Through Glass

"Through Glass" is the second single from the rock band Stone Sour's second album Come What(ever) May. The track was published online through Yahoo! along with its music video on June 9, 2006, and was released on July 22, 2006, just over one week before the release of the album.[1] It reached the number one spot on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in the US, where it remained for seven weeks, and number two on the Alternative Songs chart. The song also peaked at number 39 on the Billboard Hot 100[2] after crossing over to pop radio. It remains their most popular song to date. The single's cover features the band's hometown of Des Moines, Iowa. On March 3, 2017, "Through Glass" was certified platinum by the RIAA.[3]

"Through Glass"
Single by Stone Sour
from the album Come What(ever) May
Released	July 22, 2006
Genre	Alternative rock post-grunge
Length	4:43 (album version) 3:54 (radio edit)
Label	Roadrunner
Songwriter(s)	Shawn Economaki Josh Rand Jim Root Corey Taylor
Producer(s)	Nick Raskulinecz
Stone Sour singles chronology
"30/30-150" (2006) "Through Glass" (2006) "Sillyworld" (2007)

Following the death of Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington in July 2017, Corey Taylor would dedicate the song to his very good friend with an emotional performance of "Through Glass" in Mansfield, Massachusetts, where according to Taylor, who would state that "Through Glass" was one of Bennington's favourite songs.[4]

Background

The song was originally inspired by frontman Corey Taylor's outrage at the music industry and how he felt that the musical revolution had never taken place. Taylor was quoted as having said:

I remember exactly where I was. It was 2004 and I was on tour with Slipknot. I was sitting in a European hotel room watching a music video channel, seeing act after act after act of this insane, innocuous, plastic music. They were plastic, bubbly, gossamer-thin groups where it was really more about the clothes they wore and the length of their cheekbones than it was about the content of the song they were singing. It really made me mad. I was like, "Is this it? Have we just gone full circle? Did the singer/songwriter revolution never happen? Is it just the same drivel from the same replicate over and over again?" ... "Through Glass" is really a very angry song. It's me basically calling bullshit on pretty much everyone involved with the American Idol-type shows. It has its place, but when you're basically cornering the market and making it very hard for anyone who actually writes their own music to get ahead, then it's wrong and that's really why I wrote this song.[5]

Years later, Taylor elaborated on the origins of the song, saying that he watched so much European music television because he was suffering from food poisoning in Sweden and was unable to move and change the channel from MTV Europe.[6]

Music video

The music video for "Through Glass" was shot with director Tony Petrossian and included a cameo by Poison guitarist C.C. Deville.[7] The video begins with Corey Taylor singing the intro while sitting in a chair. He gets up to reveal that the video is taking place at a house party, and it subsequently goes through close-ups of the guests. A shot of a waitress bringing a plate of a plywood cutout of food is also shown. As the video progresses, the band begins to perform in front of the Hollywood Sign, spelled as "Hollowood". Taylor walks through a pool and sings the rest of the song. Two men are shown to actually be plywood cutouts, which are then taken away. Another set of people are also plywood cutouts who are then taken away. As the video continues, the whole set is shown to be made up of plywood cutouts, which are taken away. When the band finishes, they walk away, revealing that the place in which they were performing was also made of plywood cutouts.

Track listing

Promo CD single US (2006)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Through Glass" (edit)	4:01
2.	"Through Glass" (album version)	4:40
3.	"Call-Out Hook No. 1"	0:18
4.	"Call-Out Hook No. 2"	0:21
5.	"Call-Out Hook No. 3"	0:17

CD single enhanced Australia (2006)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Through Glass"	4:01
2.	"Fruitcake"	3:58
3.	"Suffer"	3:40
4.	"Through Glass" (video)	4:01

Promo CD single Germany (2006)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Through Glass" (edit)	4:01
2.	"Through Glass" (album version)	4:40

Chart positions

Chart (2006–07)	Peak position
Canada Rock Top 30 (Radio & Records)[8]	1
Germany (Official German Charts)[9]	95
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[10]	32
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[11]	37
Scotland (OCC)[12]	61
UK Singles (OCC)[13]	98
US Billboard Hot 100[14]	39
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[15]	23
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[16]	2
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[17]	12
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[18]	1

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[19]	Silver	200,000
United States (RIAA)[20]	Platinum	1,000,000
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

In popular culture

The song was featured in the 2012 horror film Grave Encounters 2.

References

1. "Stone Sour: 'Through Glass' Video Posted Online". Blabbermouth.net. 2006-07-09. Archived from the original on 2012-06-30. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
2. "Stone Sour > Chart & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic
3. "Through Glass Goes Platinum".
4. "Watch Corey Taylor Dedicate 'Through Glass' to Chester Bennington". Billboard. 2017-07-21. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
5. Jason (2006-07-26). "STONE SOUR SLAMS PLASTIC POP CULTURE IN VIDEO FOR THEIR 'THROUGH GLASS' SINGLE; VISIT THE TONIGHT SHOW ON AUGUST 8". The Gauntlet. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
7. ""Through Glass" video released". Ultimate Guitar. July 11, 2006. Archived from the original on May 16, 2013. Retrieved 2012-06-16.
8. "R&R Canada - Rock Top 30" (PDF). Radio & Records. August 4, 2006. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
9. "Offiziellecharts.de – Stone Sour – Through Glass". GfK Entertainment Charts.
10. "Dutchcharts.nl – Stone Sour – Through Glass" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
11. "Charts.nz – Stone Sour – Through Glass". Top 40 Singles.
12. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
13. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
14. "Stone Sour Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
15. "Stone Sour Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
16. "Stone Sour Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
17. "Stone Sour Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
18. "Stone Sour Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
19. "British single certifications – Stone Sour – Through Glass". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 14, 2020. Select singles in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Through Glass in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
20. "American single certifications – Stone Sour – Through Glass". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH.