Play
Studio album by Moby
Released	June 1, 1999
Recorded	1998–1999
Genre	House, electronica
Length	63:03
Label	V2
Producer	Moby
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Robert Christgau (A+) link Rolling Stone 6/24/99
Moby chronology
I Like to Score (1997) Play (1999) Songs 1993-1998 (2000)

Play is a 1999 album by the music artist Moby. While some of Moby's earlier work garnered critical and commercial success within the electronic dance music scene, Play was his first true pop success. The album introduced Moby to a worldwide mainstream audience, not only through hit singles, but also through unprecedented licensing of his music in films, television and commercial advertisements. Image File history File links Moby_play. ... A studio album is a collection of previously unreleased, studio-recorded tracks by a recording artist. ... Not to be confused with Mooby. ... is the 152nd day of the year (153rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... House music is a style of electronic dance music that was developed by dance club DJs in Chicago in the early to mid-1980s. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Electronic music. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... V2 Records (or V2 Music) is a record label that was started in 1996 by Richard Branson, five years after he sold Virgin Records to EMI. Over the years V2 acquired Junior Boys Own, Gee Street Records, Blue Dog Records, and Big Cat Records. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... Not to be confused with Mooby. ... The All Music Guide (AMG) is a metadata database about music, owned by All Media Guide. ... Image File history File links 4. ... Robert Christgau (born April 18, 1942), is an American essayist, music journalist, and the self-declared Dean of American Rock Critics.[1] In print, his name is sometimes abbreviated as Xgau. ... This article is about the magazine. ... Image File history File links 4_stars. ... Not to be confused with Mooby. ... I Like to Score is a compilation of techno music released in 1997 by the musician Moby that has appeared in various movies. ... Songs 1993-1998 is a compilation album by Moby, exclusively featuring his work under the Elektra label. ... See also: 1999 in music (UK) Musical groups established in 1999 Record labels established in 1999 // January 7 After eight years of marriage, Rod Stewart and supermodel wife Rachel Hunter announce their separation. ... Not to be confused with Mooby. ... Electronic dance music (EDM) is a broad set of percussive music genres that largely inherit from 1970s disco music and, to some extent, the experimental pop music of Kraftwerk. ... For popular forms of music in general, see Popular music. ...

One of the notable aspects of Play, as opposed to other electronic albums of the time, was the way in which it combined old gospel and folk music rhythms with modern house sensibilities. Moby sampled heavily from the collected field recordings of Alan Lomax in songs such as "Honey", "Find My Baby", "Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?" and "Natural Blues", while the track "Run On" was inspired by the traditional "God's Gonna Cut You Down." The album also has more purely electronic tracks, as well as the rock-influenced single "South Side", and the more ambient "Porcelain". For other uses, see Electronic music (disambiguation). ... Gospel music is a musical genre characterized by dominant vocals (often with strong use of harmony) referencing lyrics of a religious nature, particularly Christian. ... Folk music can have a number of different meanings, including: Traditional music: The original meaning of the term folk music was synonymous with the term Traditional music, also often including World Music and Roots music; the term Traditional music was given its more specific meaning to distinguish it from the... House music is a style of electronic dance music that was developed by dance club DJs in Chicago in the early to mid-1980s. ... In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or element of a new recording. ... Field recording is the technique for capturing the audible illustration of an environment. ... Lomax playing guitar on stage at the Mountain Music Festival, Asheville, North Carolina, sometime between 1939 and 1950. ... Honey is the name of a single by the Techno artist Moby. ... In hydrology, run-on refers both to the process whereby surface runoff infiltrates the ground as it flows, and to the portion of runoff that infiltrates. ... South Side is a song by Moby. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Porcelain is a song by techno artist Moby. ...

Inside the booklet included with the album, there are five short essays written by Moby, on topics such as veganism, fundamentalism, and humanitarianism. After the essays is a disclaimer written by Moby: "These essays are not really related to the music, so if you hate the essays you might still like the music, and if you like the essays you might hate the music. Who knows, maybe by some bizarre twist of fate you'll like them both." Hens kept in cramped conditions — the avoidance of animal suffering is the primary motivation of people who become vegans A vegan is a person who avoids the ingestion or use of animal products. ... Look up fundamentalism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... There are a number of meanings for humanitarianism: humanitarianism, humanism, the doctrine that peoples duty is to promote human welfare. ...

Licensing of songs

Play was the first album ever to have all of its tracks licensed for use in movies, television shows, or commercials.^[1] One of the more notable commercials featured golfer Tiger Woods playing a round of golf around New York City to the tune of "Find My Baby", but countless other uses of the album's songs are documented. Moby did not individually approve each commercial use, but it is unknown what sort of financial arrangement, if any, was reached. According to Wired magazine, the songs on Play "have been sold hundreds of times... a licensing venture so staggeringly lucrative that the album was a financial success months before it reached its multi-platinum sales total." “Moving picture” redirects here. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... This article is about the sport. ... Personal Information Birth December 30, 1975 ) Cypress, California Height 6 ft 1 in (1. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ...

