Switched on Pop - ANTHEMS: Smash Mouth — All Star

Episode Date: November 10, 2020

When Smash Mouth wrote "All Star,” they knew that it was going to change their lives. But they never expected it would become an anthem played in sports arenas, soundtracked by Hollywood, and embedded into seemingly every internet meme. Darryn King joins the show to break down "The Never-ending Life of Smash Mouth's 'All Star.'" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Euforia of Calvin Klein, the new collection elixir. Three new elixires perfume intense. Solar, magnetic, ball. Pulsa in the banner, do the quiz, and discover your fragrance euphoria. Welcome to Switch on Pop.

I'm musicologist Nate Sloan. And I'm songwriter Charlie Harding. Charlie, somebody once told me that today we are going to be discussing for our anthem series, Smash Mouth's All-Star. That was beautiful. And I want to explore this song because it's something you hear in stadiums.

It's something you hear in schools. It's something you hear like all over the world at this point. But it's also kind of a unique anthem. It's an anthem that is as mocked as it is beloved. Yeah, I think of it almost like a Twitter meme more than a song. Totally. And that's what I want to do. I want to explore first the musical qualities that make this song so anthemic and have given it such staying power. And the musical qualities that make this song like the ultimate musical meme. Great.

And let's start with the chorus. You know, it's one of those songs where I've heard it so many times. I can't even hear it with fresh ears. I feel the same way, which is why I thought it was necessary. for us to bring in an expert. This is Darren King. I'm a New York-based arts journalist. So the website, The Ringer, has been doing a series about classic pop songs of the year 1999.

And Darren wrote the entry on All-Star, titled The Never-ending Life of Smash Mouth's All-Star. In the process, he told me, he got to know this song pretty intimately. In the midst of this piece, I was willingly listening to it. up to, I don't know, I'd say a couple of dozen times a day, just really trying to work it out to unpack its mysteries and secrets.

So I would say I clocked up about a good 150 listens to Smash Mouse All-Star. That's some advanced form of torture. Self-inflicted. 150 listens. I mean, they say journalistic ethics are dead, but I think Darren is proving them all wrong. Let's cast ourselves back to 1999. I don't want to go back to 1999. That was not the best moment in my life.

You have no choice. You're back in a world where Smash Mouth is on the radio with their first big hit, Walking on the Sun. Was this on the Austin Power soundtrack? Great question, Charlie. We will get into movie soundtracks a bit later. Because it has that like total 1960s Basanova almost like even like the doors like a little bit kind of feel. Yeah, it was a throwback song and it was kind of not in the milieu of what Smashmouth was doing up to that point.

It was kind of an unexpected, a surprise hit of sorts. That was a departure from the kind of 90s California scob punk thing that they've been doing up to that point. Yeah, it has like a taste of it maybe like in the vocal performance. But yeah, it's definitely a throwback thing. With the unexpected success of walking on the sun, when it came to the band's second album, Astro Lounge, they suddenly found themselves under a lot of pressure. They needed a hit single.

That old classic story of the record label, not hearing a single. That was true for Astro Lounge. So great camp sort of put himself in his garage and came up with this. And yeah, they needed a hit. And they definitely got one. He realized quite early on that this was lightning in a bottle.

Okay, so it's time to write a hit. You have to go to the garage and come up with like a number one single. No big deal, right? No, easy. Where do you start? Where this band started, and especially their key songwriter, Greg Camp, was with actually the fan mail that they had been getting. I love it.

Yeah, and a lot of the fan mail they've been getting was from, teenagers who were feeling bullied. Some of them were feeling bullied because they listened to Smash Mouse. And he was really connecting with these feelings and wanting to write a song that would give them affirmation and confidence. I love it when there's sort of a two-way relationship

between the artist and the fan and it ends up in the music. Totally. And we can even get a little more specific when it comes to the inspirations for this song because the titular word here, All-Star, that came from a very clear source. On a very literal level, Greg Camp was wearing Converse All-Star sneakers. So that's a pretty key part of the puzzle right there. Are you familiar with the Converse All-Star sneaker, Charlie?

