| "Ghosts 'n' Stuff" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cover art for the version featuring Rob Swire | ||||
| Single byDeadmau5 featuringRob Swire | ||||
| from the albumFor Lack of a Better Name | ||||
| Released | October 27, 2008 | |||
| Genre | ||||
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| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Joel Zimmerman | |||
| Deadmau5 singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Ghosts 'n' Stuff" onYouTube | ||||
"Ghosts 'n' Stuff" is anelectro house song by Canadian electronic music producerDeadmau5 featuring vocals by Australian producerRob Swire. Its instrumental was released as a single on October 27, 2008, and re-released with vocals on September 27, 2009. The latter was featured on Deadmau5's fourth studio albumFor Lack of a Better Name.
The original version of "Ghosts 'n' Stuff" was made in 2004, and Joel Zimmerman has stated that it "ended up going through at least 10 revisions".[1] Zimmerman and Rob Swire had been coincidentally meeting each other backstage at various festivals and agreed to collaborate.[2] The vocal melodies performed by Swire were inspired byChris Isaak's song "Wicked Game".[3] The song was made originally specifically forPete Tong's BBC Radio 1Essential Selection show on October 10, 2008.[4] Deadmau5 was a guest on the show along withSteve Angello (the two, with Tong, were playing a live set in Manchester, England on that night). Deadmau5 debuted the song to a live audience at the HARD Haunted Mansion 2008 in Los Angeles, California.[5]
The "hard intro" version of one B-side of the single, "Moar Ghosts 'n' Stuff" (which appears on the mixed version ofFor Lack of a Better Name) features a new intro containing a vocal sample from the 1957 filmThe Brain from Planet Arous and a quote of thefuneral march byChopin. This version of the track also contains a new lead melody which Deadmau5 has said was inspired by the main melody ofStevie Wonder'sSuperstition.[3] The unmixed version released on October 20, 2009 replaces this version with the original mix, which excludes the vocal sample and the funeral march intro.
A music video promoting the single was released in August 2009 and was directed by Colin O'Toole. It was shot inToronto, Ontario.
The video begins with Joel Zimmerman being rushed into a hospital, before dying within minutes of arrival. He is then revived as aghost, and attempts to pass through the walls but cannot. He leaves the hospital and wanders around town, getting a tattoo of aSpace Invader alien and running into a gang of other ghosts. After an unpleasant trip to a restaurant and a laundromat, Joel attends arave with several people also dressed in costumes. At the party, someone wearing a Mau5head pulls the white sheet off, as Joel is revived back in the hospital. He finds the Space Invader tattoo which he got as a ghost remaining on his neck.
The music video was uploaded toUltra Music'sYouTube channel on August 19, 2009, and has since acquired over 62 million views.[6]
The song's instrumental was released as a single throughMau5trap andUltra on October 27, 2008, as a digital download single and 12"vinyl with itsB-side "Peddler of Misery".[7] The vocal edit featuring Rob Swire was released as a digital download single and EP on September 27, 2009. Another vinyl version was released in 2009, with the original instrumental mix and "Moar Ghosts 'n' Stuff".[8]
The song peaked at number 12 in the United Kingdom on theUK Singles Chart week beginning October 4, 2009. It also placed at number 96 in theTriple J Hottest 100, 2009. In the United States, "Ghosts 'n' Stuff" received exposure from use in TV shows such asAmerica's Best Dance Crew and heavy radio airplay. In the May 15, 2010 issue ofBillboard, the track reached number one on the magazine'sHot Dance Airplay chart after 24 weeks of charting, thus making the single the longest climb to number one ever on the chart, as well as the first single to reach the top spot after it had dropped off, then returned to the chart.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Ghosts 'n' Stuff" (radio edit, featuringRob Swire) | 3:11 |
| 2. | "Ghosts 'n' Stuff" (featuring Rob Swire) | 5:28 |
| 3. | "Ghosts 'n' Stuff" (Nero remix) | 6:55 |
| 4. | "Ghosts 'n' Stuff" (original instrumental mix) | 6:10 |
| 5. | "Moar Ghosts 'n' Stuff" | 4:58 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Ghosts 'n' Stuff" (featuring Rob Swire) | 5:27 |
| 2. | "Moar Ghosts 'n' Stuff" | 4:57 |
| 3. | "Ghosts 'n' Stuff" (original instrumental mix) | 6:16 |
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[22] | 3× Platinum | 240,000* |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[23] featuring Rob Swire | Gold | 400,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[24] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[25] featuring Rob Swire | Gold | 500,000* |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)| Studio albums | |
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| Singles |
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| Other songs | |
| Related articles | |
