This Is Not The World

Album: This Is Not The World (2008)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • After being dropped by Warner after falling out with them, the Futureheads set up their own record label. This was one of the first songs that they wrote for their first release on Nul Records.
  • Frontman Barry Hyde explained to the BBC why they named their album after this song. He said: "Thinking of names for albums tends to be either very easy or very, very difficult. If you name your album after something completely unconnected, there's a chance that people will question that. But the song, This Is Not The World, is to me quite an important song. It's one of the first songs we wrote after we split from Warner. That happening is possibly the most important thing that has ever happened to this band. We'd still be signed to Warner and we wouldn't have made this album. I wasn't even willing to write any more songs for Warner to be honest with you. I was just going to do a Lou Reed Metal Machine music and deliver them an album of white noise and say, 'Release that. See if you can do any better with this!'"
  • The former Killing Joke bassist Martin "Youth" Glover produced this song along with the rest of the album. Youth is best known for his production work on The Verve's 1997 album Urban Hymns, including the hit singles "Bittersweet Symphony" and "The Drugs Don't Work." Hyde told the BBC about working with him: "Youth is a fantastic producer. I find that producers have very different methods of working, but Youth's main goal from a session is to get the musicians in the right frame of mind - the frame of mind to be creative. Some producers, their art relies on technology, expensive microphones and technical ability, whereas Youth is almost like a priest! [He laughs] He makes you remember what music is about and he has an amazing way of tapping into an essence of a song."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

80s Video Director Jay Dubin

80s Video Director Jay DubinSong Writing

Billy Joel and Hall & Oates hated making videos, so they chose a director with similar contempt for the medium. That was Jay Dubin, and he has a lot to say on the subject.

Dar Williams

Dar WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

A popular contemporary folk singer, Williams still remembers the sticky note that changed her life in college.

Glen Burtnik

Glen BurtnikSongwriter Interviews

On Glen's résumé: hit songwriter, Facebook dominator, and member of Styx.

Dan Reed

Dan ReedSongwriter Interviews

Dan cracked the Top 40 with "Ritual," then went to India and spent 2 hours with the Dalai Lama.

Lita Ford

Lita FordSongwriter Interviews

Lita talks about how they wrote songs in The Runaways, and how she feels about her biggest hit being written by somebody else.

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat WorldSongwriter Interviews

Jim talks about the impact of "The Middle" and uses a tree metaphor to describe his songwriting philosophy.