Runaway (Self song)

"Runaway"
Single by Self
from the EP Super Fake Nice
Released	July 11, 2014 (2014-07-11)
Recorded	2010–2014
Genre	Pop rock power pop
Length	3:18
Label	El Camino Media
Songwriter(s)	Matt Mahaffey
Producer(s)	Matt Mahaffey
Self singles chronology
"Looks and Money" (2011) "Runaway" (2014) "Monogamy" (2015)
Music video
"Runaway" on YouTube

"Runaway" is a song by American pop rock band Self, released on July 11, 2014. Distributed by El Camino Media, it was the second single for the band's second EP Super Fake Nice. The track utilizes power pop instrumentation that samples the song "Do That Stuff" by American funk band Parliament. A music video for "Runaway" was released alongside the single, featuring cats pantomiming with instruments. The video went viral, helping the single commercially succeed.

Background

Since 1990, Matt Mahaffey had created multiple songs sampling Parliament's song "Do That Stuff", denouncing them as demos and withholding them. His fifth attempt came in 2010 as "Runaway", the first time he found the product satisfactory.[1] Two years later, Matt Messer of El Camino Media heard a demo of "Runaway". He was drawn to it and expressed interest in marketing it as a radio single. This led Mahaffey to sign his band Self to the independent record label, recording more songs to form the EP Super Fake Nice (2014).[2] Mahaffey finished the song in 2014,[1] releasing it as the EP's second single on July 11.[3] The band performed "Runaway" on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on July 30, becoming the band's first televised live performance.[4][5]

Music video

A music video for "Runaway" was directed by Ballard C. Boyd and released on July 11, 2014.[6] The video features a band of cats playing instruments while several other cats move to the beat of the song and play with cat toys. Later into the video, cats are shown jumping through the air, driving a car, and being blown with hair dryers. It ends with a cat eating from a food bowl labeled "Runaway" and a disclaimer that no cats were harmed.[3] Filmed at Plywood Pictures in Brooklyn, New York, studio personnel wore black clothing and moved the cats with gloves to successfully pantomime. They also created custom instruments and props to match the cats' sizes.[7] After release, Mahaffey stated to Entertainment Weekly that the video's focus on cats was strategized to go viral.[8]

Reception

Bob Boilen and Stephen Thompson of NPR denounced the lyrics of "Runaway" as trivial but praised its instrumental, calling it an "infectious pop-rock track".[9] Lyndsey Parker of Rolling Stone described the song as a memorable comeback, likening its music video to Keyboard Cat and ranking it at number 10 on a list of the top 20 music videos of 2014.[10] Patrick Rodgers of Nashville Scene similarly praised "Runaway", calling it "bleeping, blooping, [and] characteristically catchy".[6] On July 29, 2014, "Runaway" was featured as the iTunes Single of the Week.[11]

Personnel

Credits adapted from the EP's liner notes.[12]

• Matt Mahaffey – lead vocals, instruments, production, audio mixing, arrangement
• Mark Chalecki – mastering engineer

Sample credits

• "Runaway" contains samples of "Do That Stuff", written by George Clinton, Gary Shider, and Bernie Worrell, as performed by Parliament.

References

1. Heisel, Scott (August 27, 2014). ""We never broke up, but we got burned out"—Matt Mahaffey on the return of Self". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on August 30, 2014. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
2. Olmstead, Todd (July 24, 2014). "Self, a.k.a. the Dude Who Made the Expedia Dot Com Jingle, Is Back". Vice. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
3. Parker, Lyndsey (July 21, 2014). "Is Self's 'Runaway' the Greatest Cat Video Ever?". Yahoo! Music. Archived from the original on January 18, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
4. Rodgers, Patrick (July 31, 2014). "Watch Self Play 'Runaway' and 'Lucid Anne' on Jimmy Kimmel Live". Nashville Scene. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
5. Breihan, Tom (July 31, 2014). "Self Released A New EP And Played Kimmel Last Night". Stereogum. Archived from the original on December 23, 2022. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
6. Rodgers, Patrick (July 22, 2014). "Self's 'Runaway' Features a Slew of Delightful Cats [Fresh Vid]". Nashville Scene. Archived from the original on July 26, 2014. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
7. "sElf - Runaway (Behind The Scenes)" (YouTube video). El Camino Media. October 16, 2014. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
8. Raymer, Miles (July 21, 2014). "Video: Cats make synthesizer jams for Self's 'Runaway'". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on March 11, 2015. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
9. Boilen, Bob; Thompson, Stephen (August 5, 2014). "New Mix: Foxygen, Lily & Madeleine, Porter Robinson, More". NPR. All Songs Considered. Archived from the original on October 18, 2015. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
10. Parker, Lyndsey (December 22, 2014). "The 20 Most Awesome Music Videos of 2014". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on May 7, 2019. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
11. Peterson, Tyler (July 29, 2014). "sElf's Lead Single "Runaway" Featured as iTunes Single of the Week Today". BroadwayWorld. Archived from the original on December 29, 2015. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
12. Super Fake Nice (Media notes). Self. El Camino Media. 2014.