Hammerhead (song)
Encyclopedia
"Hammerhead" is a punk rock
song by The Offspring
. The song is featured as the fourth track on the band's eighth studio album Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace (2008) and was released as the first single from the album. The song was first played at the Summer Sonic Festival
in 2007.
The song was originally set to go to radio on May 6. However, the world premiere of the song took place on May 2 at 6 PM PST on KROQ
Los Angeles
(their hometown station). On May 5, 2008, The Offspring's official website released a free download of the song mp3
format, in much the same style as "Original Prankster
" (from 2000's Conspiracy of One
). To download it, users were required to provide an email address to receive a link to a high-quality mp3 of the track, which comes free of digital rights management
.
, the lyrics are from the perspective of a gunman in a school shooting. This is supported by the closing lyrics "and you can all hide behind your desks now/and you can cry teacher come help me". Lead guitarist Kevin 'Noodles' Wasserman elaborated on this, stating that the lyrics describe a gunman who believes that everything he does is for the greater good - "take a life that others may live". He is affected by a huge force (Hammerhead - "it hammers in my head") in his mind that makes him deluded.
The official music video follows suit, alternating between the perspectives of the deluded shooter (who believes that he is a soldier) and that of the real world, often blending the two together. For instance, two children are shown tossing a "bomb" between one another, presumably simply a ball, while birds take the image of stealth bombers, and the shooter is consistently accompanied by the warped image of a military commander, presumably a personification of his military delusion.
There is also a Biblical reference to Psalm 23:4 through the lyrics "though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me."
10,000. The contest was only available to U.S. residents.
's website on June 9, 2008 11pm UTC.
hasn't sounded quite this sincere since the very best Americana had to offer'. Richard Cromelin of the Los Angeles Times
also claimed that "Hammerhead" had the strongest lyrics of the album, and The Dreaded Press praised the song's 'hard-hitting drums' and Dexter's 'urgent howling' giving a 'surprisingly fresh' result. However, Chris Fallon of AbsolutePunk.net
claimed that it was too long and Roffman later commented that 'uninspired riffs' resulted in a lack of enthusiasm from the song.
, making it the first song to debut on the top five of the Modern Rock Tracks since "What I've Done
" by Linkin Park
, and the band's highest debuting Modern Rock
single. It went on to peak at number two for six weeks on that chart. It also debuted at number eighteen on the Mainstream Rock Tracks
, peaking at number eight on that chart.
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...
song by The Offspring
The Offspring
The Offspring is an American punk rock band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1984. Known as Manic Subsidal until 1986, the band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Dexter Holland, lead guitarist Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman, bassist Greg K. and drummer Pete Parada...
. The song is featured as the fourth track on the band's eighth studio album Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace (2008) and was released as the first single from the album. The song was first played at the Summer Sonic Festival
Summer Sonic Festival
The Summer Sonic Festival is an annual two or three-days rock festival held at the same time in Osaka and Chiba. The majority of the bands playing in Osaka the first day go to Chiba the following day and vice versa....
in 2007.
The song was originally set to go to radio on May 6. However, the world premiere of the song took place on May 2 at 6 PM PST on KROQ
KROQ-FM
KROQ-FM — branded 106.7 KROQ — is a commercial modern rock radio station licensed to Pasadena, California serving the Greater Los Angeles. The call sign is pronounced "kay rock." It is the flagship station of Loveline hosted by Dr...
Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
(their hometown station). On May 5, 2008, The Offspring's official website released a free download of the song mp3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
format, in much the same style as "Original Prankster
Original Prankster
-Version 2:-Music video:The song follows the prankster , through his life, pulling various pranks on his superiors, being motivated by Redman. As a child, he slips his dog's feces into his father's sandwich. In his teen years, he uses a bunsen burner on a perverted science teacher...
" (from 2000's Conspiracy of One
Conspiracy of One
-Bonus tracks:-Album length:-Notes:* First pressings in Australia and UK had the track "Huck It" listed as track 14, later reprints have it unlisted as well as the original Mature audiences rating reduced to a PG rating in Australia....
). To download it, users were required to provide an email address to receive a link to a high-quality mp3 of the track, which comes free of digital rights management
Digital rights management
Digital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...