I know the Chucks. Yeah, that's exactly what we're talking about. Chuck's All-Star is the same thing. Classic, yeah. Just a classic sneaker. Yeah. And then there's the iconic line from the first verse, she was looking kind of dumb with her finger and her thumb

in the shape of an L on her forehead. Right. She was looking kind of dumb with her finger and her thumb and the shape of an L on her forehead. Makes me think of like the film Clueless or something. Yeah. And again, this is a very 90s reference in a way, but one also drawn from Greg Camp's life.

It is kind of a little bit about his backstory. I mean, the whole, you know, Elle on her forehead thing, that came from his life when he was kind of a jobbing musician. His girlfriend at the time would actually, like, bid him farewell of an evening by making that kind of gesture at him. And basically, the subject was, you know, when are you going to grow up, dude? When are you going to get a real job? Wait, that is so mean. What an unsupportive partner. That's what good musicians do.

They take, you know, their personal challenges and turn them into world beating pop songs. So this mega hit really came from very small, very particular moments in this band's life in 1999. Bullied fans, some Chuck Taylor Converse sneakers, and a disparaging significant other. And, you know, actually, Charlie, I do have. to rewind for a second because one thing is to be a supportive partner and the other is to have a kind of deadbeat boyfriend who plays in bands all night and sleeps all day. Ah, yes, one of them is a musician, okay. And we might be biased towards one half of that couple just for the record.

Yeah, legit. Okay, so these are some of the lyrical inspirations for the song. Now let's dig into some of the musical inspirations for the song. One of the most notable features of All-Star Arts very first notes. Somebody wants told me the world is going to roll me The song starts not with any kind of instrumentation But with a solo voice singing the word Some

Yeah This intro came from a very specific place It came from a song that had been a hit shortly before One Week by the Bare Naked Ladies It's been one week You looked at me Cock your head of the sides and I'm angry Five days did you laugh to me

Say and get that together Come back and see me Three days to living here. Yeah, so this is a moment of Greg Camp of Smashmouth Hearing this Bare Naked Ladies hit He's like, I gotta write a hit Maybe I'll try something similar I'm gonna start the song with an acapella syllable

From the voice And then the whole band will come in immediately afterwards. You know, it seems like such an obvious thing to do And I feel like I hear it very rarely. There might be a reason why you don't hear it very often. I think there was some pushback from radio DJ in the early days because it starts off in this very kind of aggressive, you know, collar-tugging way with a syllable of the lyric of the vocal coming in before the music.

Now, DJs like to speak over the intro of a song, and this kind of subverted their ability to do that. It doesn't, you know, take any prisoners. It goes straight for the jugular of the listener. Oh, the power struggles. So even though that is now the most recognizable part of the song, at the very beginning of its success might have been a detriment because DJs were like, whoa, I like to do a little preamble at the beginning of a song, and this doesn't allow me to do that, but clearly it overcame that challenge very quickly.

There's another musical inspiration for the song that really surprised me. It might be kind of hard to hear it first, but it's buried in the harmonies of the chorus. Hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play. Hey now, you're a rock star. The shape of those chords, and it's just like a full chord sequence, that is the shape of the Monti Norman James Bond scene. So it has a that third chord there.

I think it's a Cidiminished chord. It sort of implies ominousness, danger. That's exactly what was pointing to. There's like that 1960s. I knew I was hearing something because just a second ago, I was like over on the piano trying to figure out how to play this. And it has that walking up weird chromatic thing from James Bond. Yeah, I could never see this coming. I mean, maybe I heard some retro influences, but like the James Bond theme, that was never in my mind.

However, when we listen to them back to back, I think the similarity is actually really apparent. So here's the beginning of the iconic James Bond theme. Now see if you can hear that same kind of sinister oscillating chord structure here in the chorus of Smashmouth's All-Star. Yeah, it's in the guitar. And it's that third chord in the sequence in particular, that diminished chord that Darren was talking about. That's a very tense chord. Yes. Very dramatic. I think it's the, it is the suspense that you feel when you hear the James Bond theme.

