"Abuse Me" is a song by the Australian

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Silverchair Silverchair were an Australian rock band, which formed in 1992 as Innocent Criminals in Newcastle, New South Wales, with Ben Gillies on drums, Daniel Johns on vocals and guitars, and Chris Joannou on bass guitar. The group got their big bre ...

. It was released as the second single from their 1997 album, ''

Freak Show A freak show, also known as a creep show, is an exhibition of biological rarities, referred to in popular culture as "freaks of nature". Typical features would be physically unusual humans, such as those uncommonly large or small, those with ...

''. In the United States, Sony chose "Abuse Me" as the first single from ''Freak Show'' despite protests by the band's manager. "

Freak A freak is a person who is physically deformed or transformed due to an extraordinary medical condition or body modification. This definition was first attested with this meaning in the 1880s as a shorter form of the phrase " freak of nature ...

" was the Australian lead single and the preferred lead single from the album. It was also released on their '' The Best of Volume 1''. The single peaked at number four on both the '' Billboard'' Modern Rock Tracks and Mainstream Rock Tracks charts, making it their second biggest hit in the United States (after " Tomorrow"). The single contained the B-side "Undecided", (not to be confused with "Undecided" from ''

Frogstomp ''Frogstomp'' is the debut studio album by Australian alternative rock band Silverchair. It was released on 27 March 1995, when the band members were only 15 years of age, by record label Murmur. The album features the band's commercially most ...

'') a Masters Apprentices cover, which featured Deniz Tek of

Radio Birdman Radio Birdman is an Australian punk rock band formed by Deniz Tek and Rob Younger in Sydney in 1974. The group influenced the work of many successful, mainstream bands, and are now considered instrumental in Australia's musical growth. Hist ...

playing lead guitar. Also included on the single was a remix of "Freak", produced by

Paul Mac Paul Francis McDermott (born 17 September 1965), who performs as Paul Mac, is an Australian electropop musician, singer-songwriter, producer and music re-mixer. He was classically trained at Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Mac has formed variou ...

, marking the first time that

Daniel Johns Daniel Paul Johns (born 22 April 1979) is an Australian musician, singer, and songwriter best known as the former frontman, guitarist, and main songwriter of the rock band Silverchair. Johns is also one half of The Dissociatives with Paul Mac ...

and Paul Mac worked together.

Background

Johns said about the song: "With 'Abuse Me', I just wanted to get all the feelings off my chest, the feelings I'd had when I read all the negative commentary. The song is basically saying, 'Say what you like. We don't give a fuck what you think. We're just playing our music'." Johns also said that "every song I've ever heard sounds like another song I've heard".

Track listing

Australian CD single (MATTCD049)/limited 7-inch (MATTV049) # "Abuse Me" # "Undecided" # " Freak (Remix for Us Rejects)" * The song "Undecided" is not the Silverchair original song included in the ''Frogstomp'' album. This song was originally by

The Masters Apprentices The Masters Apprentices (or The Masters to fans) were an Australian rock band fronted by Jim Keays on lead vocals, which originally formed as The Mustangs in 1964 in Adelaide, South Australia, relocated to Melbourne, Victoria in February 1967 ...

. ** The limited 7-inch edition is now deleted and rare. UK CD1 (6643681) # "Abuse Me" # "Freak (Remix for Us Rejects)" UK CD2 (6647905) # "Abuse Me" # "

Surfin' Bird "Surfin' Bird" is a song performed by American surf rock band The Trashmen, containing the repetitive lyric "the bird is the word". It has been covered many times. It is a combination of two R&B hits by The Rivingtons: " Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" and "Th ...

" # "Slab" (Nicklaunoise Mix) * Contains fold-out poster. European CD single (6647902) # "Abuse Me" # "Freak (Remix for Us Rejects)" # "Blind" US promo CD (ESK9310) # "Abuse Me" *This promo version has the same cover of the "Freak" single.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{authority control 1997 singles 1997 songs Silverchair songs Song recordings produced by Nick Launay Songs written by Daniel Johns Murmur (record label) singles