Wish You Were Here (Incubus song)
Encyclopedia
"Wish You Were Here" is a song by American alternative rock
band Incubus
and the lead single
from their fourth studio album
album, Morning View
. Released in late summer 2001
, it peaked at #2 on the Modern Rock and #4 on the Mainstream Rock Charts that year. "Wish You Were Here" would become one of the band's most well known songs and be included on the 2009 greatest hits
compilation
Monuments and Melodies
.
's Area:One
summer festival in 2001. It was announced as Morning Views lead single in June that year. Guitarist Mike Einziger
noted that "Wish You Were Here" was one of the last songs written for Morning View and that "the content is about being happy living for the moment and not looking forward to the future as some event." Vocalist Brandon Boyd
also elaborated on its meaning:
"Wish You Were Here" captures the serenity and comradery of the band's summer experience with blissful melody and shimmering instrumentation. Throughout the verses, delayed
guitar notes ring out over a crawling bass
line and turntable
scratching
and sampling
. A firm snare
signals the chorus which invigorates the track with a soaring vocal harmony
and power chord
s grating with overdrive.
for "Wish You Were Here" was scheduled for an August 2001 shooting with director Phil Harder
. Einziger anticipated finishing everything within a single day like previous Incubus videos had been made. Although it could be streamed from the band's website, in light of the recent September 11 attacks
where victims leapt from the Twin Towers
, the original "Wish You Were Here" video would be rejected. Boyd remarked on the video's controversy:
The second version, which found substantial airplay upon its late September premiere, has the band performing in front of a white backdrop, a light breeze blowing toward them. The quickly composed substitute uses various home video
footage of the band members swimming and enjoying other summer activities. By December 2001, it reached #8 on MTV's TRL
.
In May 2002, the original "bridge jump" version as well as behind the scenes footage would be included on the Morning View Sessions
DVD. The video would also air years later on Fuse TV
.
's Modern Rock Single of the Year for "Drive
," Incubus performed "Wish You Were Here" at the award show .
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 Incubus
Incubus (band)
Incubus is an American rock band from Calabasas, California. The band was formed in 1991 by vocalist Brandon Boyd, lead guitarist Mike Einziger, and drummer Jose Pasillas while enrolled in high school and later expanded to include bassist Alex "Dirk Lance" Katunich, and Gavin "DJ Lyfe" Koppell;...
and the lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
from their fourth 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...
album, Morning View
Morning View
Morning View is the fourth studio album by American rock band Incubus, released October 23, 2001 through Epic Records. A companion DVD, Morning View Sessions, was released on May 29, 2002...
. Released in late summer 2001
2001 in music
See also:* 2001 in music Record labels established in 2001-Events:*January 1**Comeback of Guns N' Roses in House of Blues**Hum disbands.*January 17 – Bass player Jason Newsted leaves Metallica after 14 years with the band....
, it peaked at #2 on the Modern Rock and #4 on the Mainstream Rock Charts that year. "Wish You Were Here" would become one of the band's most well known songs and be included on the 2009 greatest hits
Greatest hits
A greatest hits album is a music compilation album of successful, previously released songs by a particular artist or band...
compilation
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
Monuments and Melodies
Monuments and Melodies
Monuments and Melodies is the first greatest hits compilation album by American rock band Incubus released on June 16, 2009 through Epic Records...
.
Background, music, and lyrics
Prior to release, the track was played during MobyMoby
Richard Melville Hall , better known by his stage name Moby, is an American musician, DJ, and photographer. He is known mainly for his sample-based electronic music and his outspoken liberal political views, including his support of veganism and animal rights.Moby gained attention in the early...
's Area:One
Area Festival
The Area Festival was a music festival founded by popular electronic musician Moby, who asserted that he was "in large part, inspired by the ethos of Lollapalooza", and wished to create a similarly "genuinely eclectic, interesting, alternative music festival". Moby organized the first such...
summer festival in 2001. It was announced as Morning Views lead single in June that year. Guitarist Mike Einziger
Mike Einziger
Michael Aaron Einziger is a Grammy-nominated musician known as the co-writer and guitarist of the alternative rock band Incubus. Einziger is widely known as an innovator and enthusiast of the use of pedalboard guitar effects during live concerts, and was voted #41 in Total Guitar's top 100...
noted that "Wish You Were Here" was one of the last songs written for Morning View and that "the content is about being happy living for the moment and not looking forward to the future as some event." Vocalist Brandon Boyd
Brandon Boyd
Brandon Charles Boyd is an American musician, author, and visual artist. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the American rock band Incubus.-Early Life and Incubus:...
also elaborated on its meaning:
"The song wasn't specifically about a person. It was about me acknowledging a very brief moment in my life and in my experience with all of these guys in making this record. In that moment, I wish that I had somebody to go, 'I love you, man.' I was wishing that there was someone there to share that moment with."
