Swallowed (song) explained

Swallowed
Cover:Bush_-_Swallowed.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Bush
Album:Razorblade Suitcase
B-Side:Broken TV
Released:15 October 1996
Recorded:1996
Length:
  • 4:51 (album version)
  • 4:08 (UK radio edit)
  • 4:22 (Australian radio edit)
  • 4:25 (music video)
Label:
Producer:Steve Albini
Prev Title:Machinehead
Prev Year:1996
Next Title:Greedy Fly
Next Year:1997

"Swallowed" is a song by British rock band Bush, released on 15 October 1996 as the lead single from the band's 1996 album, Razorblade Suitcase (their most popular album, reaching #1 on the US Billboard 200 chart).[1] It was later included on the remix album Deconstructed, the live album Zen X Four, and the Bush greatest hits compilation. The release of "Swallowed" followed the fifth and final single off of the band's 1994 debut album Sixteen Stone, "Machinehead", by only six months.

Critical reception

British magazine Music Week rated the song four out of five, adding that "the successful British exports look set for their first big UK hit with this melodic cut."[2] David Sinclair from The Times described it as "an undeniably catchy tune, once you get past the meaningless lyric and self-conscious Nirvana-isms."[3]

Commercial performance

"Swallowed" was released as the lead single from the follow-up to their massively successful debut album, Sixteen Stone, which was released two years prior. Upon release, the song topped the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart for seven consecutive weeks, and peaked at #27 on the mainstream Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart. This is the longest Bush ever stayed at #1, on any chart. It was also Bush's biggest hit in their native Britain, where it peaked at #7 on the UK Singles Chart. It was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 1998 Grammy Awards, but lost to the Smashing Pumpkins' "The End Is the Beginning Is the End". This was the band's third crossover hit to Top 40 radio after "Comedown" and "Glycerine".

Composition

A power ballad,[4] the song is in A-flat major.

Gavin Rossdale opined in 1999 that, despite a musical dissimilarity, the song was "[his] version" of the Beatles' song "Help!".[5]

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Swallowed", directed by Jamie Morgan, was filmed in October 1996 and released later that month, is set in a retro apartment with myriad alternative youths.[6] A neon crucifix (which would later become the album cover for Deconstructed) is frequently interspersed amongst the antics of houseguests. The video was shot at Twickenham Studios England and in Florida.[7]

The video was nominated for several MTV Video Music Awards.

American rock band Third Eye Blind opted to work with Jamie Morgan for their "Semi-Charmed Life" music video after seeing his work on "Swallowed".[8]

Track listing

Charts

Year-end charts

Chart (1996)Position
Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)[10] 40
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[11] 94
US Modern Rock (Billboard)[12] 86
Chart (1997)Position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[13] 52
Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)[14] 42

Notes and References

  1. Bush – Chart history – Billboard. Billboard. 6 May 2014.
  2. Reviews: Singles. Music Week. 8 February 1997. 8. 8 May 2022.
  3. Sinclair, David (22 February 1997). "The week's top pop releases; Records". The Times.
  4. Book: Hoard . Christian David . Brackett . Nathan . The New Rolling Stone Album Guide . 2004 . Simon and Schuster . 9780743201698 . 122 . Revised . registration . 27 February 2019.
  5. Book: Nine . Jennifer . Bush: Twenty-seventh Letter : the Official History . 1999 . Virgin . 9780753501894 . 26 July 2020.
  6. Web site: Site Maintenance. www.mvdbase.com.
  7. Web site: Music Video History at OneSecondBush.com - A Comprehensive Fan Site for the Band Bush . 2012-03-04 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120220231659/http://onesecondbush.com/bush/media/videos . 20 February 2012 .
  8. Web site: 'There Was No Overnight Success': An Oral History of Third Eye Blind's Self-Titled Debut. Billboard. April 6, 2017. May 30, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220428103915/https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/third-eye-blind-self-titled-debut-album-oral-history-7751391/. April 28, 2022. live.
  9. Eurochart Hot 100 Singles. Music & Media. 14. 7. 16. March 15, 1997. September 2, 2020.
  10. RPM Year End Alternative Top 50. RPM. Library and Archives Canada. 24 August 2021.
  11. Airplay Monitor Best of '96: Mainstream Rock Tracks. Airplay Monitor. 4. 53. 23. December 27, 1996. December 25, 2023.
  12. Airplay Monitor Best of '96: Modern Rock Tracks. Airplay Monitor. 4. 53. 24. December 27, 1996. December 25, 2023.
  13. RPM '97 Year End Top 100 Hit Tracks. RPM. Library and Archives Canada. 24 August 2021.
  14. RPM '97 Year End Top 50 Alternative Tracks. RPM. Library and Archives Canada. 24 August 2021.