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Absolutely (Story of a Girl)
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Wikipedia article
"'Absolutely (Story of a Girl)'" is a song by American rock band Nine Days for the group's fourth studio album, 'The Madding Crowd' (2000). The song was released as the lead single from 'The Madding Crowd' in April 2000 through 550 Music and Epic Records. The song is an upbeat power pop anthem written by guitarist/vocalist John Hampson for his wife, who was his girlfriend at the time it was composed. Brian Desveaux, the group's other guitarist, also receives songwriting credit. The song represented a breakthrough for the band after years of attempting to interest major record labels. It was recorded in Atlanta, Georgia, at Tree Sound Studios with producer Nick DiDia.
The song became the band's only hit single; it reached number six on the 'Billboard' Hot 100 chart in the United States, and it peaked within the top 10 in Canada and New Zealand. The song's music video was directed by Liz Friedlander and received airplay on MTV and VH1. The band's follow-up single, "If I Am", fared worse than its predecessor, and Nine Days became a one-hit wonder. The song was later featured, both in audio and in dialogue, in the movie 'Everything Everywhere All at Once'. Multiple alternate versions of the song were written by Hampson for the movie.
Background
Nine Days was formed in Long Island, New York, in 1994 by vocalist/guitarists John Hampson and Brian Desveaux. For much of the decade, the band built a following by self-releasing their first three albums'Something to Listen To' (1995), 'Monday Songs' (1996), and 'Three' (1998)while performing frequently. The band struggled to get signed by a major label; talent scouts were reluctant as they did not hear a "hit" in their sound. "It can get very discouraging when you're giving everything you've got and you're not quite getting there. But we always felt we were inching our way along so we just kept at it," said Hampson in a 2000 interview. They put together an album to shop around to labels composed of their best songs, to little interest. Frustrated, they continued to write songs until Hampson penned "Absolutely". They recorded a three-song demo and were signed to 550 Music (then known as Sony 550 Music) in February 1999.
"Absolutely" ended up being the band's only hit single, marking their status as a one-hit wonder. "If it all ends next week, at least I'll be able to get my truck fixed up or get a new one. But if nothing, at least we accomplished this," Hampson said at the time of the song's success.
Writing and composition
The song was written in August 1998 by the band's vocalist/guitarist, John Hampson, in an attempt to write in an edgier style. Though he "exaggerated things and used tons of figurative language to express something," Hampson confirmed in a 2003 interview with music magazine 'Impose' that it was written for his wife, Teresa Savino, who was his girlfriend at the time it was composed. Its genesis stemmed from an argument the two had prior to a concert the band was playing on Long Island. After their fight, he "saw her talking to someone across the room, and she started laughing. I realized that as much as she aggravates me, I absolutely love her when she smiles." It was also inspired by Hampson's uncertainty about getting married: "I just wasn't ready. I was basically stalling her and making her cry. I was good at that."Interview with John Hampson, 'Impose', 2003
Hampson picked up a guitar and worked out the song's chorus and chords in 15 minutes. He later completed the bulk of the song in one night, which was unusual for him. "I don't know where it came from, but everything was about a true feeling." The song first appeared as a demo on 'Bootleg '98', a promotional CD by radio station WLIR, who were early supporters of the band. After the band's record deal, it was re-recorded for its appearance on 'The Madding Crowd' by producer Nick DiDia at Tree Sound Studios in Atlanta, Georgia.
The song's music video was shot by director Liz Friedlander in Los Angeles, California. It was the band's first music video, and received airplay on MTV and VH1.
Critical reception
William Ruhlmann of AllMusic deemed "Absolutely (Story of a Girl)" "catchy" and reminiscent of Barenaked Ladies. 'People' praised the song's "chunky hooks and irresistible, sing-along, stop-and-start chorus". Bridget Fitzgerald of 'HuffPost' found the song "effortlessly catchy" and "adorable". Sputnikmusic's Lincoln Green called "Absolutely (Story of a Girl)" "pretty sappy and uninteresting, but at the same time, its catchy and theres a little charm behind all of the cheese. Its a harmless power pop anthem that at worst is clichd and fun to jam out to at best." Green also said that the song encapsulated the music of the early 2000s.