"Wish You Were Here" captures the serenity and comradery of the band's summer experience with blissful melody and shimmering instrumentation. Throughout the verses, delayed
Delay (audio effect)
Delay is an audio effect which records an input signal to an audio storage medium, and then plays it back after a period of time. The delayed signal may either be played back multiple times, or played back into the recording again, to create the sound of a repeating, decaying echo.-Early delay...
guitar notes ring out over a crawling bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
line and turntable
Turntablism
Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating music using phonograph turntables and a DJ mixer.The word 'turntablist' was coined in 1995 by DJ Babu to describe the difference between a DJ who just plays records, and one who performs by touching and moving the records, stylus and mixer...
scratching
Scratching
Scratching is a DJ or turntablist technique used to produce distinctive sounds by moving a vinyl record back and forth on a turntable while optionally manipulating the crossfader on a DJ mixer. While scratching is most commonly associated with hip hop music, since the late 1980s, it has been used...
and sampling
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
. A firm snare
Snare drum
The snare drum or side drum is a melodic percussion instrument with strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or gut cords stretched across the drumhead, typically the bottom. Pipe and tabor and some military snare drums often have a second set of snares on the bottom...
signals the chorus which invigorates the track with a soaring vocal harmony
Vocal harmony
Vocal harmony is a style of vocal music in which a consonant note or notes are sung at the same time as a main melody in a predominantly homophonic texture. Vocal harmonies are used in many subgenres of European art music, including Classical choral music and opera and in the popular styles from...
and power chord
Power chord
In music, a power chord is a chord consisting of only the root note of the chord and the fifth interval, usually played on electric guitar, and typically through an amplification process that imparts distortion...
s grating with overdrive.
Music videos
A videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "Wish You Were Here" was scheduled for an August 2001 shooting with director Phil Harder
Phil Harder
Philip Harder is a music video director and commercial director represented by Bob Industries in Santa Monica, California. He had a music video company Harder/Fuller Films, 1985 - 2005...
. Einziger anticipated finishing everything within a single day like previous Incubus videos had been made. Although it could be streamed from the band's website, in light of the recent September 11 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
where victims leapt from the Twin Towers
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
, the original "Wish You Were Here" video would be rejected. Boyd remarked on the video's controversy:
The second version, which found substantial airplay upon its late September premiere, has the band performing in front of a white backdrop, a light breeze blowing toward them. The quickly composed substitute uses various home video
Home video
Home video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or rented/hired for home cinema entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into current optical disc formats like DVD and Blu-ray Disc and, to a lesser extent, into methods of digital...
footage of the band members swimming and enjoying other summer activities. By December 2001, it reached #8 on MTV's TRL
Total Request Live
Total Request Live is a television series on MTV that featured popular music videos. TRL was MTV's prime outlet for music videos as the network continues to concentrate on reality-based programming. In addition to music videos, TRL featured daily guests...
.
In May 2002, the original "bridge jump" version as well as behind the scenes footage would be included on the Morning View Sessions
Morning View Sessions
Released on May 28, 2002, this DVD chronicles the Morning View Sessions concert that the band Incubus gave in New York City. The concert took place on the day their album Morning View was released.-Track listing:# "Program Start"# "Pardon Me"# "Stellar"...
DVD. The video would also air years later on Fuse TV
Fuse TV
Fuse is an American national television network dedicated exclusively to music. It features original series and specials, exclusive interviews, live concerts and video blocks....
.
Live performances
"Wish You Were Here" was performed on The Late Show with David Letterman on November 1, 2001. Upon winning BillboardBillboard (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...
's Modern Rock Single of the Year for "Drive
Drive (Incubus song)
"Drive" is a song by American rock band Incubus. The song is released as a single from their third album Make Yourself. It is considered the band's biggest hit and breakthrough single, eventually reaching the top of Billboard's modern rock charts on March 3, 2001 and #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 on...
," Incubus performed "Wish You Were Here" at the award show .
CD single
- Wish You Were Here
- Mexico (live)
- Drive (live)Drive (Incubus song)"Drive" is a song by American rock band Incubus. The song is released as a single from their third album Make Yourself. It is considered the band's biggest hit and breakthrough single, eventually reaching the top of Billboard's modern rock charts on March 3, 2001 and #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 on...
- Warmth (live)
- Wish You Were Here (live)
Australian CD single
- Wish You Were Here
- Mexico
- Warmth (live)
- Drive (live)Drive (Incubus song)"Drive" is a song by American rock band Incubus. The song is released as a single from their third album Make Yourself. It is considered the band's biggest hit and breakthrough single, eventually reaching the top of Billboard's modern rock charts on March 3, 2001 and #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 on...
UK CD single
- Wish You Were Here (Album Version)
- New Skin
- Drive (Orchestral Studio Version)
- Wish You Were Here (Video)
UK DVD single
- Wish You Were Here (Video) – Live at ‘The Morning View Sessions’
- Wish You Were Here
- A Certain Shade of Green
- 4 x Video Clips from the session
Charts
| Chart (2001) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. 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... |
60 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks | 4 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Top 40 Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks Adult Top 40 is a variation on the United States Billboard charts... |
36 |