Young Folks

"Young Folks" is the first single from Peter Bjorn and John's third album, Writer's Block (released in 2006). The single features Victoria Bergsman as a guest vocalist.

This article is about Peter Bjorn & John song. For the 19th-century British magazine, see Young Folks (magazine). For the J.D. Salinger story, see The Young Folks.
"Young Folks"
Single cover
Single by Peter Bjorn and John featuring Victoria Bergsman
from the album Writer's Block
B-side"Ancient Curse"
Released7 August 2006
Format
Genre
Length
  • 4:38 (album version)
  • 4:05 (single version)
LabelWichita
Songwriter(s)Björn Yttling Peter Morén
Producer(s)Peter Bjorn and John
Peter Bjorn and John singles chronology
"Tailormade"
(2005)		 "Young Folks"
(2006)		 "Let's Call It Off"
(2006)
Audio sample
  • file
  • help
Music video
"Young Folks" on YouTube

Reception

The song first attracted notice on websites such as Myspace and YouTube, and was used in a number of European commercials and television shows. Since mid-2007, the song has earned extensive airplay on American radio, most notably on dance radio outlets like KNHC/Seattle, KNGY/San Francisco and Sirius Satellite's The Beat. It is notable for being a popular song with whistling (the whistling was originally added in as a placeholder for another instrument). The whistling and part of the song have a tune reminiscent of the "oriental riff".

The song was ranked #5 on Pitchfork Media's Top 100 Tracks of 2006 list.[3] Pitchfork reviewed the song on 19 July 2006, giving it three out of five stars.[4] The song was also voted #2 in the 2006 NME Track of the Year poll.[5] Planet Sound named this their #2 single of 2006. The song was named the number one song of 2007 according to the iTunes Store. Y-Rock On XPN also named the song #1 of 2007. In October 2011, NME placed it at number 92 on its list 150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years.[6] It was included in Spinner's 10 Best Whistling Parts in Songs.[7] Rolling Stone put the song also on its list of the 15 Best Whistling Songs of All Time.[8]

The single was re-released on 17 September 2007, when it reached number 13 in the UK, beating the original chart position of number 33 in 2006.

Music video

The video was directed by Ted Malmros with animation by Graham Samuels. It is featured in the video game SingStar Pop 2, as well as in Lips.

The video starts off with Peter and Victoria sitting in a park, on a bench. Peter teaches Victoria how to whistle. Then the video switches over to them both sitting in a bus where the song starts. Throughout the video, scenes of the band playing the song can be seen and eventually the video ends with a big party where everybody "seems to disappear".

Live performances

The group performed the song on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on 29 January 2007, and on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on 18 May 2007, (the latter with Tonight Show band member Vicki Randle on bongos). On 29 September 2007, the band played "Young Folks", with Victoria Bergsman's vocals, on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross on BBC1. When the band performed the song at the 2007 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Bergsman's vocals were performed by Bebban Stenborg of Shout Out Louds. On Peter Bjorn and John's 2008 Australian tour, Victoria Bergsman's vocals were performed by Tracyanne Campbell of Camera Obscura.

Track listings

Vinyl release

  1. "Young Folks" (featuring Victoria Bergsman)
  2. "Ancient Curse"

CD release

  1. "Young Folks" (featuring Victoria Bergsman)
  2. "Ancient Curse"
  3. "All Those Expectations"
  4. "Young Folks (Scumfrogs Remix)" (featuring Victoria Bergsman)

"Young Folks" is considered to be one of the most popular songs associated with hipster culture. It has made numerous appearances in media and has also spawned many covers and samples from artists.

