Makassar ᨀᨚᨈ ᨆᨀᨔᨑ Kota Makassar
City of Makassar
Losari Beach (top), Masjid Raya Makassar (center), Makassar skyline (bottom left), and Hasanuddin International Airport (bottom right)
Official seal of Makassar Seal
Nickname(s): "Kota Daeng"
Motto: Sekali Layar Terkembang Pantang Biduk Surut Ke Pantai
Makassar Location of Makassar in Sulawesi
Coordinates: 5°8′S 119°25′E / 5.133°S 119.417°E / -5.133; 119.417
Country	Indonesia
Province	South Sulawesi
City	9 November 1607 belasan
Government
• Mayor	Ir.H.Ilham Arief Sirajuddin,MM.
• Deputy Mayor	Supomo Guntur
Area
• Total	175.77 km2 (67.87 sq mi)
Population (2010)
• Total	1,334,090
• Density	7,600/km2 (20,000/sq mi)
	2010 decennial census
Time zone	WITA (UTC+8)
• Summer (DST)	not observed (UTC+8)
Area code(s)	+62 411
Twin cities
• Qingdao	China
• Hakodate	Japan
• Wellington	New Zealand
• Aden	Yemen
• Samarinda	Indonesia
• Lismore	Australia
• Peshawar	Pakistan
• Banjarmasin	Indonesia
Website	www.makassarkota.go.id www.visitmakassar.net

Makassar, (Buginese-Makassarese language: ᨀᨚᨈ ᨆᨀᨔᨑ sometimes spelled Macassar, Mangkasara) is the provincial capital of South Sulawesi, Indonesia, and the largest city on Sulawesi Island. From 1971 to 1999, the city was named Ujung Pandang, after a precolonial fort in the city, and the two names are often used interchangeably. The port city is located at 5°8′S 119°25′E / 5.133°S 119.417°E / -5.133; 119.417Coordinates: 5°8′S 119°25′E / 5.133°S 119.417°E / -5.133; 119.417, on the southwest coast of the island of Sulawesi, facing the Makassar Strait.

Its area is 175.77 km² and has population of around 1.4 million.^[1]

History[link]

Beginning in the sixteenth century, Makassar was the dominant trading center of eastern Indonesia, and soon became one of the largest cities in island Southeast Asia. The Makassarese kings maintained a policy of free trade, insisting on the right of any visitor to do business in the city, and rejecting the attempts of the Dutch to establish a monopoly over the city.^[2]

The trade in spices figured prominently in the history of Sulawesi, which involved frequent struggles between rival native and foreign powers for control of the lucrative during the pre-colonial and colonial period, when spices from the region were in high demand in the West. Much of South Sulawesi's early history was written in old texts that can be traced back to the 13th and 14th centuries.

The first European settlers were the Portuguese sailors. When the Portuguese reached Sulawesi in 1511, they found Makassar a thriving cosmopolitan entre-port where Chinese, Arabs, Indians, Siamese, Javanese, and Malays came to trade their manufactured metal goods and fine textiles for precious pearls, gold, copper, camphor and spices - nutmeg, cloves and mace imported from the interior and the neighbouring Spice Islands of Maluku. By the 16th century, Makassar had become Sulawesi's major port and centre of the powerful Gowa and Tallo sultanates which between them had a series of 11 fortresses and strongholds and a fortified sea wall which extended along the coast.^[2]

The arrival of the Dutch in the early 17th century, altered events dramatically. Their first objective was to create a hegemony over the spice trade and their first move was to capture the fort of Makassar in 1667, which they rebuilt and renamed Fort Rotterdam. From this base they managed to destroy the strongholds of the Sultan of Gowa who was then forced to live on the outskirts of Makassar. Following the Java War (1825–1830), Prince Diponegoro was exiled to Fort Rotterdam until his death in 1855.^[3]

The character of this old trading centre changed as a walled city known as Vlaardingen grew, a place where slaves were at the bidding of the imposing foreigners. Gradually, in defiance of the Dutch, the Arabs, Malays and Bugis returned to trade outside the grim fortress walls and later also the Chinese.

