Close Your Eyes (And Count to Fuck)

"Close Your Eyes (And Count to Fuck)" is a song by American hip hop duo Run the Jewels, with guest vocals by Zack de la Rocha.[1] It was released as the second single from their second studio album, Run the Jewels 2 (2014), on September 30, 2014.

"Close Your Eyes (And Count to Fuck)"
Single by Run the Jewels featuring
Zack de la Rocha
from the album Run the Jewels 2
ReleasedSeptember 30, 2014 (2014-09-30)
Recorded2014
GenreHip hop
Length3:54
LabelMass Appeal
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)El-P
Run the Jewels singles chronology
"Oh My Darling Don't Cry"
(2014)		 "Close Your Eyes (And Count to Fuck)"
(2014)		 "Rubble Kings Theme (Dynamite)"
(2015)

Origin

El-P explained de la Rocha's participation in the song as the result of a chance encounter: "when I was in L.A. working on the record I bumped in to him literally on the way to the studio. He came by and listened to what we had and a day later was recording with us."[2]

Music video

The music video (directed by AG Rojas), which Exclaim! called "fiery",[3] portrays an extended wrestling match between an exhausted white police officer (Shea Whigham) and an equally-exhausted black civilian (Keith Stanfield).[4]

Rolling Stone noted that at no point in the fight does either combatant reach for the officer's gun,[5] while Spin stated that it was "immensely raw, nuanced, and powerful", and emphasized that, throughout the fight, "(n)either [combatant] really gains an edge over the other one, and it's unclear why, exactly, they were fighting in the first place."[6] The Riverfront Times (which considered the song to be "incendiary") interpreted the video's concluding scene — the two men fight their way into a house, up a flight of stairs, and into a bedroom, where they collapse on the same bed — to mean that "both men will rest and awaken tomorrow to begin the battle anew".[7]

Reception

Fact described the song as "breathless" and "pneumatic",[8] while Vibe found it to be "highly energetic".[9] Stereogum called it "hammering (and) buzzing" and "just a ridiculous banger (...) that you obviously need to hear this minute", and compared its hook — de la Rocha's voice "chopped up" — to the work of Swiss Beatz.[10]

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette noted that it is "arguably [Run the Jewels]' most popular song";[11] similarly, The Daily Reveille declared it to be "(a)rguably the best song on (the album)", lauding de la Rocha's contributions to the song — in particular the "arresting hook at the beginning".[12]

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References
  1. Run The Jewels and Zack De La Rocha reveal ‘Close Your Eyes (And Count to Fuck)’ video – watch, by Luke Morgan Britton, at NME; published March 26, 2015; retrieved June 4, 2020
  2. Premiere: Hear The Furious Collaboration Between Run The Jewels And Rage Against The Machine's Zack De La Rocha, by Reggie Ugwu, at Buzzfeed; published October 13, 2014; retrieved June 4, 2020
  3. Run the Jewels "Close Your Eyes (And Count to Fuck)" (video) (ft. Zach de la Rocha), by Alex Hudson, at Exclaim!; published March 26, 2015; retrieved June 4, 2020
  4. Run the Jewels and Zack De La Rocha's "Close Your Eyes (And Count to Fuck)" Video Is a Battle Between Cop and Unarmed Black Man, by Zoe Camp, at Pitchfork; published March 26, 2015; retrieved June 4, 2020
  5. See Run the Jewels’ Police Violence-Themed Clip ‘Close Your Eyes’, by Kory Grow, at Rolling Stone; published March 26, 2015; retrieved June 4, 2020
  6. Run the Jewels Just Released the Most Powerful Music Video of the Year, by James Grebey; at Spin; published March 26, 2015; retrieved June 4, 2020
  7. Run the Jewels' Video for "Close Your Eyes" Is Gripping Commentary on Black Lives Matter Movement, by Daniel Hill, at the Riverfront Times; published March 26, 2015; retrieved June 4, 2020
  8. Run The Jewels 2, reviewed by Louis Pattison, in Fact; published October 14, 2014; retrieved June 4, 2020
  9. Review: Run The Jewels Make It Rain During Wet Set At Brooklyn Northside Festival, by Darryl Robertson, at Vibe; published June 15, 2015; retrieved June 4, 2020
  10. Run The Jewels – “Close Your Eyes (And Count To Fuck)” (Feat. Zack De La Rocha), by Tom Breihan, at Stereogum; published October 13, 2014; retrieved June 4, 2020
  11. Concert review: Run the Jewels uses poetry as protest at Stage AE, by Courtney Linder, in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; published January 14, 2017; retrieved June 4, 2020
  12. REVIEW: 'Run the Jewels 2' by Run the Jewels, by Gerald Ducote, in The Daily Reveille; published October 29, 2014; retrieved June 4, 2020
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