When you start to focus in on this suspenseful kind of dark, see, diminished chord in the song, it brings up certain references that you might not get when you're just listening to the song on a more surface level. Here's Darren again. We think of that that chorus has been a bit of a song. being, you know, big, dumb and kind of stupid, but there's a little bit of darkness to it, which I think is part of the, you know, the song's contradictory nature and sort of the richness of it, that we've got this sort of very sports anthem ready, you know, kind of monosyllabic chorus, but there's something else going on. There's like a, there's a shark stalking the beach party,

I like to call it. I like this. It reminds me of some of the conversation that we had about Queens, we are the champions in an earlier part of our series on anthems. And not just have that sort of overcoming feeling. There has to be some of the adversity. There has to be challenge. And I feel like this chord introduces, as he puts it,

some of that darkness. It's not a single note piece. Yeah. That's interesting. Like, in order to be an all-star, you can't just be given success. You have to earn it. You have to fight for it.

Yeah. And speaking of darkness, as I listen to this song again, I hear lyrics that I maybe didn't really pay attention to before. The only lyric I know is somebody once told me and shape of an L on our forehead. The rest is gone from my mind. Yeah, I'm in the same boat, and I imagine many listeners are as well. But when we dig into some of the later verses of this song, they're talking about issues that are eerily applicable to our present moment, including one I never would have expected climate change.

It's a cool place and they say it gets colder. You're bundled up now. Wait till you get older. But the media man begged to differ. Judgey by the hole in the satellite picture. The ice we state is getting pretty thin. The water's getting warm so you might as well swim. But world's on fire. How about yours? Oh, M.G. Yeah. Wait, this is like pre-inconvenient truth. This is a, like early era Al Gore just like sitting down at lunch with Bill Clinton talking about climate change. Yeah, yeah.

And had not breached the popular consciousness. I mean, it was known, but not as we talk about it. Totally. They're talking about the ozone layer here. We're talking about like banning chlorophyllorocarbans. This is, now we're dealing with a much what is this song? More serious set of environmental issues, but it's all there. The world

is on fire and yet it still is today. This song has layers, man. song is an onion. There's lyrical depth here, there's musical depth, there's references from 1999 hits to 1960s spy movies soundtracks. It's an anthem

for bullied teens and mad ex-girlfriends. I don't know what to make of all of this. Me neither. And I think in order to really understand this song, we need to fast forward from 1999 to the present to really understand the

multifaceted legacy. of Smash Mouse All-Star. Let's take a quick break. And when we come back, we're going to talk about why this song, why this song, out of all the hit songs, has become the Uber meme of the 21st century.

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What a goofy line. But it's so true. And they were very prescient in a way because the song would change their lives in ways that were both good and bad. You know, I kind of think of Smashmouth as like a two, three, maybe four hit wonder. And like, I know these two songs, and then they did the song for Shrek, and I don't know if they did any other songs that I can remember. But I also simultaneously think that they're probably doing all right, because there's been no shortage of this song in my life. Yeah, the bass player of the band said that the song bought him a house. Like, they did well, but it also has turned them into a bit of a joke.

in some ways. And for Greg Camp, the songwriter, you know, there was a certain irony in the song's success, becoming, as you said, you know, part of the Shrek soundtrack in 2001 and quickly being heard at sporting events and celebrations all over the country. He said, there was a very thick line drawn between my friends and people who ended up listening to the song, the sports people. It was definitely ironic the first time I heard that at an NFL football game. or that I was asked to perform the song at a big time sports thing. Like that was never, he never wanted to be, you know, out playing this song at sporting events. He was a countercultural punk, you know?

And now all of a sudden he has this song that is this inescapable, corporatized pop smash. I would not have even known that about the band, given the way that I've consumed their material probably primarily through hearing it at sports games. It's like, be careful what you wish for scenario. You know, it's a mixed legacy here when you have that kind of world dominating pop success. And that's only part of the story. Because this song doesn't just have an afterlife at stadiums and karaoke and school, you know, assemblies. This song has an afterlife in the world of memes. Yes.

