"What the Hell Have I" is a song by the 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

Alice in Chains Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AIC) is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1987 by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell and drummer Sean Kinney, who later recruited bassist Mike Starr and lead vocalist Layne ...

. It was originally featured on the soundtrack to the 1993

John McTiernan John Campbell McTiernan Jr. (born January 8, 1951) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for his action films, especially ''Predator (film), Predator'' (1987), ''Die Hard'' (1988), and ''The Hunt for Red October (film), The Hunt for Red ...

film ''

Last Action Hero ''Last Action Hero'' is a 1993 American fantasy action comedy film directed and produced by John McTiernan and co-written by Shane Black and David Arnott. It is a satire of the action genre and associated clichés, containing several parodies ...

'' starring

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...

. The song was released as a single and peaked at No. 19 on the ''

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 advertise ...

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 in Ma ...

chart. It was included on the compilation album '' Nothing Safe: Best of the Box'' (1999). A remixed version of the song was included on the compilation albums ''

Music Bank Music Bank may refer to: * ''Music Bank'' (TV program), a South Korean music program by KBS **''Music Bank World Tour The ''Music Bank'' World Tour is a worldwide live concert tour of South Korean music show '' Music Bank'' by the Korean Broa ...

'' (1999) and ''

The Essential Alice in Chains ''The Essential Alice in Chains'' is a two-disc compilation album by the rock band Alice in Chains, and part of Sony BMG's ''The Essential'' series. Originally scheduled to be released on March 30, 2004, it was delayed until September 5, 2006. T ...

'' (2006).

Origin and recording

The song was originally written for their breakthrough album ''

Dirt Dirt is an unclean matter, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty. Common types of dirt include: * Debris: scattered pieces of waste or remains * Dust: a genera ...

'', but was shelved at the time and used later for the ''Last Action Hero'' soundtrack. Contrary to popular belief, Jerry Cantrell did not use a traditional

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in ...

during the recording session although he did attempt to play one but was unsure how. While experimenting with sounds, he adopted a guitar-sitar into the session to achieve the sound of the opening

riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompani ...

. In the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

of 1999's ''

'' box set collection, guitarist

Jerry Cantrell Jerry Fulton Cantrell Jr. (born March 18, 1966) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the founder, lead guitarist, co-lead vocalist, and main songwriter of the rock band Alice in Chains. The band rose to internation ...

said of the song:

Release and reception

"What the Hell Have I" was released to radio stations on June 7, 1993 in support of Alice in Chains' appearance on the 1993

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Musi ...

tour. The single peaked at No. 19 on the ''

chart.

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

's Jason Birchmeier said that the song is "on a par with those featured on the band's recent (and magnificent) ''Dirt'' album." Ned Raggett of Allmusic said that the song "isn't bad at all but on the flipside has little immediate surprise to offer to it."

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 promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "What the Hell Have I" was released in 1993 and was directed by

Rocky Schenck Rocky Schenck (born April 18, 1955) is an American photographer and music video director. Schenck has photographed several album covers and has written and directed numerous music videos and short films. He has shot fashion, editorial and portra ...

, who had previously directed the " We Die Young" and " Them Bones" music videos for the band, and who would later direct the music video for "

Grind A blade's grind is its cross-sectional shape in a plane normal to the edge. Grind differs from blade profile, which is the blade's cross-sectional shape in the plane containing the blade's edge and the centre contour of the blade's back (me ...

". In the music video, singer

Layne Staley Layne Thomas Staley (born Layne Rutherford Staley; August 22, 1967 – April 5, 2002) was an American musician, songwriter and the original lead singer of the rock band Alice in Chains, which rose to international fame in the early 1990s as part ...

's face is projected on him with different expressions, while guitarist

is seen with the same contact lenses with a smiley face that was worn by Mr. Benedict (played by

Charles Dance Walter Charles Dance (born 10 October 1946) is an English actor. He is known for playing strict, authoritarian characters and villains. His most notable film roles include Sardo Numspa in ''The Golden Child'' (1986), Dr. Jonathan Clemens in ''A ...

) in ''Last Action Hero''. The video is available on the home video release '' Music Bank: The Videos''.

Track listing

# "What the Hell Have I" # "A Little Bitter"

Personnel

– lead vocals *

– guitar, electric sitar, vocals * Mike Inez – bass *

Sean Kinney Sean Howard Kinney (born May 27, 1966) is an American musician, best known as the drummer and co-founder of the rock band Alice in Chains. Kinney also founded the short-lived supergroup Spys4Darwin, and has collaborated with other artists such ...

– drums, percussion

Chart positions

References

External links

* Review of "What the Hell Have I"at

* {{Authority control 1993 songs 1993 singles Alice in Chains songs Songs written by Jerry Cantrell Atco Records singles Music videos directed by Rocky Schenck Columbia Records singles