The Less I Know the Better
| "The Less I Know the Better" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| SinglebyTame Impala | ||||
| from the albumCurrents | ||||
| Released | 29 November 2015[1] | |||
| Recorded | Kevin Parker's home studio (Fremantle,Western Australia) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:39 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | Kevin Parker | |||
| Producer(s) | Kevin Parker | |||
| Tame Impalasingles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "The Less I Know the Better"onYouTube | ||||
"The Less I Know the Better"is a song released by the Australian music projectTame Impalaon 29 November 2015 as the fourth and final single from their thirdstudio album,Currents.The song's accompanyingmusic videomixes hand-drawn animation with live action and takes place in a high school, especially the gym and locker room, where a male basketball player suffers abroken heart.
In 2016, the song peaked at number 23 on the BelgianFlanders singles chart,number 66 on theARIA Singles Chart,and number 195 on theFrench Singles Chart.In the US, the song charted at number 35 onBillboard'sHot Rock Songschart.
The song, along with "Let It Happen",was one of two singles fromCurrentsto reach the top five inTriple J'sHottest 100 of 2015,ranking at number 4, whilst "Let It Happen" ranked at number 5.
It also topped Triple J'sHottest 100 of the 2010sin March 2020. The week after reaching #1 in Triple J's Hottest 100 of the 2010s, the song entered theARIA Top 50for the first time, charting 49 places higher than its previous peak of #66.[5]
In May 2021,APRA AMCOSconfirmed the song surpassedone billion streams.[6]
Background and composition
[edit]Parker stated that "The Less I Know the Better" originated from his love ofdisco:
That song originally I thought shouldn't be on a Tame Impala album, because it has this dorky, white disco funk. I wouldn't call it cheesy, but it's not trying to be too cool, because the lyrics are pretty dorky and the groove is pretty dorky. But at the same time, for me, I love that kind of music. I don't know why, but I've been obsessed with disco for the last year or two.[7]
According to Parker, recording the song became obsessive. He recalled performing over 1,057 partial vocal takes for either "The Less I Know the Better" or the album's second single, "'Cause I'm a Man",though he could not recall which.[8]
Sheet music for the song shows the key ofC# minor (C#m).[9]
Music video
[edit]The officialmusic videofor the song was uploaded on 29 November 2015 to the group'sVevochannel. The video follows a male high school basketball player lusting after a cheerleader, who soon begins a relationship with the team's gorilla mascot (named "Trevor", a reference to the lyric "She was holding hands with Trevor" in the song).[10]The music video was filmed by theBarcelona-based creative collective and directors known asCanada.[11]The two primary lovebirds in the video are played bySpanish actors:the cheerleader is portrayed by actressLaia Manzanares;[12]the basketball player by actorAlbert Baró.[13]
Lars Brandle ofBillboarddescribed it as "a strange tale of high school lust and jealousy (andKing Kong) played out in atechnicolortrip ", while Luke Saunders ofHappy Magcalled it a "seriously incredible experience".[14]
Charts
[edit]
Weekly charts[edit]
|
Year-end charts[edit]
|
Certifications
[edit]| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[25] | 10× Platinum | 700,000‡ |
| Belgium (BEA)[26] | Gold | 20,000‡ |
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[27] | Diamond | 250,000‡ |
| Canada (Music Canada)[28] | Gold | 40,000‡ |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[29] | Platinum | 90,000‡ |
| Germany (BVMI)[30] | Gold | 200,000‡ |
| Italy (FIMI)[31] | Platinum | 100,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[32] | 5× Platinum | 150,000‡ |
| Poland (ZPAV)[33] | 2× Platinum | 100,000‡ |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE)[34] | Platinum | 60,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[35] | 2× Platinum | 1,200,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[36] | 4× Platinum | 4,000,000‡ |
|
‡Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^"Tame Impala -" The Less I Know The Better "".Interscope Records.Archived fromthe originalon 5 February 2016.
- ^The following sources refer to the song as disco:
- Leight, Elias."Watch Tame Impala's" The Less I Know The Better "Video".The Fader.Archivedfrom the original on 21 August 2016.Retrieved12 March2016.
- DeVille, Chris (1 July 2015)."Yes I'm Changing: The Bold Metamorphosis Of Tame Impala's Currents".Stereogum.Archivedfrom the original on 16 February 2016.Retrieved13 March2016.
- Collins, Simon (13 November 2015)."Parker tames Impala nerves".The West Australian.Archived fromthe originalon 14 March 2016.Retrieved13 March2016.
- ^Kane, Siobhan (27 July 2015)."Album of the week: Tame Impala: Currents".The Irish Times.Archivedfrom the original on 17 October 2018.Retrieved12 March2016.
- ^The following sources refer to the song as psychedelic pop:
- Donoughue, Paul (14 March 2020)."Triple j Hottest 100 of the Decade sees Tame Impala beat out Gotye, Lorde to win top spot".ABC News.Archivedfrom the original on 28 March 2020.Retrieved29 March2020.
