"The Outsider" is a song from
A Perfect Circle
A Perfect Circle is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1999 by guitarist Billy Howerdel and Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan. A Perfect Circle has released four studio albums, the first three during the early 2000s: ...
's second album, ''
Thirteenth Step
''Thirteenth Step'' is the second studio album by American rock band A Perfect Circle, released on September 16, 2003. The album sold well, charting at the number 2 position on the ''Billboard'' 200 in its premiere week, selling over 231,000 co ...
''. It was the album's second single, following "
Weak and Powerless
"Weak and Powerless" is the first single by the alternative rock band A Perfect Circle, from their second album, ''Thirteenth Step'', and is also their highest charting single, reaching #1 on both the Mainstream Rock Tracks and Alternative Songs ...
", and charted on the
''Billboard's'' Hot 100,
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 ...
, and
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 ...
charts in 2003.
Background
It uses a 6/8 and 4/4
time signature
The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note va ...
. Two remixes of "The Outsider" were made for ''
aMOTION
''Amotion'' (stylized as ''aMOTION'') is a DVD– CD set released by American rock band A Perfect Circle on November 16, 2004, only two weeks after the debut of the band's third album, '' eMOTIVe''. The DVD consists of music videos for singles s ...
''.
James Iha
(born March 26, 1968) is an American rock musician. He is best known as a guitarist and co-founder of the alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins. He was a member until the initial breakup in 2000. Among his musical projects of recent years ...
made the "Frosted Yogurt mix", which uses a much more toned-down, quiet, synthesized sound than the original.
Danny Lohner
Daniel Patrick “Danny” Lohner, frequently known as Renholdër, is an American musician. He worked with Trent Reznor on numerous occasions, both with Nine Inch Nails and on the now defunct Tapeworm project. He has also played for Methods of M ...
's "Apocalypse Mix" is a darker, heavier version that starts as an ambient doomscape and ends in a way that resembles a music-playback program crashing. The latter version was included in the soundtrack to the movie ''
Resident Evil: Apocalypse'' under the title "Resident Renholder Mix" and also in the ''Prison Break'' soundtrack under the title "Apocalypse mix". The "Resident Renholder Mix" of the song was featured in the premiere trailer for ''
Resident Evil: Afterlife''. It is also featured in the film during the Alice vs. Albert Wesker battle and the ending credits. Additionally, the song is in the video game ''
Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock''
and the trailer for the movie ''
Safe
A safe (also called a strongbox or coffer) is a secure lockable box used for securing valuable objects against theft or fire. A safe is usually a hollow cuboid or cylinder, with one face being removable or hinged to form a door. The body and ...
''.
The lyrics to "The Outsider" at face value, are in judgment of a potentially self-destructive or suicidal individual, though Maynard clarified that the song's message was meant to be a criticism of people who do not understand the struggles of people dealing with
depression, saying:
" nthe case of "The Outsider", it's sung from the perspective of a person who doesn't understand at all what their friend is going through, what their loved one is going through, and they think that it's more like a sprained ankle; they can just kind of walk it off."['']Amotion
''Amotion'' (stylized as ''aMOTION'') is a DVD– CD set released by American rock band A Perfect Circle on November 16, 2004, only two weeks after the debut of the band's third album, '' eMOTIVe''. The DVD consists of music videos for singles s ...
'', A Perfect Circle
A Perfect Circle is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1999 by guitarist Billy Howerdel and Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan. A Perfect Circle has released four studio albums, the first three during the early 2000s: ...
, DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
commentary.
Track listing
;Promo single
;DVD single
Chart performance
References
External links
Music video (Director's Cut)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Outsider
2003 songs
A Perfect Circle songs
Songs about suicide
Songs written by Maynard James Keenan
Songs written by Billy Howerdel