"Excuse Me Mr." is the fourth single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 by rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 band No Doubt

No Doubt

No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California that formed in 1986. The ska-pop sound of their first album No Doubt , failed to make an impact...

 from the album Tragic Kingdom

Tragic Kingdom

Tragic Kingdom is the third studio album by the American third wave ska band No Doubt. It was released on October 10, 1995, on Trauma Records, a division of Interscope Records. The album was produced by Matthew Wilder, mixed by Paul Palmer, and recorded in 11 studios in the Greater Los Angeles Area...

. It is also featured on No Doubt's album The Singles 1992-2003

The Singles 1992-2003

The only single from The Singles 1992–2003 was a cover of the song "It's My Life", originally released in 1984 by the synthpop band Talk Talk. Because the band were taking a break while lead singer Gwen Stefani recorded her solo debut album Love. Angel. Music. Baby., they decided to do a cover...

.

The song was originally composed on the acoustic guitar

Acoustic guitar

An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...

, and two versions were recorded: one with country

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 and folk

Folk music

Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....

 influence, one with punk rock

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 influence. Producer Matthew Wilder

Matthew Wilder

Matthew Wilder is an American musician, composer and record producer, best known for his 1983 Top 5 hit, "Break My Stride"....

 preferred the former, and the other, which the band preferred, was lost in a studio accident. The studio pressed No Doubt to use the folk version on Tragic Kingdom, but the band refused to record "Spiderwebs

Spiderwebs

"Spiderwebs" is a ska punk song written by Gwen Stefani and Tony Kanal for No Doubt's third studio album Tragic Kingdom . It was released as the album's second single in 1995 . When "Spiderwebs" reached the radio airwaves in the U.S, it began a revival of the ska genre. The song is a combination of...

", another single from the album, unless it could re-record the punk version of "Excuse Me Mr." In 1997, the single reached number seventeen on the Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

Modern Rock Tracks

Modern Rock Tracks

Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs...

. The song is a downloadable track for the music video game

Music video game

A music video game, also commonly known as a music game, is a video game where the gameplay is meaningfully and often almost entirely oriented around the player's interactions with a musical score or individual songs...

s Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is a music video game, the third main installment in the Guitar Hero series, and the fourth title overall...

and the Rock Band

Rock Band

Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...

 platform, along with most of The Singles 1992–2003.

Music video

The music video was directed by Sophie Muller

Sophie Muller

Sophie Muller is a British music video director, noted for her long-time collaborations with artists like Sophie Ellis-Bextor, No Doubt, Sade, Shakira, Shakespears Sister, Garbage, Blur, Annie Lennox and Eurythmics.-Background:...

. It features Gwen Stefani

Gwen Stefani

Gwen Renée Stefani is an American singer-songwriter and fashion designer. Stefani is the lead vocalist for the rock and ska band No Doubt. Stefani recorded her first solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. in 2004. The album was inspired by music of the 1980s, and was a success with sales of over...

 trying to stay in front of the camera as it moves from person to person. A 40-second portion in the middle of the video resembles silent film

Silent film

A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...

s, with Gwen Stefani tying herself to rail tracks in front of an oncoming train (a la Pearl White

Pearl White

Pearl Fay White was an American film actress, the so-called "Stunt Queen" of silent films, most notably in The Perils of Pauline.-Early life:...

) and with Tom Dumont

Tom Dumont

Tom Dumont is an American guitarist and producer. Dumont is a member of third wave ska band No Doubt, and during the band's hiatus, he began Invincible Overlord as a side project and produced Matt Costa's Songs We Sing.-Life and career:The Dumont family lived in Irvine, California...

, Tony Kanal

Tony Kanal

Tony Kanal is an English musician, record producer and songwriter. Kanal is the bassist for the American rock band No Doubt...

, and Adrian Young

Adrian Young

Adrian Samuel Young is the drummer for the rock band No Doubt.-Biography:Young's parents were hippies. He has four brothers: Alex, Damian, Jeff and Aaron. His father is a teacher in Cypress CA and his stepmother, Jeanne, is currently suffering from ALS...

 dressed as hobo

Hobo

A hobo is a term which is often applied to a migratory worker or homeless vagabond, often penniless. The term originated in the Western—probably Northwestern—United States during the last decade of the 19th century. Unlike 'tramps', who work only when they are forced to, and 'bums', who do not...

s.

Chart positions

Chart (1997)	Peak position
Canadian RPM RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... Alternative 30	12
U.S Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Modern Rock Tracks	17