"Graduate" is a song by American rock band

Third Eye Blind Third Eye Blind is an American rock band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1993. After years of lineup changes in the early and mid-1990s, the songwriting duo of Stephan Jenkins and Kevin Cadogan signed the band's first major-label reco ...

from their eponymous debut studio album (1997). It was released to radio as the second single from the album in July 1997 by

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. Frontman

Stephan Jenkins Stephan Douglas Jenkins ( ; born September 27, 1964) is an American singer, guitarist, and the frontman of the alternative rock band Third Eye Blind. He began his musical career in 1992 as part of the short-lived rap duo Puck and Natty, alongsi ...

and guitarist Kevin Cadogan are credited as co-writers on the song. Production on the song was helmed by Jenkins and Eric Valentine. According to Jenkins, the song is about the band's experience after being signed to a major record label. The song reached number 26 on the

Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched i ...

chart in the U.S, and number 14 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart. Additionally, it was featured in the 1998 film '' Can't Hardly Wait'' starring Seth Green and

Jennifer Love Hewitt Jennifer Love Hewitt (born February 21, 1979) is an American actress and singer. Hewitt began her career as a child actress and singer, appearing in national television commercials before joining the cast of the Disney Channel series '' Kids ...

. The band played the song at the 25th Annual American Music Awards, changing some of the lyrics to "can I masturbate" in place of "can I graduate." In 2011 former Third Eye Blind members Cadogan and Arion Salazar performed the song and made an unofficial video.

Writing and inspiration

"Graduate" was written by frontman

and guitarist Kevin Cadogan. According to Cadogan, the song originated from a bandmate jokingly saying the phrase "It's ready to roll!!", with Jenkins then crafting the lyrics "can I graduate?" in the same style. In an interview with ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', Jenkins said that the concept of the song was developed through the band's experience as they tried to get signed by a major record label. He further explained the meaning of the song:

"Graduate" is about after we got signed, and it’s the process of getting signed. I’m still standing in front of some suit at a record company asking permission. I felt like some kind of lap-dancer, some student again, like I was still in high school. Can I get my grade on my paper? What it's really saying is "I’m not really asking if i can graduate. I'm not asking for your permission. I'm beyond your permission. I'm beyond your control.

Composition

According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by

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, the song is written in the key of

D major D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor. The D major scale is: : ...

and is set in

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of common time with a

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of 141

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

. Jenkins’s vocal range spans one octave, from A₄ to B₅.

Chart performance

In the United States, "Graduate" peaked at number 26 on ''Billboard's''

Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...

chart.

Live performances

The song was performed at the 25th Annual American Music Awards, with the band substituting the lyric "can I graduate" with "can I masturbate". Third Eye Blind performed the song alongside Billy Idol at the 1998 KROQ Weenie Roast. In January 2020, the band performed the song as a duet with Yungblud at the

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. Jenkins has acknowledged that "Graduate" is a staple on their performance set lists, further commenting: "I'm not sick of

laying Laying is the act of making equipment level. It usually involves moving equipment in small motions so that spirit levels are centralised in all planes. Movement is usually done by small worm gears or other fine setting devices for accurate sma ...

it because the audience, they ignite off of it."

In popular culture

The song was featured in the film and on the soundtrack to the 1998 American teen

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typic ...

film '' Can't Hardly Wait''.

Track listings and formats

*European CD single #"Graduate" – 3:08 #"Graduate" (remix) – 3:25 #"Horror Show" – 4:00 *Australian CD single #"Graduate" – 3:12 #"Semi-Charmed Life" (clean version) – 3:43 #"Semi-Charmed Life" – 4:30 #"Graduate" (remix) – 3:27 *Japanese CD single #"Graduate" – 3:08 #"Semi-Charmed Life" (clean version) – 3:42 #"Semi-Charmed Life" – 4:27 *7–inch vinyl #"Graduate" – 3:08 #"Horror Show" – 4:00

Credits and personnel

Credits and personnel are adapted from the ''Third Eye Blind'' album liner notes. *

– writer, vocals, percussion, producer * Kevin Cadogan – writer, guitar, vocals *Arion Salazar – bass, vocals *Brad Hargreaves – drums * Eric Valentine – engineering, producer, mixing *

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' '' Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' '' Come Away with Me''. Biograp ...

– mastering

Charts

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graduate (Song) 1997 singles Song recordings produced by Eric Valentine Songs written by Stephan Jenkins Songs written by Kevin Cadogan Third Eye Blind songs