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Brick by Boring Brick

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"Brick by Boring Brick" is a song by American rock band Paramore. The song was released in late 2009 as the second single from their third studio album, Brand New Eyes (2009).

"Brick by Boring Brick"
Single by Paramore
from the album Brand New Eyes
ReleasedNovember 23, 2009
Recorded2009
StudioLightning Sound (California, US)[1]
Genre
Length4:13
LabelFueled by Ramen
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Paramore singles chronology
"Ignorance"
(2009) 		"Brick by Boring Brick"
(2009) 		"The Only Exception"
(2010)
Music video
"Brick By Boring Brick" on YouTube

"Brick by Boring Brick" was also featured in The Vampire Diaries episode "Under Control" that aired on April 15, 2010. In terms of airplay, it is one of the album's successful singles, including the song "The Only Exception".

Reception

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The song received generally positive reviews from critics. Alex Fletcher of Digital Spy, who gave the song 4 stars out of 5. He said the song is "infectious, deliciously dark ('Well go get your shovel, and we'll dig a deep hole'), and packed with more energy than a Jedward dance routine – Williams sounds downright tremendous leading the 'ba-ba-ba' climax – this should provide a welcome edge at the top end of the charts".[2] Rolling Stone stated that "Brick by Boring Brick" was able to "weave unexpected Smashing Pumpkins-style sonics into the mix."[3] The song received a positive review from Vicki Lutas of the BBC, who awarded the song 5 out of 5 stars. She said that the song is "hair-raisingly BRILLIANT" and said "Listening to the lyrics is like entering a world where sandcastles aren't built, but buried, a world where the baddie is not the wolf, but reality... and in this world, things are dark, but they're very real. There's a sense of longing; longing for those fairy tales and longing for innocence, but it's coupled with a sense of realization that this will never happen."[4]

Music video

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The music video for "Brick by Boring Brick" was filmed in Los Angeles on October 8, 2009.[5][6] It was directed by Meiert Avis[7] and produced by Jeremy Alter. The video depicts a young girl (Harley Graham) with butterfly wings exploring a surreal landscape, while Hayley sings the song near a large ditch which guitarist Josh Farro is digging. Eventually the little girl's fantasy world becomes dark and frightening, with the characters she was friends with before now turning into dark and sinister creatures. She runs to escape, picking up her doll, emerging into the sunlight and falls into the ditch by where Hayley is singing. Hayley stands up and tosses the girl's doll in after her, and Josh throws the first shovelful of earth into the ditch and continues doing so as Hayley walks away. [citation needed]

As of January 2023, the song has over 138 million views on YouTube.

In an interview with MTV, bassist Jeremy Davis explained that the band had created a treatment for the video before receiving further ideas from several directors. The video is Paramore's first to not be performance based and some of the members of the band are only seen for a short period of time. It is their first video to be filmed in front of green screen, and to have "a whole story behind it", with acting. Guitarist Josh Farro likened the video to the 2006 Spanish fantasy film Pan's Labyrinth.[5] It was originally set to premiere on November 17 on The Hills, but was later postponed.[8] The video was eventually released on Paramore.net on November 23.[9]

Live performances

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The track has been performed by Paramore on many occasions. The band's first performance of the song was in July 2009. Paramore performed a live version of "Brick By Boring Brick" for MTV Unplugged.[10] It was also performed at the Ulalume Festival.

The song was performed as the last song on the band's Fall tour in October to December 2009. At the end of the song, the support groups would join the band on stage.

The band performed the song on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on April 29, 2010.

Track listing

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7" picture disc[11]
No.TitleLength
1."Brick by Boring Brick" (album version)4:13
2."Brick by Boring Brick" (acoustic)4:22
US/Europe CD single
No.TitleLength
1."Brick by Boring Brick"4:13

Charts

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Chart (2009–2010) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[12] 85
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[13] 16
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[14] 95
Mexico (Billboard Ingles Airplay)[15] 42
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[16] 29
UK Singles (OCC)[17] 85
UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[18] 2
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[19] 20

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[20] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ Brand New Eyes liner notes Fueled by Ramen (2009).
  2. ^ "Music – Singles Review – Paramore: 'Brick By Boring Brick'". Digital Spy. November 23, 2009. Retrieved December 9, 2010.
  3. ^ Diehl, Matt (May 28, 2009), "Paramore Move Beyond Pop Punk With 'Riot!' Follow-Up", Rolling Stone, p. 19
  4. ^ Vicki (November 22, 2009). "Chart Blog: Paramore – 'Brick By Boring Brick'". BBC. Retrieved December 9, 2010.
  5. ^ a b Montgomery, James. "Paramore Reveal Secrets Of 'Brick By Boring Brick' Video". MTV. Archived from the original on October 29, 2009. Retrieved October 31, 2009.
  6. ^ "Twitter / Hayley Williams: Sh sh shootin a video!!! (". Twitter.com. October 8, 2009. Retrieved December 9, 2010.
  7. ^ "Brick By Boring Brick". MTV.com. Viacom. Archived from the original on December 7, 2009. Retrieved February 21, 2010.
  8. ^ "'Brick By Boring Brick' Video Premiere – Blog Detail". Paramore.net. November 17, 2009. Retrieved December 9, 2010.
  9. ^ "The 'Brick By Boring Brick' Video Has Arrived! – Blog Detail". Paramore.net. November 23, 2009. Retrieved December 9, 2010.
  10. ^ "Paramore – "Brick By Boring Brick (Live)"". MTV. Viacom. September 28, 2009. Archived from the original on September 30, 2009. Retrieved May 28, 2010.
  11. ^ "Brick by Boring Brick" vinyl Archived November 14, 2009, at the Wayback Machine at Paramore's Webstore.
  12. ^ "Issue 1038" ARIA Top 100 Singles. National Library of Australia. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  13. ^ "Paramore – Brick by Boring Brick" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  14. ^ "Paramore – Brick by Boring Brick" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
  15. ^ "Paramore Chart History (Mexico Ingles Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
  16. ^ "Paramore – Brick by Boring Brick". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  17. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  18. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  19. ^ "Paramore Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  20. ^ "British single certifications – Paramore – Brick by Boring Brick". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
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