The town again became a collecting point for the produce of eastern Indonesia - the copra, rattan, pearls, trepang and sandalwood and the famous oil made from bado nuts used in Europe as men's hair dressing - hence the anti-macassars (embroidered cloths placed at head rests of upholstered chairs).

Although the Dutch controlled the coast, it was not until the early 20th century that they gained power over the interior of the south through a series of treaties with local rulers. Meanwhile Dutch missionaries converted many of the Toraja people to Christianity. By 1938, the population of Makassar had reached around 84,000 - a town described by writer Joseph Conrad as "the prettiest and perhaps, cleanest looking of all the towns in the islands".

In World War II the Makassar area was defended by approximately 1000 men of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army commanded by Colonel M. Vooren. He decided he couldn't defend on the coast and was planning to fight a guerilla war inland. The Japanese landed near Makassar on 9 February 1942. The defenders retreated but were soon overtaken & captured.^[4]

Following the Indonesian National Revolution in 1950, Makassar was the site of fighting between pro-Federalist forces under Captain Abdul Assiz and Republican forces under Colonel Sunkono during the Makassar Uprising.^[5] By the 1950s, the population had increased to such a degree that many of the historic sites gave way to modern development and today you need to look very carefully to find the few remains of the city's once grand history.

Further, tolerant religious attitudes meant that even as Islam became the dominant faith in the region, Christians and others were still able to trade in the city. With these attractions, Makassar was a key center for Malays working in the spice trade, as well as a valuable base for European and Arab traders from much further afield.

Economy[link]

Bank Rakyat Indonesia's Makassar Branch Office, one of the largest banks operated in the city.

The city is southern Sulawesi's primary port, with regular domestic and international shipping connections. It is nationally famous as an important port of call for the pinisi boats, sailing ships which are among the last in use for regular long-distance trade.

During the colonial era, the city was famous for being the namesake of Makassar oil, which it exported in great quantity. Makassar ebony is a warm black hue, streaked with tan or brown tones, and highly prized for use in making fine cabinetry and veneers.

Nowadays, as the largest city in Sulawesi Island and Eastern Indonesia, the city's economy depends highly on service sectors with approximately 70% from total share. Restaurant and hotel service are the largest contributor (29.14%), followed by transportation and communication (14.86%), trading (14.86), finance (10.58%). Industry follows behind service with 21.34%.^[6]

Contact with Australia[link]

Makassar is also a major fishing center in Sulawesi. One of its major industries is the trepang (sea cucumber) industry. Trepang fishing brought the Makassan people into contact with the Yolŋu people of Northern Australia.

C. C. MacKnight in his 1976 work entitled Voyage to Marege: Macassan Trepangers in Northern Australia has shown that they began frequenting the north of Australia some time around 1700 in search of trepang (sea-slug, sea cucumber, Beche-de-mer) an edible Holothurian. They left their waters during the North-west Monsoon in December or January for what is now Arnhem Land, Marege or Marega and to the Kimberley region or Kayu Djawa. They returned home with the South-east Trades in April.^[7] A fleet of between 24 and 26 Macassan prahus was seen in 1803 by the French explorers under Nicolas Baudin on the Holothuria Banks in the Timor Sea. In February 1803, Matthew Flinders in the Investigator met six prahus with 20-25 men each on board and was told that there were 60 prahus then on the north Australian coast. They were fishing for trepang and appeared to have only a small compass as a navigation aid. In June 1818 Macassan trepang fishing was noted by Phillip Parker King in the vicinity of Port Essington in the Arafura Sea. In 1864 R.J. Sholl, then resident magistrate for the European settlement at Camden Sound (near Augustus Island in the Kimberley region) observed seven ‘Macassan’ prahus with around 300 men on board. He believed that they made kidnapping raids and ranged as far south as Roebuck Bay (later Broome) where ‘quite a fleet’ was seen around 1866. Sholl believed that they did not venture south into other areas such as Nickol Bay (where the European pearling industry commenced around 1865) due to the absence of trepang in those waters. The Macassan voyages appear to have ceased sometime in the late nineteenth century and their place was taken by other sailors operating from elsewhere in the Indonesian Archipelago.

