More than This (Roxy Music song)

"More Than This" is a 1982 single by the British band Roxy Music. It was released as the first single from their final album, Avalon, and is the group's last Top 10 UK hit (peaking at #6). Although it only charted at #102 in the United States, it remains one of their best-known singles there. The American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs released a successful cover version in 1997 which peaked at #25.



Contents
[hide]  *1 Composition  ==Composition[ edit] == Written by Bryan Ferry, the lead singer has stated in interviews that he began writing the songs for Avalon while on the western coast of Ireland, which he believes contributed to the dark melancholy of the album. The lyrics describe a passive protagonist, to whom things happen, instead of actively participating in the world; it’s as if he feels he must live with the fate which the gods have dealt him.
 * 2 Promotional video
 * 3 Charts
 * 3.1 Weekly charts
 * 3.2 Year-end charts
 * 4 Cover versions
 * 5 In popular culture
 * 6 References
 * 7 External links

"More Than This" is somewhat unusual for a pop song in that Ferry's lead vocals end at 2:45 minutes, leaving the last 1:45 minutes as a synthesizer-driven instrumental. ==Promotional video[ edit] == The music video to the track opens with a light shining through a cross-shaped opening in a darkened studio. As the lights come up, Bryan Ferry begins singing the song. The video cuts to Ferry sitting in a small movie theatre, showing footage of him (and later the band) perform the song. The video then cuts to Roxy Music performing "More Than This" on a sound­stage. ==Charts[ edit] == ===Weekly charts<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === ===Year-end charts<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === ==Cover versions<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == ==In popular culture<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] ==
 * In 1997, a cover performed by 10,000 Maniacs with Mary Ramsey singing the lead became a US hit when it reached 25 on the Billboard Hot 100. The video for the cover was filmed at House on the Rock.
 * Jazz guitarist Charlie Hunter and singer Norah Jones covered the song for Hunter's 2001 album Songs from the Analog Playground.
 * Jimmy Gomma, an Italo dance producer did a cover of the song in 2002.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-10" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[10]
 * During 2004, a compilation called Roxy Remodeled was released with Madison Park's version.
 * Blondie used the 10,000 Maniacs arrangement in their live cover.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="line-height:1;font-size:11.1999998092651px;white-space:nowrap;">[citation needed]
 * Electrelane did a live cover of this song, which can be found on their album Singles, B-Sides & Live.
 * Australian singer-songwriter Missy Higgins recorded a cover of the song that was released as a single in 2009 and appears on her EP Steer & More.
 * Low Pop Suicide covered the song on the 1997 tribute album Dream Home Heartaches... Remaking-Remodeling Roxy Music.
 * Robyn Hitchcock has covered the song live. A recording can be found on his greatest hits compilation.
 * Contemporary folk artist Lucy Kaplansky covered the song on her 2007 album, Over the Hills.
 * Canadian singer/songwriter Damhnait Doyle covered the song on her 2008 album of cover songs, Lights Down Low.
 * Dance songwriter Alex Christensen released a cover in 2011 under the adopted name Jasper Forks.
 * Emmie's cover of "More Than This" appears in Dancing Stage EuroMIX as "More Than This '99", as one of the eight Universal songs.
 * Spanish band Peanut Pie covered the song for their only album in 1994.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-11" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[11]
 * Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs covered the song for their 2013 album, Under the Covers, Volume 3.
 * In the popular video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, "More Than This" was one of the songs featured on fictional radio station Emotion 98.3.
 * Bill Murray performed the song in the film Lost in Translation, directed by Sofia Coppola. Murray sings in a scene where his character is at a karaoke party. His performance is included as a hidden track after a period of silence at the end of the soundtrack album.
 * The song is played in the movie Matchstick Men when Roy Waller, Nicolas Cage and his teenage daughter Angela (Alison Lohman) are in a bowling alley together.
 * The song is played on Nip/Tuck in Season 2, Episode 3 ("Manya Mabika") during a hair-transplant surgery.
 * Featured on the soundtrack to the 1999 movie 200 Cigarettes.
 * The song is played on Community in Season 5, Episode 6 ("Analysis of Cork-Based Networking") during the montage/Fat Dog Dance.
 * The song is featured in the trailer for the 2014 HBO television film The Normal Heart.