Intravenous

"Intravenous"
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Single by Dresden & Bareilles from the album 150 dB
Released	October 24th, 2011
Format	CD, Digital Download
Recorded	2010
Genre	Alternative/Rock/Electronic
Length	5:05
Label	Blacklight Records
Writer	G. Dresden/J. L. Bareilles
Producer	DJ Double Garage
Chart position	#1
Certification	Gold
Additional artwork
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Dresden & Bareilles chronology
"Edward Carnby" (2011) "Intravenous" (2011) "Me, Myself, I" (2012)

"Intravenous" is a single by alternative-rock duo Dresden & Bareilles, and the fourth single from their sophomore album "150 dB". Another DJ Double Garage production, "Intravenous" was intended for release with a song called "Broken House", a collaboration with Aftershock. For the single release, "Intravenous" was remixed and turned into a second Aftershock collaboration. The release was scrapped, and Dresden & Bareilles released "Intravenous" alone. The song was their second consecutive UK #1 hit, made the top 40 in America and the top 20 in Australia.

Background

"Intravenous" was written in 2009 for URAPS Idol 10 winner Troy Rivers, and his unreleased debut album. After Troy disappeared from the spotlight, the song sat around unused until the band re-visited it in late 2010 while preparing their album "150 dB". The song received a re-write and its sound and production was given a complete overhaul by DJ Double Garage to fit with the electronic direction the album was taking. In late 2011, Dresden & Bareilles collaborated with Aftershock on a song called "Broken House", and at the same time Aftershock featured on a remix of "Intravenous", with the plan being that the two songs would be released as a joint single. Plans changed after an industry upheaval, and the release plans were abandoned. Dresden & Bareilles kept on with their part of the release, choosing to put out the original version of "Intravenous" on the originally scheduled date. The b-side "Jonah" was written about the massive power shift in the industry. There was no digital EP format for the single, although the track was available for separate purchase on iTunes, allowing for its strong digital performance.

Reception

Dresden & Bareilles' popularity was high following their first UK #1 hit with "Edward Carnby", so the band chose not to waste any time in moving onto their next single; on their high, "Intravenous" was well-received by the public and by critics, who saw the song as the last obvious single choice from the album. The song became their biggest airplay hit of the era, also achieving their highest airplay peak to date, and it became the band's second UK #1. The song also performed well in the US and Australia, adding yet another single to their hit tally in both territories.

Tracklisting

Promo CD

1. Intravenous (Album Version)
2. Intravenous (150 dB Shock-Tech Remix) (ft. Aftershock)

CD1

1. Intravenous
2. Jonah
3. Intravenous (BT's Liquid Light Mix)

CD2

1. Intravenous (150 dB Shock-Tech Remix) (ft. Aftershock)
2. Intravenous (Josh Gabriel Remix)
3. Intravenous (Marcus Schossow Remix)
4. Intravenous (Moonbeam Remix)

Music Video

The video begins with shots of Jean-Luc wandering across a barren stretch of sand; the area looks deserted. Gabriel is elsewhere in a darkened room, staring at his reflection in the mirror. A second Gabriel is seen in the reflection, shouting and reaching for something out of sight above him. We follow Jean-Luc’s passage through this barren urban desert as he performs the frantic mumblings of the first verse. Throughout this sequence, we see Gabriel in a black space, reaching and jumping for the light above his head, and a seemingly unconnected scene of Gabriel with elaborate designs drawn all over his skin. As the chorus hits, we see a performance shot of Gabriel singing on a rooftop, with Jean-Luc and a full band backing him. They’re standing in what appears to be dark quicksand. A second performance shot takes place in the desert with Jean-Luc singing, with just Gabriel to accompany him on guitar. The band on the rooftop sinks as the chorus continues, while the duo in the desert are hit with a growing sandstorm. Intercut are more shots of the Gabriel with the body-art and a scene of a seemingly-dead Jean-Luc with a bleeding head wound.

During the second verse, we see Gabriel in the dark room with the mirror. As we see Jean-Luc walking the deserted streets of what looks like a ghost city, Gabriel is watching and reacting to his reflection in the mirror, which is spitting the mumbled verse back at Gabriel in a taunting way to his real-world counterpart. We see more of the scene with the dead Jean-Luc, as a woman in high heels steps over the body. All we see of her are her legs as she’s stepping over Jean-Luc. In the dark room, Gabriel eventually has enough of his reflection, walking away from the mirror and causing his reflection to do the same. During the long instrumental section, we see more of the body-art Gabriel and the dead Jean-Luc. In the dead Jean-Luc scene, we see the body being dragged into the next room, and the camera follows the blood trail. Intercut with this are more performance scenes from the desert and from the quicksand rooftop. In the desert scene, Jean-Luc is playing guitar alongside Gabriel. We also get more shots of Jean-Luc walking the ghost town alone, approaching the desert, and Gabriel in the dark space overlaid on top of Jean-Luc’s desert scene.

During the final chorus we go over all of the scenes we’ve previously seen in the video; Gabriel with his body-art, Gabriel in the dark room with the taunting reflection in the mirror, Jean-Luc wandering through the desert and Jean-Luc being dead. In the dead Jean-Luc scene, we see his body being dragged into the bathroom. When the video ends, we pan up to see the murderer (and the person dragging his body around) is his mystery girlfriend. Also when the video ends, the band in the quicksand rooftop pit have sunk completely down. All we see is Gabriel’s hand sticking out from the dark sediment.

Chart Performance

"Intravenous" was on a quiet release date, with only releases by Alicia Jones and Chase Elite challenging them. Alicia's low industry standing made her no competition, placing Chase as their biggest rival. The final result was close, but Dresden & Bareilles remained victorious, earning their second UK #1 hit with sales of over 97k. The song infamously missed platinum certification by a small margin, unexpectedly falling off the chart after only 245k sold. The song became their biggest airplay hit of the era, also achieving their highest airplay peak to date. Digitally, the song is the band's second-biggest digital hit selling over 131k. In the US, the song was a major success on their core airplay formats, and was a minor pop crossover, helping sales enough that it reached #38 on the Hot 100. In Australia, airplay was low because the song was a little too aggressive for radio, but the song fared well enough digitally that it reached #17 on the ARIA chart.

Chart Run

• Week 1: #1 - 97,770
• Week 2: #5 - 51,467
• Week 3: #8 - 44,515
• Week 4: #13 - 23,710
• Week 5: #20 - 16,145
• Week 6: #29 - 12,072

TOTAL: 245,679

Artwork

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  Promo CD

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  CD1

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  CD2

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  Banner 1

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  Banner 2