Transportation[link]

Makassar has a public transportation system called 'pete-pete'. A pete-pete (known elsewhere in Indonesia as angkot) is a mini-bus that has been modified to carry passengers. The route of Makassar's pete-petes is denoted by the letter on the windshield. Makassar is famous for their "becak" (pedicab) which is smaller than the "becak" in the island of Java. In Makassar, people who drive pedicab are called Daeng. The city airport is Hasanuddin International Airport which is actually located outside the Makassar city administration area. It is formally located in the regency of Maros. In addition to "becak" and "pete-pete", the city has government-run bus system, and taxis.

January 2012: A limited capacity of the currently dock at Soekarno-Hatta sea port will be expanded to 150x30 square meters to overcome queing of at least two ships every day.^[8]

A 35-kilometer monorail in the areas of Makassar, Maros, Sungguminasa, and Takalar (Mamminasata) will be realised in 2014 with cost predicted Rp.4 trillion ($468 million). The memorandum of understanding has been signed in 25 July 2011 by Makassar city, Maros Regency and Gowa Regency.^[9][10]

Landmarks[link]

Mosque in Makassar

Makassar is home to several prominent landmarks including the 16th century Dutch fort Fort Rotterdam, Trans Studio Makassar—the third largest indoor theme park in the world and the Karebosi Link—the first underground shopping center in Indonesia.

Traditional food[link]

Makassar has several famous traditional foods. The most famous is Coto Makassar. It is a stew made from the mixture of nuts and spices with beef parts which include beef brain, tongue and intestine. Konro rib dish is also popular traditional food in Makassar. Both Coto Makassar and Konro are usually eaten with Burasa, a glutinous rice with coconut milk and sauted coconut granule.

In addition, Makassar is the home of pisang epe, or pressed bananas. These are bananas which are pressed, grilled, and covered with palm sugar sauce and sometimes eaten with Durian. Many street vendors sell pisang epe, especially around the area of Losari beach.

Tourism[link]

Since 9 September 2009, Makassar was home to the Trans Kalla—the biggest indoor theme park in Southeast Asia and third largest in the world.^[11] The theme park was created by a joint company between Trans TV and former Vice President Jusuf Kalla's company Kalla Group. Beside the Theme Park, it also has a tourist resort, a marina, a bank office, and a shopping center which will be completed around 2012. The theme park is located in Tanjung Bunga. The local government is planning to build a CPI which includes the Presidential House near the theme park.

In July 2010, the first exclusive shopping centre Trans Studio Mall which is just inside the complex was opened. Some famous brands opening shops in the mall were Hugo Boss, Armani Jeans, Aigner, Mothercare, Mango, Tod's, Miu Miu, and Francesco Biasia. Other brands opened temporary stores to assess the market. This is the first shopping mall to have medium to high range stores and the target market is the people from eastern Indonesia.

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Makassar

• Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Makassar
• GKKA YPKZion
• Indonesia Official Tourism Website

References[link]

External links[link]

• L, Klemen (1999-2000). "Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941-1942". http://www.dutcheastindies.webs.com/index.html. 
• MacKnight, C.C., Voyage to Marege. Macassan Trepangers in Northern Australia, Melbourne University Press, 1976.
• Reid, Anthony. 1999. Charting the shape of early modern Southeast Asia. Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books. ISBN 974-7551-06-3. pp. 100–154.
• McCarthy, M., 2000, Indonesian divers in Australian waters. The Great Circle, vol. 20, No.2:120-137.
• Turner, S. 2003: Indonesia’s Small Entrepreneurs: Trading on the Margins. London, RoutledgeCurzon [ISBN 0 7007 1569 X] 288pp. Hardback.
• Turner, S. 2007: Small-Scale Enterprise Livelihoods and Social Capital in Eastern Indonesia: Ethnic Embeddedness and Exclusion. Professional Geographer. 59 (4), 407-20.

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v t e Regencies and cities of South Sulawesi Capital: Makassar Regencies Bantaeng Barru Bone Bulukumba Enrekang Gowa Jeneponto Luwu East Luwu North Luwu Maros Pangkajene Islands Pinrang Selayar Islands Sinjai Sidenreng Rappang Soppeng Takalar Tana Toraja Wajo North Toraja Cities Makassar Palopo Pare-Pare See also: List of regencies and cities of Indonesia

Romina Francesca Power (born October 2, 1951) is an American-born singer and actress.