.
Song meaning
According to singer/guitarist Dexter HollandDexter Holland
Bryan Keith "Dexter" Holland is the singer and rhythm guitarist for the California punk rock band The Offspring...
, the lyrics are from the perspective of a gunman in a school shooting. This is supported by the closing lyrics "and you can all hide behind your desks now/and you can cry teacher come help me". Lead guitarist Kevin 'Noodles' Wasserman elaborated on this, stating that the lyrics describe a gunman who believes that everything he does is for the greater good - "take a life that others may live". He is affected by a huge force (Hammerhead - "it hammers in my head") in his mind that makes him deluded.
The official music video follows suit, alternating between the perspectives of the deluded shooter (who believes that he is a soldier) and that of the real world, often blending the two together. For instance, two children are shown tossing a "bomb" between one another, presumably simply a ball, while birds take the image of stealth bombers, and the shooter is consistently accompanied by the warped image of a military commander, presumably a personification of his military delusion.
There is also a Biblical reference to Psalm 23:4 through the lyrics "though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me."
Video contest
The band created a competition for fans of the band to create their own video for the song with their own original material. A YouTube group had been set up for this purpose. The band picked their favorite video and the winner received $United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
10,000. The contest was only available to U.S. residents.
Video
The music video was directed by Teqtonik and debuted on IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's website on June 9, 2008 11pm UTC.
Reception
Reaction to the song has been generally positive. Describing it as a 'good harbinger' to base the album off of, Michael Roffman of Consequence of Sound also said that the song 'works lyrically', and that 'HollandDexter Holland
Bryan Keith "Dexter" Holland is the singer and rhythm guitarist for the California punk rock band The Offspring...
hasn't sounded quite this sincere since the very best Americana had to offer'. Richard Cromelin of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
also claimed that "Hammerhead" had the strongest lyrics of the album, and The Dreaded Press praised the song's 'hard-hitting drums' and Dexter's 'urgent howling' giving a 'surprisingly fresh' result. However, Chris Fallon of AbsolutePunk.net
AbsolutePunk.net
AbsolutePunk is a website, online community, and alternative music news source founded by Jason Tate . The website mainly focuses on artists who are relatively unknown to mainstream audiences, but it has been known to feature artists who have eventually achieved crossover success, including Fall...
claimed that it was too long and Roffman later commented that 'uninspired riffs' resulted in a lack of enthusiasm from the song.
Chart performance
The song debuted at number five (based on airplay alone) on the Billboard Modern Rock TracksModern 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...
, making it the first song to debut on the top five of the Modern Rock Tracks since "What I've Done
What I've Done
"What I've Done" is a song by American rock band Linkin Park. It was released as the first single from their third album, Minutes to Midnight. The song is composed in the key of G minor and is set in 4/4 time. The song was released as a radio single on April 1, 2007, as a digital download on April...
" by Linkin Park
Linkin Park
Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005 and multi-platinum in several other countries...
, and the band's highest debuting Modern Rock
Modern rock
Modern rock is a rock format commonly found on commercial radio; the format consists primarily of the alternative rock genre...
single. It went on to peak at number two for six weeks on that chart. It also debuted at number eighteen on the Mainstream Rock Tracks
Mainstream Rock Tracks
Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue...
, peaking at number eight on that chart.
| Chart (2008) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian ARIA Charts ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
91 |
| Canadian Hot 100 Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
53 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks | 8 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles The Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It lists the top 25 singles below number 100 that have not yet charted on the Billboard Hot 100. Sometimes, however, singles halt their progress on this chart, and never appear on the Hot 100... |
5 |
In popular culture
- The censored version of "Hammerhead" is featured in the soundtrack for the American footballAmerican footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
videogame Madden NFL 09Madden NFL 09Madden NFL 09 is an American football video game based on the NFL that was published by EA Sports and developed by EA Tiburon. It is the 20th annual installment in the Madden NFL video game franchise. This game is known for its realistic graphics and big hits...
. - "Hammerhead" is featured as downloadable content for the Rock Band video game. It was released on June 17, 2008. It was the first Offspring song to be released for the game.