Commercial performance
"Absolutely (Story of a Girl)" was the band's biggest single, and it charted worldwide on multiple music charts. In the United States, it debuted at number 25 on 'Billboard' Modern Rock Tracks chart in the issue dated April 15, 2000; in the following weeks, the song rose to peak at number 10 on that chart on May 27, 2000. It reached number six on the magazine's all-genre Hot 100 chart on July 22, 2000. It was a number one hit on the Mainstream Top 40 chart on August 12, which ranked the most popular songs being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations. On August 26, it reached its peak on the Adult Top 40 Tracks chart at number two, which measured more adult-oriented alternative rock and mainstream pop. It was the 35th best-performing single in the U.S. in 2000, according to 'Billboard'. The single peaked the highest in Canada, reaching number three on the all-genre Top Singles chart; it also hit number 14 on the Rock/Alternative rankings.
Internationally, it was also the group's biggest hit. It fared best in New Zealand, where it reached number seven; it ranked as the 39th best-selling single of 2000 in that country. In neighboring Australia, the song was also a hit, reaching number 31. It performed near the bottom of singles charts in other territories. In Scotland, it reached number 67; in the Netherlands, number 75. In the United Kingdom, the single only made an appearance for one week at number 83 on the UK Singles Chart dated October 10, 2000. The song was featured on the album 'Lizzie McGuire: Total Party!' from the hit Disney Channel show 'Lizzie McGuire'. In 2015, 'Billboard' ranked it the tenth most popular song of the summer from 2000. By June 2004, the song had accumulated over 400,000 spins on radio in the U.S., and it received a BDS Certified Spin Award.
The song was covered by the band Four Year Strong for their cover album 'Explains It All' (2009).
Formats and track listing
'U.S. 7-inch (2000)'
# "Absolutely (Story of a Girl)" (Remix Clean) 3:16
# "If I Am" (Radio Edit) - 3:59
'UK maxi single (2000)'
# "Absolutely (Story of a Girl)" 3:16
# "Absolutely (Story of a Girl)" (Acoustic) - 3:14
# "Resolve" (Live) - 4:10
'Europe CD single (2000)'
# "Absolutely (Story of a Girl)" (Remix) 3:09
# "Absolutely (Story of a Girl)" (Acoustic) - 3:14
'Australia maxi single (2000)'
# "Absolutely (Story of a Girl)" 3:16
# "Resolve" (Live) - 4:10
# "Bitter" (Live) - 5:36
# "Absolutely (Story of a Girl)" (Acoustic) - 3:14
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes for 'The Madding Crowd'.
'Locations'
* Recorded at Tree Sound Studios in Atlanta, Georgia
* Mixed at Image Recording in Los Angeles, California
* Mastering at A&M Mastering Studios in Hollywood, California
'Personnel'
* John Hampson vocals, guitars
* Brian Desveaux vocals, guitars
* Nick Dimichino bass guitar
* Vincent Tattanelli drums, percussion
* Jeremy Dean Hammond organ, piano, keyboards
* Nick DiDia production, recording
* Chris Lord-Alge mixing
* Karl Egsieker second engineer
* Shawn Grove recording assistant
* Robert Hannon recording assistant
* Mark Rains recording assistant
* Matt Silva second mixing engineer
* Stephen Marcusson mastering engineer
* Andrew Garver digital editing
Charts
Weekly charts
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"|+Weekly chart performance for "Absolutely (Story of a Girl)"
!scope="col"| Chart (2000)
!scope="col"| Peak
position
|-
!scope="row"
|-
!scope="row"
|-
!scope="row"
|-
!scope="row"
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!scope="row"|Iceland (slenski Listinn Topp 40)
| style="text-align:center;"|20
|-
!scope="row"
|-
!scope="row"
|-
!scope="row"
|-
!scope="row"
|-
!scope="row"
|-
!scope="row"
|-
!scope="row" | US Adult Top 40 Tracks ('Billboard')
| style="text-align:center;"|2
|-
!scope="row" | US Mainstream Top 40 ('Billboard')
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
!scope="row" | US Modern Rock Tracks ('Billboard')
| style="text-align:center;"|10
|}
Year-end charts
References
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