Biography[link]

Born in Los Angeles, California, Romina Power is the eldest daughter of American actor Tyrone Power and his second wife, actress Linda Christian.

After her parents divorced in 1956 her mother took Romina and her sister Taryn to live all around the world but mainly in Mexico and Italy where she and her sister spent much of their childhood, although Romina attended college in England.^[1]

Her interest in music was evoked in her childhood by American musicals from the 1950s, Mexican Mariachi bands and Italian music from the 1960s. In her early teens Power discovered The Beatles and Bob Dylan, which inspired her to compose music. After receiving a guitar as a birthday gift, she learned chords and wrote her first songs.

She appeared in several mainly Italian language films from the age of 14, including the 1968 adaptation of the Marquis de Sade's novel Justine directed by Jesus Franco.

She met her singer and actor husband Albano Carrisi whilst acting in films in the 1960s. They married in 1970. In 1975 they formed a singing duo, which became well known in Italy, Germany, Austria, Spain, France, Greece, Latin America, Eastern Europe and the USSR, releasing multiple albums in different languages and achieving 7th place in both the 1976 and 1985 Eurovision Song Contest for Italy. The couple divorced in 1999. They have four children:

• Ylenia Maria (b. 1970), who went missing in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1994
• Yari Marco (b. 1973), their only son^[2]
• Cristel Chiara (b. 1985), who appeared in the Italian Reality TV show La Fattoria (The Farm)
• Romina Iolanda (b. 1987), who appeared in the 2005 edition of Italian Reality TV show Isola dei Famosi (Italian version of Survivor) with her father.

In 2005 she was a judge in the Italian TV show Ballando con le Stelle ("Dancing with the Stars").

Between 2006 and 2007 Romina organized exhibitions of her paintings, mainly in Milan. At the same time she dedicated herself to directing her film "Upaya" (2006).

In spring 2007 Romina Power bought a house in Sedona, Arizona and decided to leave Italy forever and move to the United States. The glamorous interview in which she revealed her plans was published in an Italian magazine Diva e donna. According to Romina, she was perceived by the Italian public merely as a performer of Il ballo del qua-qua (a song for children, from her and Al Bano's album Felicità, 1982), and for her it was difficult to establish herself in Italy as a painter and writer. Furthermore, she was disturbed by intrusive attention of the local press that published multiple articles with speculations about her private life and disappearance of her daughter Ylenia.^[3][4] The Italian people reacted with disappointment at Power's statements, because for decades, she lived and performed in Italy, surrounded by the affection of the Italian public.

Shortly after her move in, in 2008, her mother Linda Christian was diagnosed with colon cancer, so she went live in her mother's house in Palm Springs,^[which?] where she remained for three years, until the life's end of her mother, on July 22, 2011.

In November 2009, in an interview, said she thought of returning permanently in Italy, because of the strong bond with the nation, the culture, the Italian lifestyle, that she prefers to the U.S.. ^[5]

Romina is a polyglot who speaks five languages: English, Italian, Spanish, French and Dutch.^[6]

Filmography[link]

• Menage all'italiana (Menage Italian Style, 1965)
• Come imparai ad amare le donne (How I Learned to Love Women, 1966)
• Per amore... per magia... (For Love... for Magic, 1967)
• Assicurasi vergine (Insurance on a Virgin, 1967)
• L'oro del mondo (The World's Gold, 1967)
• Vingt-quatre heures de la vie d'une femme (24 Hours in the Life of a Woman, 1968)
• Mayerling (1968)
• Il suo nome è Donna Rosa (Her Name is Donna Rosa, 1969)
• Pensando a te (Thinking of You, 1969)
• Marquis de Sade: Justine (1969)
• Femmine insaziabili (The Insatiables, 1969)
• Las Trompetas del a pocalipsis (Trumpets of the Apocalypse, 1969)
• Mezzanotte d'amore (Midnight of Love, 1970)
• Angeli senza paradiso (Angels Without Paradise, 1970)
• Champagne in paradiso (Champagne in Paradise, 1983)
• Il ritorno di Sandokan (The Return of Sandokan, 1996, TV miniseries)
• Tutti i sogni del mondo (All the Dreams in the World, 2003, TV miniseries)
• " 24 Hours In The Life Of A Woman "
• Upaya^[7] (2005) Writer and Director