I'm pretty sure, like, one in five gifts involves Smashmouth. Yeah. I mean, or you could maybe even. flip that scenario maybe like memes owe smash mouth a great debt for like creating this this internet language i asked darren why he thought that all-star was such a memeable song and one thing he said was that the chorus melody is super simple and it's not only that it's very flexible like you can layer that chorus melody over a lot of different chord progressions. To give you just one example, if you'll forgive me for the musical sacrilege that I'm about to commit, here's the piano

part from John Legends Imagine. Lennon, not legend. Hey now, you're an all-star. Get your game on. Go play. Hey now, you're an all-star. You're an all-star. What are the lyrics? I get the point. I think you've gone far enough. Nobody needs to hear any more of this. I'm very sorry I had to subject the world to that. But I'm not the first person to sing this melody

over the imagined chords for the record. So that's one part of it. This chorus melody is like kind of endlessly mutable and can be layered on so many different musical contexts. And Darren also said there might be something else about the song that really lends. itself to meming. Part of it is that it's just

recognizable. That first syllable that I mentioned earlier, that just sort of just grabbed you right away, which makes it kind of rich for comic potential. There's something about Steve Highwell's voice too, right? Like that kind of not too subtle kind of buzz saw quality that his voice has, which I think if it's chopped up in a musical meme,

It's just really kind of compelling and kind of comic and silly, which makes a good fodder, I think. There's so many lines in the song here that are set up for something else. So somebody wants to hold me. You can go anywhere with that, right? Totally. There's a lot of lyrical possibility to insert your own narrative here. And beyond that, as Darren says, there's just something so indelible about. the very first moments of this song,

that unaccompanied acapella, Somebody, that begins it, and the very specific vocal timbre of lead singer, Steve Harwell's voice, which, Darren, I love this, compares to a buzzsaw. Yeah, I feel like you and I have the musical language, musical love language, if you will, where I could just be like,

somebody. Exactly. It's like, it just has to happen. Yeah, you can't leave that hang. It is inevitable. That's like a hang-in-high-five. It is inexorable. As we talked about, the song has spawned so many memes that we could devote an entire podcast just to that topic.

But I asked Darren what his favorites were, and he gave me some really great choices that I thought we could listen to together. Neil Fisierga's album Mouth Sound Sounds, Smash Mouth All-Star is kind of a running gag on that album, which is free to listen to on SoundCloud. It is frequently hilarious. Are you familiar with this? Neil Sissiorga's mouth sounds? It doesn't sound like a pleasant listen. I've never heard of it. Get ready. This was new to me.

And before we dig into it, first we have to listen to the 19th century Russian composer Modest Masersky. This is some like sly classical masters that you're sliding in here. It's a very nationalist melody. So that's the very first movement of his sweet pictures at an exhibition. arranged for orchestra by Maurice Ravel. And here's Neil Seseyoga's mouth sounds. Sam, Sam, Sam, Sam, Sam, Sam, Sam, Sam, Sam. Sam, Sam.

Sam. I can't even describe how much I love that. It's like a weird hour into computer sequencing. And John Cage. But that is only the beginning. In terms of the more sort of Jardis, experiments. Oh man, there's this one where it's that one lyric, the year stopped coming and they don't stop coming just over and over again for about 10 hours. That is amazing. Because

at some point the stems of the song leaked onto the internet, which sort of went, you know, went a bit crazy. So everybody has the raw material of that song to play with. And I think this is an example of someone using the raw material of that song to make something that's totally bizarre and unexpected, but kind of brilliant in its own way. Okay, Charlie, are you ready for this? We're going to listen to all 10 hours of this YouTube meme. We might get a, uh, getting us world record for the longest podcast ever. I mean, we're going to edit it. So the listeners will only hear, you know, a few seconds.

But you and I are going to sit here and listen to this for 10 hours. Oh, dear Lord. So get a snack, get comfortable, get a catheter. Here we go. That's ridiculous. So basically they've taken that one line, and they don't stop coming, and they've taken that one line, auto-tuned it. So it's the melody of the entire song.

