Low (Cracker song) explained

Low
Cover:LowCracker93.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Cracker
Album:Kerosene Hat
B-Side:Nostalgia
Genre:Alternative rock[1]
Length:4:35
Label:Virgin
Producer:
  • Don Smith
  • Cracker
Prev Title:Happy Birthday to Me
Prev Year:1992
Next Title:Get Off This
Next Year:1994

"Low" is a song by American rock band Cracker. It appears on their 1993 album, Kerosene Hat.[2] "Low", a sleeper hit, reached number 64 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in May 1994. The song's biggest success was on the rock charts, reaching number three on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in November 1993 and number five on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart in March 1994. The music video, directed by Carlos Grasso, portrays lead singer David Lowery losing a boxing match with actress and comedian Sandra Bernhard.

In 2013, Lowery posted an essay on his Trichordist site focused on "Low" in the era of streaming music. The headline was "My Song Got Played on Pandora 1 Million Times and All I Got Was $16.89, Less Than What I Make From a Single T-Shirt Sale!" The post went viral and continues to be a reference point in the debate over the economics of streaming music.[3]

Background

David Lowery has said that the band's label made him write a letter to radio stations denying that the song was about drugs, claiming that the repeated phrase "being stoned" was really "being stone." Lowery paraphrased a label executive as telling him, "I don't believe you and neither will anyone else, but there needs to be deniability and this is what we're gonna say."[4]

Track listings

UK CD single

  1. "Low" – 4:36
  2. "I Ride My Bike" – 6:32
  3. "Sunday Train" – 3:42
  4. "Whole Lotta Trouble" – 2:26

US CD single

  1. "Low" – 4:35
  2. "Sunday Train" – 3:42
  3. "Whole Lotta Trouble" – 2:26
  4. "I See The Light" – 5:13
  5. "Steve's Hornpipe" – 2:13

Charts

Chart (1993–1994)Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[5] 63
US Billboard Album Rock Tracks5
US Billboard Hot 100[6] 64
US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks3

Release history

RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)
United StatesAugust 1993Virgin[7]
United KingdomMay 16, 1994[8]

Cover versions

In 2017, Lydia Lunch and Cypress Grove covered the song on their album Under the Covers.[9]

In popular culture

The song was featured in the film The Perks of Being a Wallflower and its accompanying soundtrack.[10] In addition, it was used in The Wolverine and episodes of Hindsight and Rectify. The B-side track "Whole Lotta Trouble" was featured on the soundtrack of the 1995 film Empire Records.

Notes and References

  1. News: Gina . Vivinetto . Cracker stands alone . . September 10, 2005 . May 22, 2013 .
  2. Web site: Stephen Thomas . Erlewine . Stephen Thomas Erlewine . Cracker – Kerosene Hat . . May 25, 2013 .
  3. Mark . Yarm . One Cranky Rocker Takes on the Entire Streaming Music Business . . August 10, 2016 . April 11, 2021 .
  4. David . Menconi . Cracker Look Back at 20 Years of 'Low' . . January 19, 2013 . August 24, 2020 .
  5. Web site: The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 30 Oct 1994 . . April 29, 2016 .
  6. Web site: Cracker – Awards . . August 24, 2020 . January 8, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150108155829/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/cracker-mn0000780625/awards . dead.
  7. Carrie . Borzillo . Virgin Pledges Time, Devotion to Sam Phillips . . 106 . 28 . 92 . July 9, 1994 . January 24, 2023 .
  8. Single Releases . . 27 . May 14, 1994.
  9. Web site: Ron . Kretsch . Uhhhhh, WHAT? Lydia Lunch covers Bon Jovi . Dangerous Minds . June 23, 2017 . June 24, 2017 .
  10. Web site: Heather . Phares . Original Soundtrack – The Perks of Being a Wallflower [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] ]. AllMusic . May 25, 2013 .

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