- Mack, Emmy (15 March 2020).""Unbelievable": Tame Impala React To Taking Out Triple J's Hottest 100 Of The Decade ".Music Feeds.Archivedfrom the original on 24 November 2020.Retrieved29 March2020.
- Brandle, Lars (16 March 2020)."Tame Impala's 'The Less I Know The Better' Rules Triple J Hottest 100 of the Decade Countdown".Billboard.Archivedfrom the original on 29 March 2020.Retrieved29 March2020.
- ^Bruce, Dave (21 March 2020)."Official ARIA Charts News for 23-29 March 2020".Amnplify.Archivedfrom the original on 11 June 2020.Retrieved11 June2020.
- ^"Tame Impala's" The Less I Know the Better "clocks up 1 billion streams".The Music Network.3 May 2021.Archivedfrom the original on 3 May 2021.Retrieved3 May2021.
- ^Matt Fink (April 2015). "Tame Impala: The Ocean Inside".Under the Radar(Digital Edition).No. 53. pp.103–105.
- ^"Kevin Parker tells us 11 amazing insights about Tame Impala'sCurrents".Australian Broadcasting Corporation.14 July 2015.Archivedfrom the original on 1 July 2017.Retrieved2 March2016.
- ^https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0169024
- ^Matthew Strauss (26 November 2015)."Tame Impala Share" The Less I Know the Better "Video".Pitchfork.Archivedfrom the original on 16 March 2016.Retrieved2 March2016.
- ^Lars Brandle (27 November 2015)."Tame Impala Share" The Less I Know the Better "Video".Billboard.Archivedfrom the original on 2 March 2016.Retrieved2 March2016.
- ^"The 113 best songs of the past decade, ranked".Insider.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-04-16.Retrieved2020-03-31.
- ^Albert BaróArchived2017-12-06 at theWayback Machine,ruthfranco
- ^Saunders, Luke (5 October 2019)."Most psychedelic sensory overload music videos on Youtube".Happy Mag.Archivedfrom the original on 20 October 2021.Retrieved10 October2019.
- ^Ryan, Gavin (6 February 2016)."ARIA Singles: Zayn 'Pillowtalk' Is No 1".Noise11.Archivedfrom the original on 22 April 2019.Retrieved2 March2016.
- ^"Tame Impala – The Less I Know the Better "(in Dutch).Ultratop 50.Retrieved 2 March 2016.
- ^"Tame Impala – The Less I Know the Better "(in French).Ultratip.Retrieved 2 March 2016.
- ^"ČNS IFPI "(in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic.Note: Select 17. týden 2016 in the date selector.Retrieved 17 January 2023.
- ^"Tame Impala – The Less I Know the Better "(in French).Les classement single.Retrieved 2 March 2016.
- ^"2019 50-os savaitės klausomiausi (TOP 100) - Agata"(in Lithuanian).AGATA.Archivedfrom the original on 9 October 2019.Retrieved12 December2023.
- ^"Tame Impala Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)".Billboard.Retrieved 2 March 2016.
- ^"Tame Impala – The Less I Know the Better ".ARIA Top 50 Singles.Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- ^"Hot Rock Songs – Year-End 2016".Billboard.Archivedfrom the original on 13 April 2018.Retrieved23 May2020.
- ^"ARIA Top 100 Singles for 2020".Australian Recording Industry Association.Archivedfrom the original on 14 January 2021.Retrieved15 January2021.
- ^"ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2024 Singles"(PDF).Australian Recording Industry Association.Retrieved11 August2024.
- ^"Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 2021".Ultratop.Hung Medien.Retrieved9 February2021.
- ^"Brazilian single certifications – Tame Impala – The Less I Know the Better"(in Portuguese).Pro-Música Brasil.Retrieved14 July2024.
- ^"Canadian single certifications – Tame Impala – The Less I Know the Better".Music Canada.Retrieved22 June2018.
- ^"Danish single certifications – Tame Impala – The Less I Know the Better".IFPI Danmark.Retrieved13 September2022.
- ^"Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Tame Impala;'The Less I Know the Better') "(in German).Bundesverband Musikindustrie.Retrieved17 May2023.
- ^"Italian single certifications – Tame Impala – The Less I Know the Better"(in Italian).Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana.Retrieved8 March2024.
- ^"New Zealand single certifications – Tame Impala – The Less I Know the Better".Radioscope.Retrieved12 January2025.TypeThe Less I Know the Betterin the "Search:" field.
- ^"Wyróżnienia – Platynowe płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2021 roku"(in Polish).Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry.Retrieved20 September2021.
- ^"Spanish single certifications – Tame Impala – The Less I Know the Better".El portal de Música.Productores de Música de España.Retrieved8 March2024.
- ^"British single certifications – Tame Impala – The Less I Know the Better".British Phonographic Industry.Retrieved12 April2023.
- ^"American single certifications – Tame Impala – The Less I Know the Better".Recording Industry Association of America.Retrieved15 February2022.
