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It's Not the End of the World, But I Can See It from Here
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Wikipedia article
"'It's Not the End of the World, But I Can See It from Here'" is the twelfth single by Welsh rock band Lostprophets, and the first from their fourth studio album 'The Betrayed'. It was released on 11 October 2009 in the UK, the first time they had released anything since April 2007. The release also features the song "AC Ricochet". Drummer Ilan Rubin wrote the song when he was 16.
Reception
BBC Music made comparisons with the music of My Chemical Romance and stated that the song consisted of "double-speed punk backbeat, the apocalyptic end-of-all-things lyrics, the massive terrace chant chorus, the strange effect on the vocals and the general air of churning turmoil". It was also described as being dramatic and raised expectations for the corresponding album. In a separate review BBC Wales Music said "it stands up with the likes of "Burn Burn" as one of their more abrasive hit singles".[https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/walesmusic/2010/01/lostprophets-the-betrayed-guide.shtml BBC Wales Music Track Guide]
Click Music called the single "typical Lostprophets - big riffs and an even bigger chorus" and praised the guitar motifs, but mentioned that it lacked "lyrical credibility".
Rock Louder was very favourable stating that it was a "Godzilla-sized" track that is "one of the catchiest songs to be released this year".
Q magazine described it as "an end-of-days anthem tailor-made for the closing credits of Roland Emmerich's next apocalyptic blockbuster".[https://www.flickr.com/photos/lostprophets/4253647169/sizes/l/ Q Magazine Review]
It was included in Kerrang's Playlist for the week starting 30 September 2009 who described it as a "stadium-sized singalong".[http://www.kerrang.com/blog/2009/09/the_playlist_300909.html Kerrang Playlist 30/09/09]
Rock Sound magazine described the song as a "typical Prophets anthemic sing-alongs thatll please the aficionados".[http://www.rocksound.tv/reviews/article/lostprophets-the-betrayed Rock Sound 'The Betrayed' Review][https://www.flickr.com/photos/lostprophets/4253648709/sizes/l/ Rock Sound Review] Whilst in the Rock Sound Readers Poll 2009 it reached #5 in the Best Single category.[http://www.rocksound.tv/news/article/rock-sound-readers-poll-2009-the-results Rock Sound Readers Poll 2009]
However, not all reviews were positive. Gigwise thought the song was "one of the weaker tracks on the album" and noted that "despite two guitarists duelling each other admirably never truly feels as big as it should be".[http://www.gigwise.com/news/54060/Lostprophets---The-Betrayed-Exclusive-Track-By-Track-Guide Gigwise Track Guide]
Radio
The first airing of the single was on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show on 19 August 2009, and on the same day was announced as Zane Lowe's Hottest Record of the day, with the DJ saying "'very few of the UK hard rockers have the catalogue of hits and here's another'" and also calling it a "'stomper'".[https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/zanelowe/2009/08/hottest_record_lost_prophets_i.html BBC R1 - Zane's Hottest Record] It was then given a place on the A List playlist on BBC Radio 1,[http://www.facebook.com/lostprophets/posts/137500372252 R1 Playlist] as well as being extensively played on Kerrang Radio and Total Rock Radio.[http://www.facebook.com/lostprophets/posts/143435808597 Total Rock Radio] Ian Watkins was on BBC Radio 1's Review Show with Nihal on 29 September 2009 to promote the single.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00mwsrw BBC Radio 1 Review Show]
Live performances
The track was played when the band headlined the NME/Radio 1 Stage at Leeds Festival in 2010, appearing fifth in the setlist.[https://www.nme.com/news/lostprophets/47027 NME Leeds Festival Article] And it was played first as part of an eight track setlist when the band appeared on the Main Stage of Radio 1's Big Weekend 2010 in Bangor, North Wales.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/bigweekend/2010/artists/lostprophets/ R1 Big Weekend 2010] It also featured in every single show of The Betrayed Tour, nearly always being the second track in the setlist.[http://www.setlist.fm/search?query=artist:%28Lostprophets%29+tour:%28The+Betrayed%29 Setlists]
Music video
In the video the band is playing in a car park in a metropolis. Gradually all of the surrounding buildings crumble and the fragments float into the sky, eventually blocking out the sun. This is the first video to feature Luke Johnson on drums. Speaking behind the scenes of their next video "Where We Belong", Ian Watkins said that the video for the song had been directed by one of the band's closest friends, David Allen. Some scenes from the "Where We Belong" video were also filmed on the same day.
The video was posted to YouTube by Visible Noise on 18 September 2009.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwxDhdXjgCs Official Video On Youtube] It has since been viewed nearly two million times making it one of the band's most popular videos.
It was nominated at the 2010 Kerrang Awards for Best Video,[http://www.kerrang.com/blog/2010/06/and_the_nominees_are.html Kerrang Award Nominations] but lost out to Biffy Clyro's "The Captain".[http://www.kerrang.com/blog/2010/07/and_the_winners_are_1.html Kerrang Award Winners] The video also ranked #20 on Kerrang TV's Rock 100 list for 2010.[http://robynlostprophets.blogspot.com/2010/04/official-kerrang-rock-100-2010.html Kerrang TV's 2010 Rock 100]
Popular culture
* It was played on English TV soap EastEnders in the background in the Queen Vic pub on Thursday 3 June 2010.
Personnel
* Ian Watkins lead vocals
* Lee Gaze lead guitar
* Mike Lewis rhythm guitar
* Stuart Richardson bass guitar
* Jamie Oliver - piano, synth, keyboard, samples, vocals
* Ilan Rubin drums, percussion
* Luke Johnson drums, percussion
Chart positions
References
Category:Lostprophets songs
Category:2009 singles
Category:2008 songs
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