Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

"Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger"
Single by Daft Punk
from the album Discovery
Released 13 October 2001
Format
Genre House
Length 3:45
Label Virgin
Writer(s)
Producer(s) Daft Punk
Daft Punk singles chronology
"Digital Love"
(2001)		 "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger"
(2001)		 "Face to Face"
(2003)
Music sample
Daft Punk – "Harder Better Faster Stronger" (album version)
Music video
"Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" on YouTube
"Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (Alive 2007)"
Single by Daft Punk
from the album Alive 2007
Released 15 October 2007
Format
Recorded 14 June 2007
Genre House
Length 3:34
Label Virgin
Writer(s)
Producer(s) Daft Punk
Daft Punk singles chronology
"The Prime Time of Your Life"
(2006)		 "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (Alive 2007)"
(2007)		 "Derezzed"
(2010)

"Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" is a song by French duo Daft Punk. The single was first released on 13 October 2001. A live version of "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" was released as a single from the album Alive 2007 on 15 October 2007.[1][2] This version won a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording in 2009. In October 2011, NME placed it at number 132 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".[3]

Composition

"Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" features a robotic vocal performance by Daft Punk.[4] As mentioned in the Discovery liner notes, "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" contains a sample of "Cola Bottle Baby" by Edwin Birdsong.

A live version of "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" was recorded at Bercy in Paris from 14 June 2007. It was released as a digital download single on 15 October 2007, for the live album Alive 2007.[2] The track also contains a part of the "Television Rules the Nation / Crescendolls" segment of the Bercy performance that features elements of the songs "Around the World", "Steam Machine", "Television Rules the Nation".[5] This version of the song won the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording at the 51st Grammy Awards.[6]

Kanye West's song "Stronger" from the album Graduation prominently features a sample of "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger". Two actors who wore the robotic Daft Punk costumes in the film Daft Punk's Electroma appear in the music video for "Stronger".[1] It was later performed live at the 2008 Grammy Awards with Daft Punk in their trademark pyramid while West was on stage rapping.[7] Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo clarified that "Stronger" was "not a collaboration in the studio, but the vibe of the music we do separately connected in what [West] did with the song."[8] He later clarified that the live version was "truly a collaboration from the start. We really did it all hand in hand."[9]

Music video

The animated music video for "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" was produced by Daft Punk and directed by Kazuhisa Takenouchi, a veteran director for Toei Animation, under the supervision of Leiji Matsumoto. It features the four characters shown on the single cover in a vast electronic facility. The victims are transformed by various machines to resemble humans. The video was first released as an individual episode in promotion for the single release. It later appeared as a scene in the feature film Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem.

A music video for the live version of "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" was directed by Olivier Gondry. It contains footage shot by the audience on 250 cameras at Daft Punk's Brooklyn performance in KeySpan Park. The video was inspired by the Beastie Boys concert film Awesome; I Fuckin' Shot That!.[1] The video had its world premiere online on 26 October 2007, at Webcastr.[10]

"Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" is featured in a popular YouTube video titled "Daft Hands",[11] which later appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.[12] The video was ranked among the top viewed YouTube videos in the "All Time" category.[11] "Daft Hands" was referenced in Weezer's "Pork and Beans" music video along with the variant "Daft Bodies" and multiple other Internet viral videos.

Track listing

  1. "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" (album version) – 3:43
  2. "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" (Breakers Break remix) – 4:38
    • Remixed and edited by Dominique Torti
  3. "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" (The Neptunes remix) – 5:12
  4. "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" (Pete Heller's stylus mix) – 9:14

Alive 2007 digital single track listing

  1. "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" (Alive 2007) – radio edit
  2. "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" (Alive 2007) – extended
  3. "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" (Alive 2007) – video

Charts and certifications

Original version

Chart (2001) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[13] 8
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[14] 38
France (SNEP)[15] 17
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[16] 70
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[17] 25
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[18] 3

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[19] Silver 200,000double-dagger

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
double-daggersales+streaming figures based on certification alone

2007 live version

Chart (2007) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[20] 43
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[21] 58
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[22] 16
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[14] 17
France (SNEP)[15] 19
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] 50

Other versions

Diplo released a remix of "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" titled "Work Is Never Over". It appeared in his compilation album Decent Work for Decent Pay. The title of the song was also parodied in an episode of The Cleveland Show called '"Harder, Better, Faster, Browner", which was a part of season two. Neil Cicierega used the "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" instrumental, along with Smash Mouth's songs "Walkin' on the Sun" and "All Star", for the mashup "Daft Mouth" as part of Cicierega's Mouth Sounds album.

Philippe Uminski of the band Circus released a cover version of "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" in 2004.[24] Mike Tompkins released an a cappella version of the song in May 2012.[25] Norwegian YouTube singer Per Fredrik Pellek Asly, or "PelleK", released a power metal version of the song in July 2013.[26] Steam Powered Giraffe covered the song in May 2014.[27]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Live Album To Chronicle Daft Punk Tour Billboard.com. Retrieved on 17 August 2007.
  2. 1 2 Daft Punk's official YouTube channel's channel on YouTube. Retrieved on 13 October 2007.
  3. ↑ "150 Best Tracks Of The Past 15 Years". NME.COM.
  4. ↑ Discovery liner notes: "Vocals performed by Daft Punk".
  5. ↑ Daft Punk Alive 2007 ilikemusic.com. Retrieved on 14 October 2007.
  6. ↑ MTV News Staff (2009-02-08). "Grammy 2009 Winners List". MTV. Retrieved 2009-02-09.
  7. ↑ Daft Punk Make Surprise Grammy Appearance with Kanye West nme.com. Retrieved on 10 February 2008.
  8. ↑ Cohen, Jonathan (2007-08-14). "Exclusive: Live Album to Chronicle Daft Punk Tour". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved August 27, 2007.
  9. ↑ Blurt, "Encounters of the Daft Kind" (September 2008) pgs. 28-29. Retrieved on July 26, 2009.
  10. ↑ webcastr.com - Daft Punk - Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
  11. 1 2 "Daft Hands" video on YouTube. Retrieved on 1 December 2007.
  12. ↑ Carleton College Students. "Carleton College". shout.
  13. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Daft Punk – Harder Better Faster Stronger" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
  14. 1 2 "Ultratop.be – Daft Punk – Harder Better Faster Stronger" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
  15. 1 2 "Lescharts.com – Daft Punk – Harder Better Faster Stronger" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
  16. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Daft Punk – Harder Better Faster Stronger". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
  17. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2001-11-17" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
  18. ↑ "Daft Punk – Chart history" Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs for Daft Punk. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
  19. ↑ "British single certifications – Daft Punk – When the Beat Drops Out". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 22 June 2015. Enter When the Beat Drops Out in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
  20. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Daft Punk – Harder Better Faster Stronger (Alive 2007)". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  21. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Daft Punk – Harder Better Faster Stronger (Alive 2007)" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  22. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Daft Punk – Harder Better Faster Stronger (Alive 2007)" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  23. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Daft Punk – Harder Better Faster Stronger (Alive 2007)". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  24. ↑ Uminski - Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger - YouTube
  25. ↑ "Harder Better Faster Stronger - Daft Punk - Mike Tompkins - A Capella Cover". YouTube. 22 May 2012. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
  26. ↑ "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (Metal Cover)". YouTube. 10 July 2013. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
  27. ↑ "Daft Punk - Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (Cover by Steam Powered Giraffe)". YouTube. 13 May 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
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