Discography (only albums without the compilations)[link]

Solo[link]

• 12 Canzoni E Una Poesia (1969)
• Ascolta, Ti Racconto Di Un Amore (1974)
• Con Un Paio Di Blue-Jeans (1974)

With Al Bano[link]

• Atto I (1975)
• Des Nuits Entières (1976)
• 1978 (1978)
• Aria Pura (1979)
• Momentos (1979)
• Sharazan (1981) (Spanish)
• Felicità (1982)
• Felicidad (1982) (Spanish)
• Che Angelo Sei (1982)
• Que Ángel Será (1983) (Spanish)
• The Golden Orpheus Festival 1984 (1984)
• Effetto Amore (1984)
• Sempre Sempre (1986)
• Siempre Siempre (1986) (Spanish)
• Libertà ! (1987)
• Libertad (1987) (Spanish)
• Fragile (1988)
• Fragile (Spanish) (1988)
• Fotografia Di Un Momento (1990)
• Fotografía De Un Momento (1990) (Spanish)
• Corriere Di Natale (1990)
• Weihnachten Bei Uns Zu Hause (1991)
• Navidad Ha Llegado (1991) (Spanish)
• Vincerai (1991)
• Vencerás (1991) (Spanish)
• Notte E Giorno (1993)
• El Tiempo De Amarse (1993) (Spanish)
• Emozionale (1995)
• Amor Sagrado (1995) (Spanish)
• Ancora- Zugabe (1996)

Bibliography[link]

• Al Bano & Romina Power: Autoritratto all A dalla R (Rizzoli 1989)
• Cercando mio padre, (Gremese 1998)
• Ho sognato don Chisciotte, (Bompiani 2000)
• Kalifornia (It's here now), (Arcana 2004)

References[link]

1. ^ Biography of Romina Power at her official web site.
2. ^ Yari.tv
3. ^ Spettacoli.tiscali.it, Romina Power: "Addio lascio l'Italia"
4. ^ Tgcom.ùrfozdry/oy, La Power: "Italia addio per sempre"
5. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H05C4fUDQoI&feature=youtube_gdata
6. ^ Esctoday.com | We'll live it all again
7. ^ Yari.tv

External links[link]

• Romina Power - Official site (bilingual)
• Romina Power at the Internet Movie Database
• Al Bano & Romina Power fansite
• Filmography and photo gallery
• Ci Sarà and other videos of Al Bano and Romina Power on YouTube

"Pumped Up Kicks" is a song by American indie pop band Foster the People. It was released as the group's debut single in September 2010, and the following year was included on their EP Foster the People and their debut album Torches. "Pumped Up Kicks" became the group's breakthrough hit and was one of the most popular songs of 2011. The song was written and recorded by frontman Mark Foster while he was working as a commercial jingle writer. Contrasting with the upbeat musical composition, the lyrics describe the homicidal thoughts of a troubled youth.

The track received considerable attention after it was posted online in 2010 as a free download, and it helped the group garner a multi-album record deal with Columbia Records imprint Startime International before they had issued a commercial release. The song became both a crossover hit and a sleeper hit in 2011, as it received significant airplay on modern rock and contemporary hit radio stations. The song spent eight consecutive weeks at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States, making it the first Billboard Alternative Songs number-one single to crack the U.S. top 5 since Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody" in 2009. The song was widely praised by critics, and it has been licensed for use in a wide range of popular media since its release. "Pumped Up Kicks" received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

Recording[link]

Soon after Mark Foster formed Foster the People in 2009, he wrote and recorded "Pumped Up Kicks" in five hours while working as a commercial jingle writer at Mophonics in Los Angeles.^[1][2] Thinking that he was just recording a demo, he played all of the instruments on the song. Ultimately, Foster's original version of the song is what ended up being released.^[3]

Composition and inspiration[link]

