"Berlin Chair" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by You Am I | ||||
from the album Sound As Ever | ||||
Released | February 1994 | |||
Format | CD | |||
Recorded | Pachyderm Studio, Cannon Falls, Minnesota | |||
Genre | Alternative rock | |||
Length | 2:34 | |||
Label | rooArt Records | |||
Writer(s) | Andy Kent, Tim Rogers, Mark Tunaley | |||
Producer(s) | Lee Ranaldo | |||
You Am I singles chronology | ||||
|
"Berlin Chair" is the second single from the album Sound As Ever by Australian rock band You Am I. It was released in 1994 and peaked at #73 on the Australian ARIA singles chart. "Berlin Chair" also reached #23 in that year's Hottest 100, while in the 1998 Hottest 100 of All Time it came in at #61 and #52 in the 2009 Hottest 100 of All Time. In a phone-in poll in 1999, the song was voted best Australian song of the 1990s. The track was featured on the soundtrack to the PC game Quarantine, released in the same year.
Tim Rogers wrote the song while living in Chippendale, Sydney, and titled the song after a sculpture (actually a chair designed by Gerrit Rietveld) he'd seen in Canberra, where he had previously lived. Biographer Craig Mathieson described the imagery of the chair as symbolising "the hard, even impenetrable male edge, that [the song's character] had with his girlfriend".
You Am I biographer Craig Mathieson praised the song's lyrics for revealing a character that "admit[s] they're flawed, but still swear[s] their strength, support [and] love". He praises the band's musical performance for "increas[ing] the momentum with every verse, adding vigour and desperation to Tim's emotion. ... Berlin Chair leaves me drained and elated."
All songs by Tim Rogers, except 2 (Pete Townshend) and 4 (Ross Wilson)
"Can't Explain" is a cover of "I Can't Explain" by The Who. "Jaimme (Makers Mark Version)" is an acoustic version of "Jaimme's Got A Gal". "All I Want To Do Is Rock" is a cover of the Mighty Kong song.