"Pardon Me" is a song by American

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

Incubus An incubus is a demon in male form in folklore that seeks to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women; the corresponding spirit in female form is called a succubus. In medieval Europe, union with an incubus was supposed by some to result in t ...

. Released in October 1999 as the lead single from their third album '' Make Yourself'', it was the band's first song to receive considerable radio airplay, reaching number three on the '' Billboard'' Modern Rock Tracks chart and number seven on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and number 2 on Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.

Background and writing

In an interview, lead singer

Brandon Boyd Brandon Charles Boyd (born February 15, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, author and visual artist. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the American rock band Incubus, with whom he has recorded eight studio albums. In a ...

explained the song's origins, "I was in a bookstore, browsing through an old ''Life'' magazine, when I saw a picture of what the article called spontaneous human combustion. There were an old guy's legs and shoes, perfectly intact - then, right around his knee area, was just a pile of charred ashes. I was going through some turmoil in my life, both good and bad, and the image struck a chord, so I wrote a song about it." Boyd had recently returned from a tour to find out that his girlfriend of 7 years had been cheating on him, and that both his grandmother and a close friend of his had died. After seeing a picture in ''Life'' magazine of a man who had spontaneously combusted, he related the man's problems to his own and was inspired to write the lyric "''Pardon me while I burst into flames''" on his hand.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

for "Pardon Me", directed by Steven Murashige, also gained considerable airplay. The video begins with

and his father Charles, at opposite ends of a hallway. As the two approach each other, Charles begins to regress in age and appearance, while Boyd begins to grow more elderly, becoming increasingly alike as they advance toward each other. When they meet, they pass through each other and continue on in opposite directions. Footage of the band members in white outfits (except for Boyd, who is shirtless) in a red-colored box are also shown, as is footage of the band members in red outfits being surrounded by businessmen and businesswomen. The video premiered on The Box the week ending on January 16, 2000.

Track listing

;US single # "Pardon Me" (Album Version) # "Crowded Elevator" # "Pardon Me" (Acoustic) # "Drive" (Acoustic) ;US promotional single # "Pardon Me" (Acoustic) ;UK single # "Pardon Me" (Album Version) # "I Miss You" (Acoustic) # "Crowded Elevator"

In popular culture

"Pardon Me" was released as downloadable content for ''

Rock Band 3 ''Rock Band 3'' is a 2010 music video game developed by Harmonix. The game was initially published and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts, respectively, in late October 2010. Mad Catz took over both roles and re-released the title on N ...

''. The song was played during the credits of an episode from the fourth season of ''

Daria ''Daria'' is an American adult animated sitcom created by Glenn Eichler and Susie Lewis Lynn. The series ran from March 3, 1997, to January 21, 2002, on MTV. It focuses on the title character, Daria Morgendorffer, an intelligent, cynical high ...

''. The song also appeared in the film ''

Little Nicky ''Little Nicky'' is a 2000 American fantasy comedy film directed by Steven Brill, written by Brill, Adam Sandler, and Tim Herlihy, and starring Sandler in the title role, Patricia Arquette, Harvey Keitel, Rhys Ifans, Tommy "Tiny" Lister Jr., ...

'' starring Adam Sandler. It was also used in the Newgrounds classic game ''Pick the Path'', where it is the only song Fiore, the main character, will listen to.

Charts

Personnel

;Incubus *

- vocals *

Mike Einziger Michael Aaron Einziger (born June 21, 1976) is an American musician, songwriter and producer. He is best known for being co-founder and guitarist of the rock band Incubus, and has also co-written, produced and collaborated with a wide array of a ...

- guitar *

Dirk Lance George Alex Katunich (born August 18, 1976) is an American musician. He is best known as the former bassist of Incubus. Since high school, Katunich has used the stage name of Dirk Lance, which was apparently taken from the credits of a pornogr ...

- bass *

José Pasillas José Antonio Pasillas II (born April 26, 1976) is an American musician best known as the drummer and co-founder of alternative rock band Incubus. Biography José Pasillas is of Mexican descent. He grew up in Calabasas, California. He began pl ...

- drums *

Chris Kilmore Chris Kilmore (born January 21, 1973) is an American musician and DJ. He is the turntablist and keyboardist of the rock band Incubus An incubus is a demon in male form in folklore that seeks to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women; t ...

- turntables ;Production *Produced by

Scott Litt Scott Warren Litt (born March 10, 1954) is an American record producer who mostly works with artists in the alternative rock genre and is best known for producing six R.E.M. albums in the late 1980s and early to mid-1990s during the band's most su ...

Release history

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2000 singles Incubus (band) songs Song recordings produced by Scott Litt 1999 songs Epic Records singles Immortal Records singles Songs written by Brandon Boyd Songs written by Mike Einziger Songs written by Alex Katunich Songs written by Chris Kilmore Songs written by José Pasillas