"Malibu" is the eleventh single by American alternative rock

Alternative rock

Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

 band Hole

Hole (band)

Hole is an American alternative rock band that originally formed in Los Angeles in 1989. The band is fronted by vocalist/songwriter and rhythm guitarist Courtney Love, who co-founded Hole with former songwriter/lead guitarist Eric Erlandson...

, and the second from their third studio album

Studio album

A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...

 Celebrity Skin

Celebrity Skin

Celebrity Skin is the third studio album by American alternative rock band Hole, released worldwide by Geffen Records on September 7, 1998 and one day later in the United States...

, released in November 1998. The song was written by vocalist and rhythm guitarist Courtney Love

Courtney Love

Courtney Michelle Love is an American rock musician. Love is the lead vocalist, lyricist, and rhythm guitarist for alternative rock band Hole, which she formed in 1989, and is an actress who has moved from bit parts in Alex Cox films to significant and acclaimed roles in The People vs...

, guitarist Eric Erlandson

Eric Erlandson

Eric Erlandson is an American musician known as the co-founder, former songwriter and lead guitarist of alternative rock band Hole.-Early life and career:...

, and The Smashing Pumpkins

The Smashing Pumpkins

The Smashing Pumpkins are an American alternative rock band that formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988. Formed by Billy Corgan frontman and James Iha , the band has included Jimmy Chamberlin , D'arcy Wretzky , and currently includes Jeff Schroeder Mike Byrne , and Nicole Fiorentino The Smashing...

' Billy Corgan

Billy Corgan

William Patrick "Billy" Corgan, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional poet best known as the frontman and sole permanent member of The Smashing Pumpkins. Formed by Corgan and guitarist James Iha in Chicago, Illinois in 1987, the band quickly gained steam with the...

, who contributed to several songs on the album.

"Malibu" was one of the band's most commercially and critically successful songs, peaking at number three on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart, and garnering a Grammy

Grammy Award

A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

 nomination in 1999.

Background and history

Love wrote the lyrics to the song about her late husband Kurt Cobain

Kurt Cobain

Kurt Donald Cobain was an American singer-songwriter, musician and artist, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana...

's stay at a rehabilitation clinic in Malibu, California while receiving treatment for his heroin addiction prior to his suicide in 1994. The single also includes "Drag," an outtake from Celebrity Skin which was replaced by "Malibu." The song was nominated for a Grammy Award

Grammy Award

A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

 in the Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal field, losing to "Put Your Lights On

Put Your Lights On

"Put Your Lights On" is a single performed by Santana and Everlast for Santana's album, Supernatural. It barely charted on the US pop chart, reaching #18 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, but did considerably better on rock radio, peaking at #8 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart."Put...

" by Santana

Santana (band)

Santana is a rock band based around guitarist Carlos Santana and founded in the late 1960s. It first came to public attention after their performing the song "Soul Sacrifice" at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, when their Latin rock provided a contrast to other acts on the bill...

. The single was certified Gold in Australia in 1999, with sales in excess of 40,000.

Track listing

Australian and American release GED 22369

1. Malibu (Courtney Love, Eric Erlandson, Billy Corgan) - 3:53
2. Drag (C. Love, E. Erlandson, Melissa Auf der Maur
   Melissa Auf der Maur
   Melissa Auf der Maur is a Canadian rock musician from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Her career has included 5 years as bassist with the band Hole and she later toured with The Smashing Pumpkins for their 2000 tour. Her second solo album, Out of Our Minds, was released on March 30, 2010. She is also a...
   
   , Jordon Zadorozny
   Jordon Zadorozny
   -External links:...
   
   ) - 4:32
3. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue (Bob Dylan
   Bob Dylan
   Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
   
   ) - 3:19

• The Australian release also includes two CD-ROM videos of both promotional videos of "Malibu" and "Celebrity Skin
  Celebrity Skin (song)
  "Celebrity Skin" is the tenth single by the American alternative rock band Hole, released on September 1, 1998 by Geffen Records. It is the debut single from their third studio album Celebrity Skin and is Hole's most commercially successful single, being the only one to reach #1 on the Modern Rock...
  
  ".

UK release GFSXD 22369

1. Malibu (C. Love, E. Erlandson, B. Corgan) - 3:53
2. Celebrity Skin (live) (C. Love, E. Erlandson, B. Corgan) - 2:59
3. Reasons To Be Beautiful (Live) (C. Love, E. Erlandson, M. Auf der Maur, J. Zadorozny, Charlotte Caffey) - 5:36

• Tracks 2 & 3 of the UK release were recorded in London
  London
  London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
  
   at the BBC Television Centre
  BBC Television Centre
  BBC Television Centre at White City in West London is the headquarters of BBC Television. Officially opened on 29 June 1960, it remains one of the largest to this day; having featured over the years as backdrop to many BBC programmes, it is one of the most readily recognisable such facilities...
  
   on October 13, 1998, for the BBC Two
  BBC Two
  BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
  
   program Later... with Jools Holland.

US promotional CD PRO-CD-1241

1. Malibu (C. Love, E. Erlandson, B. Corgan) - 3:53

Music video

Directed by Paul Hunter, the music video for "Malibu" was shot in the eponymous city on a beach. The video features burning palm trees and the band performing the song. Eric Erlandson is also seeing waxing a surfboard, who joked "it's Marilyn Manson

Marilyn Manson

Marilyn Manson may refer to:* Marilyn Manson , an American rock musician* Marilyn Manson , the American rock band led by the singer of the same name...

, I wasn't there." It also alludes to Baywatch

Baywatch

Baywatch is an American action drama series about the Los Angeles County Lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, starring David Hasselhoff. The show ran in its original title and format from 1989 to 1999, sans the 1990-1991 season, of which it was not in production...

and features lifeguards holding plastic dolls while Courtney Love walks in to the ocean.

Chart positions

Chart (1998/99)	Peak position
US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...	81
US 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...	16
US 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...	3
US Adult Top 40	37
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	22
Australia	11
NZ RIANZ Top 40	38