"South Side" is a song written and recorded by American
electronica
Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to ...
musician
Moby
Richard Melville Hall (born September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, singer, producer, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "among the ...
. It was released to radio on October 10, 2000, as the seventh single from his fifth
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...
, ''
Play
Play most commonly refers to:
* Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment
* Play (theatre), a work of drama
Play may refer also to:
Computers and technology
* Google Play, a digital content service
* Play Framework, a Java framework
* P ...
''. Initially recorded with
No Doubt
No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California, formed in 1986. For most of their career, the band has consisted of vocalist Gwen Stefani, guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal, and drummer Adrian Young. Since the mid-1990s, ...
frontwoman
Gwen Stefani
Gwen Renée Stefani (; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, fashion designer and actress. She is a co-founder, lead vocalist, and the primary songwriter of the band No Doubt, whose singles include " Just a Girl", " Spiderweb ...
, production problems forced Moby to leave Stefani's vocals off the mix of the song included on ''Play''; Stefani's vocals were then restored for the song's single release. The drums are sampled from "What's Up Front That Counts" by
the Counts.
Although "South Side" was not released in Europe or Australia, it is one of Moby's most commercially successful singles in North America, becoming his only solo single to appear on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100, where it peaked at number 14. In Canada, the song reached number three on the
Canadian Singles Chart
The Canadian Singles Chart was a chart compiled by the American-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan, which began publication in November 1996. It was published every Wednesday and also published on Thursday by ''Jam!''/Canoe. It ...
.
Background
In April 2005, Moby stated that "South Side" was inspired by his visits to
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
and his love for its
house music
House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...
scene, but that its lyrics are intended to be unsettling and imply a connection between getting used to loud music as part of clubbing, and desensitization to violence. Speaking to ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' on the tenth anniversary of its release, he described it as "essentially a song about abject amorality", as well as a "happy sing-along pop song about kids that become so inured to violence and become so desensitized that nothing gets through to them. It's about people who have become so over-exposed to stimuli that nothing matters to them anymore."
During the recording sessions for Moby's fifth studio album ''
Play
Play most commonly refers to:
* Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment
* Play (theatre), a work of drama
Play may refer also to:
Computers and technology
* Google Play, a digital content service
* Play Framework, a Java framework
* P ...
'',
Gwen Stefani
Gwen Renée Stefani (; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, fashion designer and actress. She is a co-founder, lead vocalist, and the primary songwriter of the band No Doubt, whose singles include " Just a Girl", " Spiderweb ...
, lead singer of the
rock band
No Doubt
No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California, formed in 1986. For most of their career, the band has consisted of vocalist Gwen Stefani, guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal, and drummer Adrian Young. Since the mid-1990s, ...
, offered to perform guest vocals for "South Side".
Around the time of the song's recording, No Doubt had recently achieved substantial commercial success with their album ''
Tragic Kingdom
''Tragic Kingdom'' is the third studio album by American rock band No Doubt, released on October 10, 1995, by Trauma Records and Interscope Records. It was the final album to feature original keyboardist Eric Stefani, who left the band in 1994. Th ...
'', and Moby reflected that he "couldn't figure out why she'd want to go into the studio with me. She was a big rock star and I was a has-been."
Moby was impressed by her vocal performance, but he struggled to produce an adequate
mix of the song with her vocals, and ultimately left them off the version included on ''Play''.
Release
"South Side" originally appeared as the fifth track on ''Play''. Moby had managed to tap a friend of his to produce a new mix of "South Side", and for the single release, Stefani's vocals were restored to the song, as originally intended.
It was first sent to
modern rock
Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music.
Radio format
Mod ...
and
adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
radio in October 2000 and was aired by
top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...
stations the following month.
