"Underclass Hero" is the first single from

Sum 41 Sum 41 is a Canadian rock band from Ajax, Ontario. Originally called Kaspir, the band was formed in 1996 and currently consists of Deryck Whibley (lead vocals, guitars, keyboards), Dave Baksh (lead guitar, backing vocals), Jason "Cone" McCas ...

's fourth studio album of the same name. The song impacted radio on May 15, 2007. The song in its entirety was leaked on April 23 from a 91X podcast interview with

Deryck Whibley Deryck Jason Whibley (born 21 March 1980), nicknamed Bizzy D, is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter and record producer, best known for his work as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, keyboardist, main songwriter, producer, founder and only ...

. It was confirmed on Sum 41's official site that this would be the opening track for the album. The song was used in the

EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to imitate real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" ...

video game ''

Madden 08 ''Madden NFL 08'' is a 2007 American football video game based on the NFL that was published by EA Sports and developed by EA Tiburon. It is the 19th installment in the ''Madden NFL'' video game franchise. It features the former Tennessee Titans ...

'' and Sony's ''

NBA 08 ''NBA 08'' is an NBA basketball video game developed by San Diego Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was released on September 26, 2007 for PlayStation 3 and October 12, 2007 for PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 2. Gamepl ...

''. It is the band's first single since the departure of guitarist

Dave Baksh Dave Baksh (born 26 July 1980) also known by his stage name Dave Brownsound, is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter best known as one of the guitarists of rock band Sum 41. Baksh quit Sum 41 in 2006 (not counting a guest appearance on ...

Overview

"Underclass Hero" was written by Whibley in 2003 with a theme of "us against them", similar to their previous lyrics. Although "Underclass Hero" is written from a different angle, the song refers prominently to society and the struggle of "high-class versus the underclass" instead of "youth against adults" as in ''

All Killer No Filler ''All Killer No Filler'' is the debut studio album by Canadian rock band Sum 41, released on May 8, 2001. It was certified platinum in the United States, Canada, and in the UK. Despite mixed reviews, the album was a commercial success, peaking a ...

''. The song also uses the more classic punk-rock themes of anti-establishment. This is the theme song for MTV's '' Crash My School''. The song's intro is similar to the band's previous single, " Handle This", but with certain modifications in the notes and tuning. The chorus of "Underclass Hero" reuses the chorus from the unfinished version of " No Reason", that originally appeared on the band's 2004 album ''

Chuck Chuck is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to: People Arts and entertainment * Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet * Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV producer * ...

'' and was released as a bonus track, titled "Subject to Change".

Critical reception

Andrew Blackie of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' cited the song as an example of "on ofthose rare occasions when the trio do shut up and honestly ''play'' with as much zest as they can muster, which can thus be spoken about with half-hearted approval". Dave de Sylvia of Sputnikmusic compared the song to "

Fat Lip "Fat Lip" is a song by Canadian rock band Sum 41. It is the fourth track on their debut album, ''All Killer No Filler'' (2001), and was released as the lead single in April 2001. It is the band's most successful single to date, topping the '' B ...

", referring to it as a "less rhythmic variation".

Music video

Sum 41's video for “Underclass Hero” was premiered May 29, 2007, on their official website. It shows the band playing behind a large group of teenagers, fireworks, a marching-band and bonfire, supposedly a pre-high school pep rally for a football game with a mascot, which represented the

anarchy Anarchy is a society without a government. It may also refer to a society or group of people that entirely rejects a set hierarchy. ''Anarchy'' was first used in English in 1539, meaning "an absence of government". Pierre-Joseph Proudhon adopted ...

symbol. The video was launched worldwide on May 31, 2007, on ''

Total Request Live ''Total Request Live'' (known commonly as ''TRL'') was an American television program broadcast on MTV that premiered on September 14, 1998. TRL featured popular music videos played during its countdown, and was also used as a promotion tool by ...

'' on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

. The video was co-directed by

Marc Klasfeld Marc Klasfeld is an American music video director. He has directed over two hundred music videos for artists such as Slipknot, Sum 41, Katy Perry, Jay-Z, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Britney Spears, Kid Rock, Michael Bublé, Nelly, Foo Fighters, Kelly ...

and Sum 41's drummer,

Steve Jocz Steve Jocz (born 23 July 1981) is a Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter, best known as the former drummer for the Canadian rock band Sum 41. Early life Jocz formed Sum 41 in 1996 alongside Deryck Whibley. Jocz graduated from Exeter High Sc ...

. This is Sum 41's first video without their former guitarist

, who had left the band the previous year, but returned in 2015. The music video garnered Sum 41 a nomination at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards Japan in the category for

Best Group Video The MTV Video Music Award for Best Group (also known as the MTV Video Music Award for Best Group Video) is given to recording artists at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs). The award was introduced at the inaugural ceremony in 1984 by vocalis ...

Track listings and formats

*CD single #"Underclass Hero" – 3:14 #"This Is Goodbye" – 2:28 #"March of the Dogs" – 3:09 #"Road to Run #4" (Webisode) #"Underclass Hero" (Video)

Credits and personnel

–

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

* Steve "Stevo" Jocz –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, percussion * Jason "Cone" McCaslin –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

* Doug McKean –

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

* David Campbell – string arrangement *

Jamie Muhoberac Benjamin Edward "Jamie" Muhoberac is an American session keyboardist with numerous credits. He is best known for his work with Seal and Was (Not Was). Biography Muhoberac has worked with acts including The All-American Rejects, Fleetwood Mac, Bob ...

– keyboards * Dan Chase – percussion * Michael Railton – piano *

Chris Lord-Alge Chris Lord-Alge is an American mix engineer. He is the brother of both Tom Lord-Alge and Jeff Lord-Alge, both of whom are also audio engineers. Chris and Tom are known for their abundant use of dynamic compression for molding mixes that play wel ...

– mixing * Nik Karpen – mixing assistance * Keith Armstrong – mixing assistance Credits and personnel adapted from ''Underclass Hero'' album liner notes.

Charts

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Underclass Hero (Song) 2007 singles Music videos directed by Marc Klasfeld Sum 41 songs Songs written by Deryck Whibley Songs written by Steve Jocz 2007 songs Island Records singles