Want You Gone

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Revision as of 23:41, 15 January 2012 by 71.34.17.149 (talk) (→‎Availability: whoops, put ref in right place)
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Want You Gone
ReleaseArtificial Heart
Length2:22
Release date04-19-2011
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{{#song:Want You Gone (Elegant Too Remix) }}


"Want You Gone" is a song that Jonathan Coulton wrote for the Valve video game, Portal 2. The song is considered more "spoiler-heavy" than Still Alive in that it makes direct reference to revelations in the game, such as the name of the woman whose consciousness formed GLaDOS' matrix.

History

After the success of the closing credits song that Coulton composed for the first installment in the series, Valve asked him to return as the writer for a song on the sequel. As with the previous song, voice actress and opera singer Ellen McLain performs the song in character as the insane artificial intelligence GLaDOS, with her voice digitally filtered to simulate the computer sound of the game.

The song was met with popular approval rivaling that of its predecessor. Both the game and the song were hotly anticipated, and "Want You Gone" immediately spawned many fan videos and covers.

Coulton recorded his own version of "Want You Gone" for his album Artificial Heart. This studio recording is very similar to the game version but features Coulton on lead vocals instead of Ellen McLain.

Live performance

An acoustic version "Want You Gone" debuted in Ottawa, ON on May 27 2011. Coulton often performs the song in medley with "Still Alive".

At PAX Prime 2011 Coulton debuted a live version of the song on Zendrum instead of acoustic guitar, resulting in a performance much closer to the album version.

Availability

"Want You Gone" is available in the credits of the video game Portal 2. The song can be downloaded for free as part of the Portal 2 Soundtrack at the game's website.

A studio version performed by Coulton appears on the album Artificial Heart, which can be ordered through Coulton's website or on iTunes.

Additionally, numerous clips of Coulton performing "Want You Gone" are available on YouTube[1], as well as a clip of Ellen McLain performing the song at an event in her normal singing voice.

Themes

References

Artificial Heart
1. Sticking It To Myself · 2. Artificial Heart · 3. Nemeses · 4. The World Belongs to You · 5. Today With Your Wife · 6. Sucker Punch · 7. Glasses · 8. Je Suis Rick Springfield · 9. Alone at Home · 10. Fraud · 11. Good Morning Tucson · 12. Now I Am An Arsonist · 13. Down Today · 14. Dissolve · 15. Nobody Loves You Like Me · 16. Still Alive · 17. Want You Gone · 18. The Stache