Heads Will Roll (song)

"Heads Will Roll" is a song by American indie rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs, released as the second single from their third studio album, It's Blitz! (2009). The CD and 7-inch singles were released in the United Kingdom on June 29, 2009.[4] The song is sung from the viewpoint of the Queen of Hearts in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.[5]

"Heads Will Roll"
Single by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
from the album It's Blitz!
ReleasedJune 29, 2009 (2009-06-29)
Format
Genre
Length3:41
Label
Songwriter(s)Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Producer(s)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs singles chronology
"Zero"
(2009)		 "Heads Will Roll"
(2009)		 "Skeletons"
(2010)
Music video
"Heads Will Roll" on YouTube
Music Video (If Blocked In Country)

The song was remixed by Canadian DJ A-Trak, which has been the most notable and popular remix of the song.

Music video

The music video for "Heads Will Roll" was directed by Richard Ayoade. It features the band playing in a (presumably) underground venue when a dancing werewolf (whose dancing is reminiscent of Michael Jackson) appears on stage. A light flashes halfway through the music video and the werewolf transforms. He then proceeds to chase after the audience and kills most of them. The video then ends with the band having been murdered while Karen O continues singing, her head severed from her body. The music video contains some mockery of horror in general; instead of blood, there is red glitter and confetti and Karen O keeps singing while decapitated. In the UK, there are two different versions of this video, the second replacing the violent conclusion with repeated clips from the previous section of the video, but it shows the confetti falling onto the band.

It was nominated for a MTV Video Music Award for Breakthrough Video.[6]

  • The A-Trak remix of the song was featured in the 2010 video game DJ Hero 2.
  • In 2011, the song was performed as a mash-up with Michael Jackson's song "Thriller" on the American television show Glee for the episode "The Sue Sylvester Shuffle".[7] The song was also used in the promotional videos for Showtime Networks television series The Tudors.
  • The A-Trak remix of the song was also featured in the 2012 film Project X and 2015 film Goosebumps.
  • The Kid Kamillion edit of this song was featured in Diplo's Sway in the Morning trap mix.
  • The Little Vampire remix of the song appears in the game Gran Turismo 5.
  • On 23 May 2015, a remix of the song was made by American SoundCloud artist JVH-C,[8] which notably utilizes the lyric "dance 'til you're dead" multiple times throughout the track. It has been used in meme remixes, often accompanied by a dancing dog.
  • The song was used in the 2017 Netflix Original Series Atypical.
  • The song was used in the 2018 HBO series Succession (TV series) for the episode "Prague".
  • The song was used in Kate McKinnon and Emily Lynne's 2019 Audible audio comedy Heads Will Roll.
  • The song was used in the teaser for the 2020 film Birds of Prey.

Track listings
CD single and 7-inch single[4]
No.TitleLength
1."Heads Will Roll"3:44
2."Heads Will Roll" (Passion Pit Remix)4:39
Digital remix EP
No.TitleLength
1."Heads Will Roll" (Passion Pit Remix)4:37
2."Heads Will Roll" (Tommie Sunshine Remix)5:21
3."Heads Will Roll" (Little Vampire Remix)4:47
4."Heads Will Roll" (James Iha Remix)4:15

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Belgium (BEA)[21] Gold 15,000*
Germany (BVMI)[22] Gold 150,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[23] Gold 400,000

*sales figures based on certification alone
sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

References
  1. Breihan, Tom (October 19, 2009). "Hear A-Trak's Remix of Yeah Yeah Yeahs' "Heads Will Roll"". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  2. Brice (September 17, 2014). "15 Essential Dance Rock Tracks From the 2000s". Complex. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  3. Lapatine, Scott (February 22, 2009). "New Yeah Yeah Yeahs – "Heads Will Roll"". Stereogum. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  4. Amazon.co.uk - Heads Will Roll (Single)
  5. Basedow, Neph (October 29, 2010). "Heads Will Roll: A Brief History Of Beheading In Song". Houston Press. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  6. "MTV Video Music Awards | 2009 | Highlights, Winners, Performers and Photos from the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards". MTV.com. 2009-09-13. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
  7. "'Glee': On the set for the Super Bowl episode's huge 'Thriller' performance -- EXCLUSIVE". January 21, 2011.
  8. "Heads Will Roll (JHV-C Remix)". SoundCloud. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  9. "Ultratop.be – Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Heads Will Roll" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  10. "Ultratop.be – Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Heads Will Roll" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  11. "Lescharts.com – Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Heads Will Roll" (in French). Les classement single.
  12. "Offiziellecharts.de – Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Heads Will Roll". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  13. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Yeah Yeah Yeahs". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  14. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  15. "Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  16. "Yeah Yeah Yeahs Chart History (Hot Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  17. "Yeah Yeah Yeahs Chart History (Alternative Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  18. "Yeah Yeah Yeahs Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  19. "Jaaroverzichten 2010 – Singles" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  20. "Rapports Annuels 2010 – Singles" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  21. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 2010". Ultratop. Hung Medien. July 16, 2010. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  22. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Yeah Yeah Yeahs; 'Heads Will Roll')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  23. "British single certifications – Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Heads Will Roll". British Phonographic Industry. April 26, 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2019. Select singles in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Heads Will Roll in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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