  • English indie rock band The Kooks made a cover of "Young Folks" which is included in a CD album in a special box set issue of the music magazine, NME. This version was featured in Gossip Girl's 100th episode.[9][10]
  • German singer Nena covered "Young Folks" together with Oliver Pocher and Stephan Remmler in German as "Ich kann nix dafür" (German for "I'm not responsible for it.") for the movie Vollidiot. This version was the 78th best-selling single of 2007 in Germany.[11]
  • Japanese singer Shugo Tokumaru covered the song in 2006. It was released as a single in Japan and received considerable airplay.
  • Kanye West sampled this song for a track by the same name and "Interviews (Interlude)" on his mixtape Can't Tell Me Nothing. He was joined by the original artists of it when performing his version live in 2007.[12]
  • James Blunt covered this song in September 2007 on BBC Radio 1's The Jo Whiley Show[13] and later that month at KLLC's Now & Zen Fest.[14]
  • In 2011, American band The Holdup made a half cover of the song, renaming it "Young Fools".
  • Other covering artists include Dawn Landes, Pete Yorn, and Richard & Judy.
  • The song is featured on the 2007 compilation album Acoustic 07.
  • In 2008 the song was used in a commercial for Serbian mobile operator Vip mobile.
  • Gossip Girl used the track for its pilot in the first scene of the series.[15]
  • The song was also featured in the 2008 motion picture 21.[16]
  • From March 2009 the song is used in adverts for the UK DIY Retailer Homebase.
  • The song also appeared during Will's video project on the 2009 film Bandslam.
  • The song appeared in Finnish movie Kielletty hedelmä (Forbidden Fruit) (2009).
  • It was also used for the season two promo of Who the (Bleep) Did I Marry?.[17]
  • The song also features in the soundtrack of Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging.
  • It also appeared on the TV series How I Met Your Mother, during the fourteenth episode of the second season, "Monday Night Football".
  • In 2006, the song appeared on the TV series Grey's Anatomy, in the sixth episode of the third season, "Let the Angels Commit".
  • In 2012, the song was used in an Indonesian television advertisement for Mizone, a type of isotonic drink.
  • The song is in the soundtrack of the video games FIFA 08 and MLB 2K13.
  • The song is used in an aircraft safety video for Air New Zealand.
  • The song is played in a Google Home Mini TV commercial for 2017.
  • The song was used in the Soundtrack of the Brazilian Soap Opera ''A Favorita'' (2008 -2009)
  • The song appeared in the 2017 reboot of Dynasty, in the twentieth episode of the season one titled "A Line from the Past".

Charts and certifications

See also

References
  1. Walters, Barry (18 January 2008). "Peter Bjorn and John, 'Writer's Block' (Almost Gold)". Spin. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  2. Swanson, David (24 January 2007). "Peter Bjorn and John – Writer's Block". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 21 August 2007. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  3. "The Top 100 Tracks of 2006". Pitchfork Media. December 18, 2006. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  4. ":: MTV | Single Jahrescharts 2007 | charts". Web.archive.org. 2010-01-24. Archived from the original on 2010-01-24. Retrieved 2012-07-14.
  5. "Hot Chip named track of the year". NME. December 10, 2006. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  6. "150 BEST TRACKS OF THE PAST 15 YEARS". NME. 2011. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  7. Dilettoso, Stephen (January 12, 2010). "10 Best Whistling Parts in Songs". Spinner. AOL. Retrieved July 8, 2012.
  8. Murphy, Kate (September 30, 2011). "The 15 Best Whistling Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 21, 2012.
  9. "Gossip Girl Music - Season 5, Episode 13". The CW. January 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  10. Marsi, Steve (January 31, 2012). "Gossip Girl Music From "G.G."". TV Fanatic. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  11. "Internet Archive Wayback Machine". 2011-04-26. Retrieved 2012-07-14.
  12. "Pete, Bjorn & John ft. Kanye West - Young Folks". YouTube. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
  13. "James Blunt on The Jo Whiley Show". BBC. Retrieved February 19, 2008.
  14. Vaziri, Aidin (September 25, 2007). "Review / The sun comes out for James Blunt, but heaven knows he's miserable now". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved February 19, 2008.
  15. "Gossip Girl Music - Season 1, Pilot". The CW. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  16. "21 (2008) - Cast & Crew". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  17. Like (2011-06-27). "Promo: Who The (BLEEP) Did I Marry? on Vimeo". Vimeo.com. Retrieved 2012-07-14.
  18. "Australian-charts.com – Peter Bjorn And John feat. Victoria Bergsman – Young Folks". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  19. "Ultratop.be – Peter Bjorn And John feat. Victoria Bergsman – Young Folks" (in Dutch). Ultratip.
  20. "Ultratop.be – Peter Bjorn And John feat. Victoria Bergsman – Young Folks" (in French). Ultratip.
  21. "Peter Bjorn and John Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
  22. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 200751 into search. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  23. "Peter Bjorn And John feat. Victoria Bergsman: Young Folks" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  24. "Offiziellecharts.de – Peter Bjorn And John feat. Victoria Bergsman – Young Folks". GfK Entertainment Charts.
  25. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Young Folks". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  26. "Dutchcharts.nl – Peter Bjorn And John feat. Victoria Bergsman – Young Folks" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  27. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  28. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
  29. "Peter Bjorn and John Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard.
  30. "Peter Bjorn and John Chart History (Alternative Songs)". Billboard.
  31. "Peter Bjorn and John Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard.
  32. "The Official UK Singles Chart 2007" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  33. "British single certifications – Peter Bjorn and John – Young Folks". British Phonographic Industry. Select singles in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Young Folks in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  34. "American single certifications – Pete Bjorn & John – Young Folks". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
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