Maps (Yeah Yeah Yeahs song)

"Maps"
Single by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
from the album Fever to Tell
B-side
  • "Countdown"
  • "Miles Away"
ReleasedSeptember 22, 2003 (2003-09-22)
Genre
Length3:34
Label
Songwriters
Producers
Yeah Yeah Yeahs singles chronology
"Pin"
(2003) 		"Maps"
(2003) 		"Y Control"
(2004)
Music video
"Maps" on YouTube

"Maps" is a song by the American indie rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the ninth track on their debut studio album, Fever to Tell (2003). It was released by Polydor in the United Kingdom in September 2003 and by Interscope in the United States in February 2004. The song was written and composed by the band, who co-produced it with David Andrew Sitek. An art-punk soul ballad, "Maps" explores themes about heartbreak and missing someone, inspired by a troubled relationship lead singer Karen O was in.

"Maps" was acclaimed by music critics, many of whom praised its emotional weight and lyrics, as well as Karen O's vocals. The song became the band's first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 87 and peaked at number nine on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. Internationally, it was their fifth entry on the Scottish singles chart at number 35 and on the UK singles chart at number 26. Patrick Daughters directed the song's music video, which was aired in heavy rotation on MTV and nominated for four MTV Video Music Awards.

"Maps" helped Yeah Yeah Yeahs enter the mainstream and became the band's signature song. It has become inspirational to other artists and remains an essential work of the garage rock and post-punk movements of the early 2000s. Billboard magazine believed it changed "the relationship between pop and indie" and NME called it the greatest alternative love song ever made. It has appeared on critics' rankings of the best songs of both the decade and of all time.

Background and recording

Yeah Yeah Yeahs were formed in 2000 by singer/songwriter Karen O and guitarist Nick Zinner as a "trashy, punky, [and] grimy" band inspired by their observations of the contemporary Ohio music scene.[1][2] Before their debut performance as an opening act for the White Stripes,[3] drummer Brian Chase was added to the lineup a day before the show, making a trio.[4] By the end of 2002, the band's first extended play and energetic live shows netted them international attention.[5][6] They rejected subsequent offers from major record labels to finance and produce their debut album, Fever to Tell, as they felt it would compromise their creative control.[7]

"Maps" began with a guitar riff played on a whim by Zinner in the band's home. Karen O recalls, "I was walking past his door, I heard the sample and came in and I was like, 'What is that?' And then five minutes later I was singing basically the lyrics to it and then it was there, It was like one of those songs that wrote itself in like five minutes."[8] The earliest demos of the song were released as part of the deluxe edition of Fever to Tell.[9]

"Maps" was recorded by the band at Headgear Studio in Brooklyn and co-produced with David Andrew Sitek (TV on the Radio), who later became their longtime collaborator.[10] It was mixed by Zinner and Alan Moulder at Eden Studios in London, and mastered by Howie Weinberg at Masterdisk in New York City.[11] The single artwork was designed by Cody Critcheloe, who also provided the graphics for Fever to Tell and its related media.[12]

Composition

"Maps" is characterized as an art punk,[13] soul ballad[14] and indie rock[15] song with a runtime of three minutes and 34 seconds.[16] According to sheet music published by editors at Popbitch, it is composed in 4
4 time in the key of G major.[17] The lyrics were inspired by Karen O's relationship with then-boyfriend Angus Andrew, the frontman of Liars, during a tumultuous point due to their "hectic" touring schedules.[18] She intended to create a "love song that stands the test of time" about "missing someone".[18][19] It is often suggested that "Maps" is an acronym for "My Angus Please Stay," although this has never been addressed by the band.[20]

The song begins with a riff played by Zinner for some eight bars, which consists of a single D note. Notable parts from Chase's include a kick being played on nearly every note and a stuttering snare drum.[17] Karen O performs lead vocals and greatly uses the "power of three" rule, with one example including the famous repeated chorus line "They don't love you like I love you";[17] this came from an email she had sent Andrew.[21] Zinner's guitar work was described as "emotional" by Tom Maginnis of AllMusic.[22]

Reception

"Maps" was released in the United Kingdom on September 22, 2003, through Polydor Records;[23] the same label released it in Australia on October 6, 2003.[24] The band were hesitant to release it in the United States, leading Interscope Records to delay its release to February 17, 2004.[25][26] The song was a commercial breakthrough for Yeah Yeah Yeahs and tripled the sales of Fever to Tell.[25] It reached number 26 on the UK singles chart, number 35 on the Scottish Singles and Albums Charts, and became their first entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 87; it also peaked at number nine on the US Alternative Airplay chart. In 2023, it was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