Chart performance
The song was not released as a single in Europe or Australia, but it was a chart hit in North America. In the United States, the song debuted at number 94 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart dated December 2, 2000. The song broke the top 40 on January 6, 2001, climbing to number 37. On the week of May 26, the song reached its peak position of number 14, then exited the chart from number 46 seven weeks later, on the chart dated July 14. Altogether, it stayed on the Hot 100 for 32 weeks and appeared at number 33 on ''Billboard''s year-end chart for 2001. It was Moby's only appearance on the Hot 100 until 2018, when he appeared as a featured artist on
A$AP Rocky
Rakim Athelaston Mayers (born October 3, 1988), known professionally as ASAP Rocky ( ; stylized as A$AP Rocky), is an American rapper, music producer and record executive. Born and raised in Harlem, he embarked on his musical career as a membe ...
's song "A$AP Forever". "South Side" also made appearances on several other ''Billboard'' charts, including the
Modern Rock Tracks
Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...
chart—where it reached number three—and the
Adult Top 40
The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems ...
chart—where it peaked at number eight.
In Canada, "South Side" was more successful, becoming Moby's second single to chart on the country's prominent national chart, after "
Porcelain
Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises main ...
" on the recently ceased
''RPM'' Top Singles chart. It debuted and peaked at number three on the
Canadian Singles Chart
The Canadian Singles Chart was a chart compiled by the American-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan, which began publication in November 1996. It was published every Wednesday and also published on Thursday by ''Jam!''/Canoe. It ...
on December 9, 2000, then moved down to number four the following week. It remained in the top 10 for a further 11 weeks, exiting the top 20 on March 31. It re-entered the chart on the weeks dated April 7–April 14 and April 28, and it spent 19 weeks on Canada's chart in total.
Music video
The music video was directed by
Joseph Kahn and
parodies
A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...
hip hop and dance music videos. Scenes include Moby in garish fur coats and sunglasses, Moby and
Gwen Stefani
Gwen Renée Stefani (; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, fashion designer and actress. She is a co-founder, lead vocalist, and the primary songwriter of the band No Doubt, whose singles include " Just a Girl", " Spiderweb ...
dancing in front of large neon signs of their names, and Moby "traveling" in a convertible with women and bottles of champagne, but the vehicle is not even actually being driven outside of the studio. The video also parodies artful videos with scenes of Moby and Gwen Stefani in a bare room, wearing drab clothing and holding a potted sunflower, visually parodying the New York "brick and plant" type of set commonly overused in videos and film.
Other elements observed in the video include Moby expressing discomfort for the fake gold insert used over his teeth. Eventually, he grudgingly adjusts it and walks off the set. Gwen Stefani is shown in one scene in front of the neon sign with her name wielding three-inch fingernails. Later, she interrupts the filming (to Moby's feigned disgust) to answer and talk on her cell phone.
Instead of a band, in the background of the video, six "musicians" at translucent computer workstations are shown. The workstation users are visually boring and a poor substitute for the presence of an actual band. The workers act as if they are playing and adjusting the electronica music samples in real-time on their keyboards during the performance, with no apparent enthusiasm whatsoever for the actual music being created. At the end of the video it shows a pot of mayonnaise and burning clothes falling from a rack.
The music video won the 2001 MTV Video Music Award for
Best Male Video
The MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video was one of four original general awards that have been handed out every year since the first MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. In 2007, though, the award was briefly renamed Male Artist of the Year, and ...
. Coincidentally, Stefani was also a featured singer in the winner for
Best Female Video
The MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video is one of the original general awards that has been handed out every year since the first annual MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. In 2007, however, the award was briefly renamed Female Artist of the Y ...
, "
Let Me Blow Ya Mind" by
Eve.
Track listing
* CD single
# "South Side" – 3:49
# "South Side" – 8:27
# "South Side" – 3:48
# "South Side" – 8:48
# "Ain't Never Learned" – 3:47
# "South Side" – 7:54
# "The Sun Never Stops Setting" – 4:19
* CD single
# "South Side" – 3:25
# "South Side" – 3:48
* 12-inch single
# "South Side" – 8:27
# "South Side" – 3:49
# "South Side" – 8:48
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Release history
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
1999 songs
2000 singles
Gwen Stefani songs
Male–female vocal duets
Moby songs
MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video
Music videos directed by Joseph Kahn
Mute Records singles
Song recordings produced by Moby
Songs written by Moby
V2 Records singles