"Gold on the Ceiling" is the third track from El Camino, the seventh studio album by American rock band the Black Keys. It was released as the record's second single on February 25, 2012. The song was certified platinum in Australia and Canada, and is tied with "Fever" as the band's highest-charting song in the UK.[3]
| "Gold on the Ceiling" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by the Black Keys | ||||
| from the album El Camino | ||||
| Released | February 25, 2012 | |||
| Recorded | 2011 at Easy Eye Sound studio in Nashville, Tennessee | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:44 | |||
| Label | Nonesuch | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) |
| |||
| The Black Keys singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Gold on the Ceiling" on YouTube | ||||
Music videos
editTwo videos were shot for the song. The first, directed by Reid Long, features footage from the band's concerts, as well as candid shots of them on tour.
A second music video, directed by Harmony Korine, was shot prior to the single release, but was not released until May 2012. The video features the band members wearing Baby Björns and being carried by giant doppelgängers of theirs, played by two Belmont Bruins men's basketball players.[4]
Reception
editWill Hermes of Rolling Stone called the song's keyboards "a serrated organ growl backed up with a SWAT team of hand claps" and cited it as an example of Danger Mouse's prowess as a producer and co-writer. Summarizing the song, Hermes wrote, "It's Sixties bubblegum garage pop writ large, with T. Rex swagger and a guitar freakout that perfectly mirrors the lyrics, a paranoid rant that makes you shiver while you shimmy."[1] John Soeder of The Plain Dealer labeled it one of the album's finest and said that it sounded like a hybrid of Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit in the Sky" and Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll Part 2".[5]
Harley Brown of Consequence of Sound called the song "bombastic, slightly sleazy" and said that it "best sums up The Black Keys' almost unbelievably consistent musicianship and success".[6] Melissa Maerz of Entertainment Weekly said that the song, "with its swarm-of-bees organs and acid-trip gospel harmonies, could be a lost Nuggets gem".[7] Randall Roberts of the Los Angeles Times, writing about the song's retro stylings, said that it "sounds as if it's existed forever".[8] Sam Richards of NME said that the song's "brilliantly demented cowboy glam holler... is boosted by the band's new trio of female backing singers wailing for all they're worth".[2]
Use in popular media
editThis article contains a list of miscellaneous information. (March 2021) |
- "Gold on the Ceiling" was used in an advertising campaign for the 2012 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament nicknamed "Brackets Everywhere" on Turner Sports and CBS Sports networks.[9]
- A mix of the song was used in a 2012 United Kingdom advert for the Indian beer Cobra.[10]
- It is used in the advertisements for the TV series Veep.
- It is featured in TV shows, films and video games including NCIS, Suits, MLB 12: The Show, Battleship, Workaholics, Chuck, Point Break (2015), Ocean's 8, Guitar Hero Live and as downloadable content for Rocksmith and Rock Band 4.
- It is also used in the theatrical trailer for The Campaign.
- The song was performed live at the 2012 MTV Movie Awards by the band, accompanied on guitar by Johnny Depp.[11]
- NBC Sports has made video montages with "Gold on the Ceiling" during the 2012 Summer Olympics honoring the Olympic athletes who had won gold medals.
- From 2012 to 2013 before the rebrand to Fox Sports 1, the song was the theme song for NASCAR: Race Day on SPEED.
- The song appeared as the goal song for the Vancouver Canucks. The Nashville Predators, whose colors scheme includes gold, experimented with "Gold on the Ceiling" as its new goal song during the summer of 2014, adopting it afterwards in a medley with I Like It, I Love It, replacing the second part formerly held by Rock and Roll Part 2[12]
- In one of the episodes of NBC's Superstore, this song can be heard in one scene playing in the background over the store's PA system[citation needed].
- From 2019-2022, the song was used as the goal song for the UMass Minutemen ice hockey team.[13]
Single cover
editThe cover art for the single is a photo of the dilapidated south entrance to the former Kaufmann's/Macy's in Rolling Acres Mall in Akron, Ohio.
Personnel
edit- Dan Auerbach – vocals, guitar
- Patrick Carney – drums
- Brian Burton – keyboards, bass guitar
- Ashley Wilcoxson and Leisa Hans – backing vocals
Charts
edit
Weekly chartsedit
|
Year-end chartsedit
|
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[25] | Platinum | 70,000^ |
| Canada (Music Canada)[26] | Gold | 40,000* |
| Italy (FIMI)[27] | Gold | 15,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[28] | Gold | 400,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[29] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000‡ |
|
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
edit- ^ a b Hermes, Will (December 22, 2011). "The Keys Turn Their Blues-Rock Beater into a Sleek, Shiny Muscle Car". Rolling Stone. No. 1146/1147. pp. 85–86. Retrieved February 3, 2006.
- ^ a b Richards, Sam (December 2, 2011). "Album Review: The Black Keys - 'El Camino'". NME. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
- ^ "Record Certifications Around the World - The Black Keys Official Blog". Archived from the original on November 15, 2012.
- ^ Phillips, Amy (May 31, 2012). "Watch: New Black Keys Video for "Gold on the Ceiling" Directed by Harmony Korine". Pitchfork Media. Pitchfork. Retrieved June 4, 2012.
- ^ Soeder, John (December 10, 2011). "Black Keys take their 'El Camino' for a spin in the pursuit of pop: Review". Cleveland.com. Cleveland Live LLC. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
- ^ Brown, Harley (December 6, 2011). "Album Review: The Black Keys – El Camino". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
- ^ Maerz, Melissa (December 9, 2011). "El Camino (2011): The Black Keys". Entertainment Weekly. No. 1184. p. 72. Retrieved December 8, 2011.
- ^ Roberts, Randall (December 5, 2011). "Album review: The Black Keys' 'El Camino'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
- ^ "Turner, CBS: 'Brackets Everywhere'". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Turner Sports Interactive. February 29, 2012. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
- ^ Paul (March 5, 2006). "Cobra Beer – The Train". tvadmusic.co.uk. TV Ad Music. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
- ^ "Johnny Depp plays guitar with The Black Keys at MTV Movie Awards". NME.com. June 4, 2012. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
- ^ "From Gary Glitter to The Black Keys, a goal song evolution". July 14, 2014.
- ^ @umasshockey (October 16, 2019). "The votes are in and our new goal song has been determined... 🥁🥁🥁 Gold on the Ceiling wins with 37.7% of the vote! It will officially debut Friday night vs. Union! Thanks to all who voted (yes we removed duplicates)! #NewMass | #Flagship🚩" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "The Black Keys – Gold on the Ceiling". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
- ^ "The Black Keys – Gold on the Ceiling" (in Dutch). Ultratip.
- ^ "The Black Keys – Gold on the Ceiling" (in French). Ultratip.
- ^ "The Black Keys Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
- ^ "The Black Keys Chart History (Canada Rock)". Billboard.
- ^ "Chart Track: Week 13, 2012". Irish Singles Chart.
- ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
- ^ "Black Keys: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
- ^ "The Black Keys Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
- ^ "The Black Keys Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard.
- ^ "Hot Rock Songs: Year End 2012". Billboard. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
- ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2012 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
- ^ "Canadian single certifications – The Black Keys – Gold on the Ceiling". Music Canada.
- ^ "Italian single certifications – The Black Keys – Gold on the Ceiling" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana.
- ^ "British single certifications – Black Keys – Gold on the Ceiling". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
- ^ "American single certifications – The Black Keys – Gold on the Ceiling". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 4, 2021.