"Maps" received critical acclaim. AllMusic's Tom Maginnis greatly praised the song and wrote, "Never bowing to conventionality in song structure or sonic texture, the band refuse to revert to anything as traditional as strummed guitar chords, instead weaving a delicate web of pointillist guitars and tribal drumming together with Karen O [sic] subdued vocal performance into a subtle, stunning gem."[22] In his review of Fever to Tell, Eric Carr of Pitchfork deemed "Maps" said Zinner's guitars were "easily his best to date" and Karen O's vocals "drip genuine, regretful emotion [...] the emotive response it produces is very real, and that means a lot."[27] Writing for Variety magazine, David Sprague likened "Maps" to a "Diane Warren-penned punk power ballad" and said the song "revealed enough dogged determination to suggest they’ll be just as tough to push around (in the 2000s garage rock and post-punk revivals)."[28]

Music video

The music video for "Maps" was directed by Patrick Daughters, his first of many for the band.[29] It depicts the band playing in an audition in a high school gymnasium with different light filters changing the color of the room; Karen O is memorably seen crying in the video, which was not staged. She explains: "They were real tears. My boyfriend at the time (Andrew) was supposed to come to the shoot – he was three hours late and I was just about to leave for tour. I didn't think he was even going to come and this was the song that was written for him. He eventually showed up and I got myself in a real emotional state."[30]

The "Maps" music video was played extensively on MTV; this, along with a notable performance by the band at the 2004 MTV Movie Awards, heightened the single's success.[31] At the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards, the video was nominated for Best Art Direction, Best Editing, Best Cinematography and the MTV2 Award.[32] At the 2004 MTVU Woodie Awards, it was nominated for Woodie of the Year.[33]

Legacy

"Maps" became Yeah Yeah Yeahs's signature song and cemented their status in the 2000s garage rock and post-punk revivals.[8][34] Emma Madden of Billboard believed the song and its music video "helped change the way we view the relationship between pop and indie", writing that "Those real tears, sweaty hair and desperate insistence of "Wait! They don't love you like I love you" became a source of true human emotion that pop records have been co-opting since its release in 2003."[31] BBC Radio 6 Music described its influence as "vast" and "genre-spanning", having "left an indelible mark on the music industry."[8] In a podcast for Rolling Stone, Brittany Spanos called it a "pop crossover moment, joining the lexicon of great and timeless rock and roll love songs."[35] Reflecting on the song's impact, Karen O said, "It's a love song, and there’s just not a lot of bands that have one of their biggest songs as a love song. So I'm pretty stoked about that".[8]

Pitchfork ranked "Maps" at number six on their 2009 list of the "Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s".[36] NME deemed "Maps" the best alternative love song of all time in 2011;[37] the same publication ranked it at number 55 on its list of "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years" that same year.[38] Rolling Stone ranked it at number seven on their "100 Best Songs of the 2000s" list and number 386 on their "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list, both in 2011;[39][40] the 2021 revision of the latter moved it to number 101.[41] Rolling Stone also ranked it second on their list of "The 250 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century So Far" in 2025.[42]

In September 2024, a sped-up version of "Maps" gained popularity on TikTok. A dance was created along with it where it used different contexts of wanting someone to stop and listen to them. As a result, the song charted at number one on the US TikTok Billboard Top 50 the following month.[43][44]

Other versions

"Maps" has been covered, sampled and remixed by several artists. Kelly Clarkson's 2004 single "Since U Been Gone," which was written and produced by Max Martin and Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald,[45] is heavily inspired by "Maps" and features similar composition; Karen O said noticing the similarity was "like getting bitten by a poisonous varmint."[46][47] Beyoncé's "Hold Up," a song recorded by Beyoncé for her 2016 album, Lemonade, contains an interpolation of the "Maps" lyric, "Wait, they don't love you like I love you." Yeah Yeah Yeahs received songwriting credits for the sample.[48] Other artists include the White Stripes,[49] Arcade Fire,[50] Black Eyed Peas,[8] Ted Leo,[51] Macy Gray, Cary Brothers, Priscilla Ahn, The Fray, Anderson .Paak,[8] Camp Cope,[52] The Bad Plus, Freya Ridings,[53][54] Keaton Henson,[55] Samia, The Killers,[56] Sasami,[57] The Wood Brothers,[58] and Thou.

Track listing

Digital download
No.TitleLength
1."Maps"3:34
2."Countdown"3:39
3."Miles Away" (John Peel Session)2:30

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ)[65] Gold 15,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[66] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United Kingdom September 22, 2003
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • CD
[23]
Australia October 6, 2003 CD [24]
United States February 17, 2004 Alternative radio Interscope [26]

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