Yes. The song loops forever. Yes. And I need to go to sleep now. Yes. It's been 10 hours. And I don't know how we're still standing, but we do need to finish this podcast. So stick with me for just a little longer.

There's one more version of this meme that we're going to listen to. I think, I don't know, like, Allstar is a gentle piano ballad is actually really, really wistful and beautiful. I mean, you wouldn't think it, but the, uh, The often maligned opening verse has just this amazingly tender melody when you strip it away from its kind of sports anthem associations. It's a really lovely kind of tune underneath all that. There's some really nice little suspensions in there. It's beautiful. You know, to step back for a minute, what are the qualities that make the song so memeable?

one, it has this simple chorus melody that's incredibly flexible and to be layered on top of all these different songs. It's got this instantly recognizable opening sonority. It's a body. And the timbre of Steve Harville's voice is like unforgettable. And then finally, maybe this is just a really solid song with a really catchy, well-constructed melody. How dare you, sir. I will plant my flag and I will stand on this ground. I am a convert.

I went into this episode thinking, okay, I'm going to do this because it's an important song and that'll be fun to break down, but I don't like it. And I think I would revise that statement. I think I am a fan of Smash Mounts All-Star, genuinely, not just ironically. I am a fan. I think this is a great song. Yes, Chuck. I'm here for the climate change activism.

That totally opened my mind. Yeah. I'm definitely into the 007 theme song, funky 60s thing. Good. And, oh my God, I'm a convert. Yeah. Oh, geez. Yeah.

In fact, I think this song might belong to a curious subcategory of pop song. The song that is loved and then hated and then loved again. Some entries here might be Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up Probably the most memed song of all time that in fact No doubt Rick rolling The Baja men's Who Let the Dogs out

No that will never be loved again I disagree Actually this gives me a chance to say something Which is there's a documentary A feature-like documentary about the creation of the song Really? It is so fascinating I just it's not it hasn't been released yet unfortunately but keep your eyes out for the the Baja men who let the dogs out documentary there's so much more going into the service of that song okay moving on

phil collins something in the air tonight oh yeah okay definitely meatloaf i would do anything for love i would and finally of songs that have been loved and then hated and then loved again i think we'd have to include lou baga's mom number five great song a little bit of monica in my life a little bit of Erica by my side a little bit of read us all I need I just want to say not redeemable songs yeah Barbie girl okay and blue abdiabada iPhone 65 I might agree with you on one of those okay I think blue blue Doesn't really do much for me. But Barbie Girl is kind of a great materialist critique of our overly consumptive world. Oh, is it, you know, I probably haven't listened with critical ears in a long time. At the same time, man, there is a tone to that song that can be hard to stomach.

It's grating. But we'll see. You know, maybe that song, too, will pass through the filter of hate back to love. I like this idea. It makes an anthem a little more poignant in a way. Not only is the song about an underdog reaching salvation. Oh, wow. Yeah.

The song itself has that arc from the top to the bottom and now kind of back to the top, or at least somewhere in the middle of its cultural value. So smash mouth, an undeniable anthem, and yet an anthem with a little bit of soul to it, a little bit of mystery, a little bit of surprise. I dig it. This episode of Switched on Pop was produced by me, Nate Sloan, and I couldn't have done it without the help of Darren King. You can check out his excellent article on Smash Mouse All-Star.

On The Ringer, we'll throw a link to that in our show notes. Our producer is Bridget Armstrong, Engineering by Brandon McFarland. The Shot Karwa and Liz Nelson are our executive producers. We're a production of the Vox Media Podcast Network. We are going to be continuing this anthem series, so make sure you tune in next week. can find Switched-on-Pop anywhere you get podcast, the Apple Podcast app, Spotify, or go to our website, switchedonpop.com. And share with us some of your favorite anthems on Twitter and Instagram at Switched-on-Pop.

We'd love to chat with you there. Not only that, share your favorite smash-mouth memes. Let's just go nuts. I want to get deep. I want to get weird. I want to find the craziest smash-mouth memes out there. We'll be back again next week with more anthems. And until then, thanks for listening.

You know,