At the time the album came out, Moby explained that he licensed the songs because it was the only way he could get the music heard. Moby's previous album Animal Rights, a foray into the alternative rock scene, had not drawn many listeners, while Moby's earlier music was known primarily to fans of dance and ambient music and had not achieved mainstream recognition in his home country of the United States. Alternative rock (also called alternative music or simply alternative; known primarily in the UK as indie) is a genre of rock music that emerged in the 1980s and became widely popular in the 1990s. ... Electronic dance music (EDM) is a broad set of percussive music genres that largely inherit from 1970s disco music and, to some extent, the experimental pop music of Kraftwerk. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Commercial success and critical response

The apparent result of the marketing strategy was that the album, after an unremarkable debut, stayed on the charts for several years and broke sales projections for Moby and for dance music, which was not seen to be a dominant commercial genre in the US in the 1990s (as compared with in Europe, where Moby had initially found fame).

The album has sold over 2 million copies in the United States since it was released in 1999, and has sold 10 million copies worldwide. Eight singles were released from the album; the final single was still on the charts in 2001. In many ways, this album helped to establish Moby as a mainstream musician. His subsequent albums have been more pop-oriented, frequently featuring his own distinctive singing, often with female vocalists and samples similar to those on Play, as opposed to his earlier more club- or alternative-oriented records where he sang rarely.

Play was also lauded by many critics as one of 1999's best albums. It was voted as the best album of the year in The Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics poll. In 2003, the album was ranked number 341 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. However, the fusion of gospel and house for which the album was most widely praised, also drew some criticism for Moby's style of appropriation, with some critics claiming not enough credit was going to the original (often anonymous) musicians and performers. Others found the commercial use of songs featuring old blues samples to be in poor taste, although once the songs were licensed, Moby did not have personal control over how they were used. Moby also declares his Christian faith in the liner notes of the album, which some took as evidence that his interest in gospel samples was "in good faith" and not purely aesthetic. This article is about a New York newspaper. ... The Pazz & Jop critics poll is a highly influential poll of music critics run by The Village Voice newspaper. ... This article is about the magazine. ... The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time is the cover story of a special issue of Rolling Stone magazine published in November 2003. ... “Blues music” redirects here. ...

In 2000, Play was re-released as a special edition album with several B-side tracks with the B Sides disc later released separately in 2004; the B-side was entitled Play: The B Sides. In addition, a mix of the song "South Side", which featured a duet with No Doubt frontwoman Gwen Stefani was released as a single. Thanks to a creative video and heavy airplay, the song helped to push the success of the album even further. Later on, Play was re-released with the single version of South Side featuring Gwen Stefani replacing the original. The original version was re-released on the U.S. edition of Moby's Go: The Very Best of Moby compilation. For other uses, see No Doubt (disambiguation). ... Gwen Renée Stefani (born October 3, 1969) (IPA pronunciation: [1]) is an American singer, songwriter, fashion designer and occasional actress. ... South Side is a song by Moby. ...

Track listing

1. "Honey" – 3:28
2. "Find My Baby" – 3:59
3. "Porcelain" – 4:01
4. "Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?" – 4:24
5. "South Side" (featuring Gwen Stefani of No Doubt) – 3:49
6. "Rushing" – 3:00
7. "Bodyrock" – 3:36
8. "Natural Blues" – 4:13
9. "Machete" – 3:37
10. "7" – 1:02
11. "Run On" – 3:45
12. "Down Slow" – 1:34
13. "If Things Were Perfect" – 4:18
14. "Everloving" – 3:25
15. "Inside" – 4:48
16. "Guitar Flute & String" – 2:09
17. "The Sky Is Broken" – 4:18
18. "My Weakness" – 3:37

Honey is the name of a single by the Techno artist Moby. ... Porcelain is a song by techno artist Moby. ... Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad? is the name of a song by the Techno artist Moby. ... South Side is a song by Moby. ... Gwen Renée Stefani (born October 3, 1969) (IPA pronunciation: [1]) is an American singer, songwriter, fashion designer and occasional actress. ... For other uses, see No Doubt (disambiguation). ... Bodyrock is the name of a song by the techno artist Moby, released on his 1999 album Play. ... Natural Blues is a 2000 single by the techno artist Moby. ... Run On is a single by the singer Moby. ...

Singles

8 singles were released from UK version of Play:

Honey is the name of a single by the Techno artist Moby. ... is the 215th day of the year (216th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 243rd day of the year (244th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... Run On is a single by the singer Moby. ... is the 88th day of the year (89th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... is the 116th day of the year (117th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... Bodyrock is the name of a song by the techno artist Moby, released on his 1999 album Play. ... is the 193rd day of the year (194th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... is the 207th day of the year (208th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad? is the name of a song by the Techno artist Moby. ... is the 284th day of the year (285th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. ... Natural Blues is a 2000 single by the techno artist Moby. ... is the 65th day of the year (66th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... Porcelain is a song by techno artist Moby. ... is the 163rd day of the year (164th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... Kelis Rogers-Jones (born Kelis Rogers on August 21, 1979[1]), professionally known as Kelis, is an American R&B singer and songwriter. ... is the 289th day of the year (290th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... South Side is a song by Moby. ... is the 311th day of the year (312th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... “Hot 100” redirects here. ...

Play: The DVD

A DVD was released as a companion to the album, featuring the music videos (the South Side video, featuring Gwen Stefani, however, was omitted), Moby's performance on Later... With Jools Holland, Moby's tour diary entitled Give an Idiot a Camcorder, and a DVD-Rom component where users are able to remix two of Moby's songs.

The DVD also included a separate CD, entitled Moby's Megamix, featuring remixes of Moby's songs by a number of different artists. Instead of having separate tracks, the Megamix is a single track.

References

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External links

• Play at MusicBrainz