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1901 (song)

2009 single by Phoenix

Field	Value
name	1901
cover	Phoenix - 1901.jpeg
alt	"1901" cover art
type	single
artist	Phoenix
album	Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
B-side	* Memory Tapes Remix
released
recorded	2008
studio	Motorbass (Paris)
genre	* Synth-rock
* dance-rock<ref name	"RS Staff 2025"
length
label	* V2
writer	* Thomas Pablo Croquet
producer	* Phoenix
prev_title	Consolation Prizes
prev_year	2006
next_title	Lisztomania
next_year	2009

dance-rock
Loyauté
Glassnote
Christian Mazzalai
Laurent Brancowitz
Frederic Moulin
Philippe Zdar

"1901" is a song by French indie pop band Phoenix. It was released on 23 February 2009 as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (2009). It peaked at number 73 in Canada and number 84 in the United States, making "1901" the band's first song to chart there. Furthermore, it also reached number one on the US Alternative Songs chart. The song has been covered by English singer Birdy and also featured in the UK comedy series Friday Night Dinner.

Origin and description

It was released in February 2009 as the album's lead single, originally as a free download from the band's official website, but was issued as a retail single due to the song's popularity. A black-and-white music video for the song was released in May.{{cite web |url-status=live | access-date= 2010-02-17}} The single was reissued in the UK in February 2010.{{cite magazine

Phoenix performed "1901" on television programs such as The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien,

Critical reception

The song has received very positive reviews from music critics; Pitchfork's Jason Crock chose the song as a "Best New Track" and added that it's "just as smooth and spirited and dementedly catchy as any of their best singles." |url-status=live |url-status=dead |url-status=live |url-status=live | archive-date=2009-07-06 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090706074942/http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/celebrities/49858397.html | url-status=dead

Usage in media

The song was featured in the 2011 video game Test Drive Unlimited 2 as a song on the in-game radio station, RoadRock. It was also featured in the 2012 racing video game Forza Horizon in the in-game radio station, Horizon Pulse, NHL 2K10, NBA 2K13, which in the latter was picked by Jay-Z and NBA 2K26.

In 2024, Phoenix performed the song at the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in Paris.

Track listing

;Promo CD single

"1901" – 3:13

Charts

For the week ending 19 December 2009, "1901" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 90. It peaked at number 84 for the week ending 23 January 2010. The single reached number 73 on the Canadian Hot 100. The single topped the Billboard alternative chart for two weeks and became the second-longest-running song on the chart at the time, at 57 weeks.

Chart (2009–11)	Peak
position
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)	73
Canada Rock (Canadian Rock)	28
UK Physical Singles (OCC)	31
US Billboard Hot 100	84
US Alternative Songs (Billboard)	1
US Rock Songs (Billboard)	3
US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)	6
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)	34

Certifications

Accolades

Publication	Country	Accolade	Year	Rank
Spin	U.S.	Best Songs of 2009	url=http://spin.com/articles/20-best-songs-2009?page=0%2C3	title = The 20 Best Songs of 2009
Pitchfork Media	U.S.	Top 100 Tracks of 2009{{cite web	url = https://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7742-the-top-100-tracks-of-2009/10/	title = Pitchfork Staff Lists: The Top 100 Tracks of 2009
Slant Magazine	U.S.	Top 25 Songs of 2009	url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/features/2009yearinmusic.asp	title = 2009: Year in Music
Consequence	U.S.	Top 50 Songs of 2009	2009	1
Rolling Stone	U.S.	Best Songs of 2009	url=https://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/31364221/the_25_best_songs_of_2009/6	archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091221060702/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/31364221/the_25_best_songs_of_2009/6
Rolling Stone	U.S.	Best Songs of the Decade	url=https://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/31248926/100_best_songs_of_the_decade/27	title = 100 Best Songs of the Decade
Pitchfork	U.S.	Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s	2009	228
Triple J	Australia	Hottest 100 Countdown 2009	url=http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/hottest100/09/countdown/cd_list.htm	title = Hottest 100 Countdown 2009

Birdy version

Christian Mazzalai
Laurent Mazzalai
Frederic Moulin

English singer Birdy released a cover version of the song on 9 March 2012, as a digital download in the United Kingdom.

Music video

The music video for "1901" was uploaded to YouTube on 25 October 2009. Featured artists include Helen George and Ian Roe.

Track listing

Charts

Chart (2012)	Peak
position

Release history

Country	Date	Format	Label	United Kingdom
9 March 2012	Digital download	Warner

References

Payne, Chris. (15 April 2013). "Phoenix, 'Bankrupt!': Track-by-Track Review".
Rolling Stone Staff. (10 January 2025). "The 250 Greatest Albums of the 21st Century So Far".
LeDonne, Rob. (2024-08-12). "Two Weeks of Planning & ‘Joyful Chaos’: Behind the Scenes of Paris Olympics Closing Ceremony With Phoenix".
Legaspi, Althea. (2024-08-11). "Phoenix Perform With Air, Ezra Koenig, More at the Olympics Closing Ceremony".
"CoS Year-End Report: The Top 50 Songs of '09: 25-1 - Consequence".
(25 October 2009). "Phoenix - 1901".

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

2009-songs 2009-singles 2012-singles phoenix-(french-band)-songs birdy-(singer)-songs v2-records-singles black-and-white-music-videos songs-written-by-thomas-mars songs-written-by-laurent-brancowitz songs-about-paris electronic-rock-songs songs-used-as-jingles warner-music-group-singles synth-rock-songs

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