Paint Your Target Explained

Paint Your Target
Cover:Paintyour.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Fightstar
Album:Grand Unification
B-Side:
  • "Until Then"
  • "Cross Out the Stars"
Released:[1]
Length:3:16
Label:Island
Producer:Chris Sheldon
Prev Title:Palahniuk's Laughter
Prev Year:2005
Next Title:Grand Unification Part 1
Next Year:2005

"Paint Your Target" is a song by English post-hardcore band Fightstar. It was released on 13 June 2005 as the lead single from their debut studio album, Grand Unification (2006). It charted at number nine in the United Kingdom. To 'paint your target' is a military expression which refers to identifying and marking a target so that it can be attacked by other forces.

There are also two recorded versions of "Paint Your Target". One, recorded by Chris Sheldon, was released as a single and appeared on both of the music videos. The other, recorded by Colin Richardson, appears on Grand Unification.

Music video

There are two videos for this song: the first was banned by Emap TV who objected to scenes of violence in the video. The video, shot by the band's bassist Dan Haigh, features children playing cowboys and indians and pretending to shoot each other. Bullets were added digitally in post-production, making the pretend violence look real. A second video, also shot by Haigh, was released in its place, but the original was later posted online to the band's website and NME.[2]

The second version depicts the band in a room playing the song. The room in the second version is similar to the one used in Feeder's "Find the Colour" video.

Notes and References

  1. New Releases: Singles. Music Week. 35. 11 June 2005.
  2. May 21, 2005 . Island transforms Emap ban on Fightstar video to an advantage . . 20.