Everything's Ruined Explained

Everything's Ruined
Cover:Faith No More Everythings Ruined.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Faith No More
Album:Angel Dust
B-Side:
  • "Edge of the World" (extended live)
  • "RV" (live)
Released:[1]
Recorded:JanuaryMarch 1992[2]
Studio:Coast Recorders, Brilliant (San Francisco, California)
Genre:Funk metal[3] [4] [5]
Label:Slash
Composer:
Lyricist:
  • Mike Patton
  • Billy Gould
Producer:Matt Wallace
Prev Title:A Small Victory
Prev Year:1992
Next Title:Easy
Next Year:1993

"Everything's Ruined" is a song from American rock band Faith No More's fourth studio album, Angel Dust (1992), and the final single to be released from the album's original track listing. The single was released on November 9, 1992, and charted at number 28 in the United Kingdom.

Music video

The music video, directed by Kevin Kerslake, features the band (and occasionally four children) singing, blue screened over stock footage ranging from wildlife shots, baseball games and a wide selection of other clips. The band at times interacts with the clips, like fleeing from a seemingly-giant tortoise.

Billy Gould addressed the intentional cheapness of the video in a 20th anniversary Q&A on the Faith No More Blog:

The Videos for "Midlife Crisis" and "A Small Victory" seem to high concepts and big budgets while the video for "Everything's Ruined" does not. Why was it that the video for "Everything's Ruined" (arguably the best song on the album) was so goofy and easy to produce?

The easy answer is, Warner's spent the video budget on "Small V" and "Midlife" so that when it came time to "Everything's Ruined" there's wasn't much left (!!). It was our idea to take this further and make a video as cheap as humanly possible, in one of those video booths like they had at county fairs, where you sing and dance in front of a blue screen. We didn't quite get to do that, but we got it as close as possible.[6]

Track listings

UK Part 1

  1. "Everything's Ruined"
  2. "Edge of the World (Extended Live Mix with Bass Solo)" (St. Louis, September 18, 1992)
  3. "RV" (Live in Dekalb, Illinois, September 20, 1992)

UK Part 2

  1. "Everything's Ruined"
  2. "Midlife Crisis" (live in Dekalb, Illinois, September 20, 1992)
  3. "Land of Sunshine" (live in Dekalb, Illinois, September 20, 1992)

Europe

  1. "Everything's Ruined"
  2. "Easy" (live from Munich, November 9, 1992)
  3. "RV" (live in Dekalb, Illinois, September 20, 1992)

Notes and References

  1. New Releases: Singles. Music Week. 19. November 7, 1992.
  2. Web site: YouTube. https://web.archive.org/web/20150205085328/https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=related&v=pNX3cjMeDvc&gl=GB&hl=en-GB . February 5, 2015 . dead. . November 17, 2016.
  3. Web site: Christopher. Michael. June 8, 2017. 25 Years Ago: Faith No More Confounds and Thrills With 'Angel Dust'. November 11, 2020. Diffuser.fm.
  4. Web site: Grech. Aaron. July 20, 2020. Members of The Black Dahlia Murder, Shearwater, Fever 333 and Intronaut Join Two Minutes to Late Night For Quarantined Cover of Faith No More's "Everything's Ruined". November 11, 2020. mxdwn Music.
  5. Web site: 'Angel Dust': Behind Faith No More's Mind-Bending Alt-Metal Classic .
  6. Web site: Billy Gould Answers Your Questions About Angel Dust. June 9, 2012. November 17, 2016.
  7. Web site: March 2005 . Q Magazine - 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks Ever!. April 16, 2008 . Rocklist.net.
  8. Book: Ryan, Gavin. Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. 2011. Moonlight Publishing. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia.