Hammerhead (song)
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| “Hammerhead” | |||||
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| Single by The Offspring from the album Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace |
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| Released | May 6, 2008 | ||||
| Format | CD, Digital Download | ||||
| Recorded | November 2006-April 2008 in Maui, Hawaii and Orange County, California | ||||
| Genre | Punk rock | ||||
| Length | 4:41 (Album version) 4:13 (Radio edit) |
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| Label | Columbia | ||||
| Writer(s) | Dexter Holland | ||||
| Producer | Bob Rock | ||||
| The Offspring singles chronology | |||||
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"Hammerhead" is the first single from The Offspring's upcoming eighth studio album Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace. The song was first played at the Summer Sonic Festival in 2007.
The song was originally set to go to radio on May 6.[1][2] However, the world premiere of the song took place on May 2 at 6 PM PST on KROQ. On May 5, 2008, The Offspring's official website released a free download of the song in 320 kbit/s MP3 format[3], in much the same style as "Original Prankster" (from 2000's Conspiracy of One). To download it, users are required to provide an email address to receive a link to a high-quality MP3 of the track, which comes free of digital rights management.
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[edit] Song meaning
According to singer Dexter Holland, the song is about school shootings.[4] This is supported by the closing lyrics "and you can all hide behind your desks now/and you can cry teacher come help me". Lead guitarist Kevin 'Noodles' Wasserman elaborated on this, stating that the initial lyrics are from the perspective of a soldier who believes that everything he does is for the greater good - "take a life that others may live". He is affected by a huge force (Hammerhead - "it hammers in my head") in his mind that makes him deluded.[5]The true nature of the song - that the narrator is actually a school shooter - is only revealed towards the end.
[edit] Music video
The music video was directed by Teqtonik and debuted on IGN's website on June 9th, 11pm UTC.[6]
The video is completely made up of CGI and does not feature the band, similar to "Hit That"'s video but more artistic in its appearance. The video has been well received by Offspring fans with the video currently holding a 5 star out of 5 rating on Youtube.[7]
The video has a anti-war/violence slant represented through symbolism including mechanical animals, such as robotic dogs and stealth fighters that later turn into birds flying into a sunset at the songs conclusion.
[edit] Video contest
The band have created a competition for fans of the band to create their own video for the song with their own original material.[8] A Youtube group has been set up for this purpose. The band will pick their favourite video and the winner receives $10,000. The contest is only available to U.S. residents.
[edit] Chart positions
The song debuted at #5 (based on airplay alone) on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks, making it the first song to debut on the top 5 of the Modern Rock Tracks since "What I've Done" by Linkin Park, and the band's highest debuting Modern Rock single. It also debuted at #18 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks. A week later it moved up to #4 on the Modern Rock chart and #16 on the Mainstream Rock chart.
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles | 17 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks | 9 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks | 2 |
[edit] In popular culture
- "Hammerhead" will feature in the soundtrack for the upcoming videogame Madden NFL 09.
[edit] References
- ^ The Offspring to release new single in May TuneLab Music article 03-28-2008
- ^ The Offspring announce album title; release date TuneLab Music article 04-10-2008
- ^ 'Free "Hammerhead" download available now' Offspring news item 05-05-08
- ^ 'Spring Is Here Again' Article by James Cotterell
- ^ (French) 'The Grace, The Furor', Article by Eric Maggiori
- ^ 'New album and music video to premiere online' Offspring news item 06-06-08
- ^ Hammerhead video on Youtube Hammerhead video on Youtube
- ^ 'Hammerhead Video Contest Announcement' Offspring news item 05-14-08
[edit] External links
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