The lyrics to "Pumped Up Kicks" are written from the perspective of a troubled and delusional youth with homicidal thoughts.^[3] The lines in the chorus warn potential victims to "outrun my gun" and that they "better run, better run, faster than my bullet". Foster said, "I was trying to get inside the head of an isolated, psychotic kid."^[3] He wrote the lyrics in order to "bring awareness" to the issue of gun violence amongst youth, which he feels is an epidemic perpetuated by "lack of family, lack of love, and isolation".^[5][6] The song's title refers to shoes that the narrator's peers wear as a status symbol.^[7] The issue of youth violence is a matter close to the group. Foster was bullied in high school, while bassist Cubbie Fink has a cousin who survived the Columbine High School massacre in 1999. Fink said of his cousin's experience, "She was actually in the library when everything went down, so I actually flew out to be with her the day after it happened and experienced the trauma surrounding it and saw how affected she was by it. She is as close as a sister, so obviously, it affected me deeply. So to be able to have a song to create a platform to talk about this stuff has been good for us."^[4]

Contrasting with the dark lyrics of the song, the music, which was written first, is upbeat. Foster said, "It's a 'fuck you' song to the hipsters in a way—but it's a song the hipsters are going to want to dance to."^[3] Jeffery Berg of Frontier Psychiatrist said, "I was so engrossed with the cheery melody of its chorus that it took me a few listens to discover that the lyrics suggest dark, Columbine revenge."^[8]

Due to the opening lyrics, "Robert's got a quick hand," many have speculated that the song is a reference to Robert Hawkins, perpetrator of Omaha's Westroads Mall shooting. The band's publicist refutes this with "This is completely false. The character name in the song is just a coincidence."^[9] For play on the television channels MTV and MTVu, the words "gun" and "bullet" were removed from the song's chorus.^[10] Foster believes many have misinterpreted the song's meaning, and he has written letters to his record label and called radio stations to complain. He explained, "The song is not about condoning violence at all. It's the complete opposite. The song is an amazing platform to have a conversation with your kids about something that shouldn't be ignored, to talk about it in a loving way."^[2]

Release and promotion[link]

Initial attention[link]

"Pumped Up Kicks" was written by Mark Foster (pictured) while he was working as a jingle writer. Initially posted on his website as a free download, the song grew in popularity through viral outlets and earned the band a record deal.

"Pumped Up Kicks" drew considerable attention online after Foster posted the song on his website as a free download in early 2010; Nylon magazine used the track in an online advertising campaign,^[11] and through various blogs, it went viral.^[12] Foster the People first performed the song live at the Stand Up Charity Benefit in Venice in February.^[13] The group, yet to be signed, reached additional audiences with performances at the South by Southwest music festival in March 2010.^[14] Foster was emailed by many people about the song, and needing professional guidance, he contacted artist manager Brent Kredel at Monotone, Inc., saying, "Everyone is calling me and emailing me—what do I do? Who are the good guys, who are the bad guys?" Kredel recalled that "He went from the guy who couldn't get a hold of anyone to being the guy who had hundreds of emails in his inbox." Kredel and Brett Williams were subsequently hired to co-manage Foster the People, and they helped the group get a multi-album record deal with Columbia Records imprint Startime International in May 2010.^[11]

"Pumped Up Kicks" was licensed for use in a July 2010 episode of the TV series Entourage, the first of many instances in which Foster the People's music was licensed in popular media.^[11] Wishing to release a record that would back up the song's success, the group wrote new material between July–September 2010.^[11] The song received its first widespread radio play in July 2010 on Sirius XM's Alt Nation channel and the Australian radio station Triple J.^[15] The song was released as their debut single on September 14, 2010.^{[citation needed]} In November, the University of Maryland's radio station WMUC played the song, marking its debut on US terrestrial radio.^[16] The song placed at number 32 in the Triple J's Hottest 100 for 2010,^[17] a big achievement due to the band being relatively unknown in Australia. Still, the group was inexperienced as a live act, and as a result, their booking agent Tom Windish secured them several club shows "to help them get their sea legs." Foster the People promoted these concerts in January 2011 by emailing fans who had downloaded "Pumped Up Kicks" from their website, notifying them of the shows. The group continued to grow its fanbase with a month-long residency of concerts in January at The Echo nightclub in Los Angeles. By the group's third show at the venue, according to Windish, "there were hundreds of people trying to get in outside... It was an obvious turning point that could be measured in numbers." The residency also drew the attention of music supervisors in attendance who would later help the group license their music.^[11]

