeah Yeahs Explain Their Disturbing New Video". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  7. ^ Interscope Records (2003). Fever to Tell (Media notes). Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
  8. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
Categories