Commercial breakthrough[link]

In January 2011, the band issued their first commercial non-single release, a self-titled EP on which "Pumped Up Kicks" appeared. Around the same time, many alternative radio stations began playing "Pumped Up Kicks", including Los Angeles terrestrial stations KROQ-FM and KYSR, and it continued to gain popularity on Alt Nation.^[11] Mark Foster credits Sirius XM's airplay with the song's success, saying, "Alt Nation played our music before any other radio outlet in the country."^[18] On January 29, the song debuted on Billboard's Rock Songs chart and a week later, it debuted on the Alternative Songs chart. In May, the track debuted at number 96 on the Billboard Hot 100, and later that month, the group released their first full-length studio album, Torches, on which "Pumped Up Kicks" appears.^[11] On May 23, 2011, BBC Radio 1 DJ Greg James selected the song as his Record of the Week, which ran until May 27. During this time, James released an accompanying video of him dancing to the song which he entitled and promoted "The Bum Dance".^[19]

The song proved to be a crossover hit, peaking at number three on the Rock Songs chart in July and number one on the Alternative Songs chart in June, while breaking into the top 40 of the Hot 100 in late July and appearing on the Adult Top 40 and Mainstream Top 40 charts. Columbia senior VP of promotion Lee Leipsner said, "It was one of the only alternative bands I remember in a while that you could actually dance to. And the fact that the record has a groove and rhythmic feel to it—not heavy guitar-based at all—gave us a wide opportunity to cross the record." He credits the song's crossover success and push into the top 40 to a June presentation of new music by Clear Channel president of national programming platforms Tom Poleman. According to Leipsner, "After we showed our presentation, we had so many Clear Channel major-market programmers come up to us and say, 'The record I want to play besides Adele is Foster the People.'" "Pumped Up Kicks" peaked at number three on the Hot 100, spending eight consecutive weeks at the position.^[11] It has been certified 3× platinum in the US, Canada,^[20][21] and Australia,^[22] while receiving a gold certification in Germany.^[23] The song ranked as the sixth-best-selling digital song of 2011, selling 3.61 million copies.^[24]

Music video[link]

The music video, directed by Josef Geiger, was filmed at multiple locations in Los Angeles with insert footage from San Francisco^{[citation needed]} and features the band playing a show. There are also cuts to band members doing other activities, such as playing frisbee and surfing. The video peaked at #21 on the MuchMusic Countdown in Canada.^[25] The video has received over 83 million views on YouTube.^[2]

Reception[link]

Critical reaction[link]

"Pumped Up Kicks" received positive reviews from critics. Barry Walters of Spin said that with the song as their debut single, Foster the People "announce themselves as major players".^[26] Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone described the song as having a "slinky groove, misty guitar flange and delicious astral-wimp vocals".^[27] Rob Webb of NME drew some parallels between the song and other indie pop hits like "Young Folks", "Paris", and "Kids" describing its rise in popularity as thus: "artist writes (undeniably brilliant) pop song, makes it catchy as hell, but quirky enough for the 'cool' crowd, song subsequently gets some big pimping from every blog/radio station/Hype Machine user on the planet and, seemingly overnight, becomes utterly, irritatingly inescapable."^[28] August Brown of the Los Angeles Times called it a "reputation-making single" that "cakes Foster in Strokes-y vocal distortion atop a loping synth bass".^[29] Jon Pareles of The New York Times called it a "pop ditty with dazed, dweeby vocals and a handclapping chorus that warns, 'You better run, better run, outrun my gun'".^[30] BBC Music's Mark Beaumont called the song a "psychedelic block party skipping tune". Reflecting on the song's fusion of various musical elements, Beaumont said the song is a prime example of how they "adapt Animal Collective's art-tronic adventurousness to incorporate the funky danceability of Scissor Sisters, the fuzzy pop catchiness of 'Kids' and the knack of throwing in deceptively downbeat twists akin to Girls, Sleigh Bells or Smith Westerns".^[31] Matt Collar of Allmusic said the song, like other tracks from the album, is "catchy, electro-lite dance-pop that fits nicely next to such contemporaries as MGMT and Phoenix".^[32] The Guardian's Michael Hann was less receptive, saying it "amounts to little more than a bassline and a chorus" and that "It's as irresistible as it is infuriating".^[33]

Accolades[link]

A Rolling Stone readers poll named it the second-best song of summer 2011.^[34] Claire Suddath of Time magazine named "Pumped Up Kicks" one of the Top 10 Songs of 2011.^[35] In end-of-year polls, writers for Rolling Stone selected "Pumped Up Kicks" as the 11th-best song of 2011,^[36] while the publication's readers voted it the year's sixth-best song.^[37] A listeners poll by Toronto radio station CFNY-FM (102.1 The Edge) voted it #1 in a list of the top 102 new rock songs of 2011.^[38] Entertainment Weekly selected the song as the second-best single of 2011.^[39] NME ranked it number 21 on its list of the "50 Best Tracks of 2011", writing, "Unusually for a song so omnipresent, listening to its hyper-upbeat melodies about a psycho high-school kid-killer is still an enjoyable experience."^[40] The magazine's readers voted "Pumped Up Kicks" the year's eighth-best song.^[41] At the end of 2011, the song received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.^[42]

Impact[link]

In an article for The Huffington Post, DJ Louie XIV singled out "Pumped Up Kicks" as one of several popular songs that helped usher in the return of commercially successful indie music. In discussing the growing acceptance of fringe cultures, he wrote, "It seems only fitting, then, that the soundtrack to this time period should be music that was itself once viewed as fringe culture."^[43] Reflecting on the song's success, Gary Trust, the associate director of charts/radio for Billboard, said, "They're walking a tightrope very well in terms of eras, formats and styles. When you mix all that together, it becomes a very good recipe for a hit that works on so many levels. It's the perfect song." Foster said of the song, "There's a spirit there and that's what people resonate with. 'Pumped Up Kicks' wasn't an accident."^[2]

Use in popular media[link]

The song was used in TV series such as Entourage,^[44] Gossip Girl, CSI:NY, Cougar Town, Homeland, Warehouse 13 and The Vampire Diaries and also in the 2011 films Friends with Benefits^[11] and Fright Night, as well as sampled in Shawn Chrystopher's song "All the Other Kids", from his 2010 hip-hop album You, and Only You. The whistling part of the song is part of the rotation of bumper music played on the Michael Medved syndicated radio program. The song is also used on the BBC programme Match of the Day. On October 8, 2011, Foster the People performed the song on Saturday Night Live. The song was also used in Australian beer XXXX's "XXXX Summer Bright Lager" television commercial.^[45]

Cover versions and remixes[link]

The official remix of the single was released by New York City-duo The Knocks in April 2011, under the name "Pumped Up Kicks (The Knocks Speeding Bullet Remix)", and was made available to subscribers to the band's email list. The song was covered by Weezer during their 2011 North American Tour, at the Orange County Fair on August 4, 2011. Weezer also played the song during their grandstand performance at the Minnesota State Fair on September 3, 2011.^[46] Mark Foster said in reaction, "Nine years ago, I met Rivers Cuomo at a party, and I had my acoustic guitar with me. He taught me how to play 'Say It Ain't So'. So nine years later, to watch him play one of my songs - it was wild. I can't wait to meet him and remind him of that story."^[47]

In 2011, The Kooks covered song in BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge.^[48] Australian musician Owl Eyes performed a version of "Pumped Up Kicks" for Triple J's Like a Version. In the Triple J Hottest 100, 2011, Owl Eyes' version came in at 28, four positions higher than the original did the previous year. Singer-songwriters Dani Shay and Justin Chase covered the song in a theatrical music video October 2011^[49] and released the single in November 2011.^[50] A parody of the song was performed by Taylor Swift and Zac Efron on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, as a serenade to the host. Its lyrics were about how they felt weird when Ellen used to put them as a couple when they were not.^[51] On March 12, 2012 singers Lex Land and Charlotte Sometimes performed the song during the second "Battle Round" episode of The Voice.^[52]

Track listing[link]

Charts[link]