Pick You Up
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"Pick You Up" is the first single released from
Powderfinger Powderfinger were an Australian rock band formed in Brisbane in 1989. From 1992 until their break-up in 2010, the line-up consisted of vocalist Bernard Fanning, guitarists Darren Middleton and Ian Haug, bass guitarist John Collins and drummer ...
's second album ''
Double Allergic ''Double Allergic'' is the second studio album by Australian alternative rock band Powderfinger. Released in Australia on 2 September 1996 Polydor, the album was produced by Tim Whitten and widely considered Powderfinger's mainstream breakthrou ...
''. The single was released on 13 April 1996, and was Powderfinger's first moderate success both on commercial and Indie radio stations, and the most successful single from the album reaching #23 on the
ARIA Charts The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...
. In 2007, eleven years after its initial release, "Pick You Up" was selected to be included in the soundtrack for Australian SBS soccer television program
The World Game ''The World Game'' was an Australian football (soccer) television show broadcast on the SBS network, as well as a dedicated associated website. The show debuted in 2001 and was the only Australian TV programme dedicated to both football news ...
. The song is the oldest recording on the compilation album.


History

"Pick You Up" was the first release by Powderfinger to receive significant
radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
airplay. Whilst "Reap What You Sow", off their previous EP; '' Transfusion'', had achieved some success, "Pick You Up" was the first to be played regularly nationwide.
Guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...
Darren Middleton Darren Middleton (born 4 October 1971) is an Australian musician, best known as lead guitarist and songwriter for alternative rock band Powderfinger. He was also lead singer/songwriter for Drag; his current solo tour is 'Splinters', a follow-u ...
said the band were "stoked" with the song's success, saying that "it's great for us because hopefully it'll give us a few more opportunities to do what we want to do." Middleton attributed part of the success of "Pick You Up" to Tim Whitten, producer of the song and ''
Double Allergic ''Double Allergic'' is the second studio album by Australian alternative rock band Powderfinger. Released in Australia on 2 September 1996 Polydor, the album was produced by Tim Whitten and widely considered Powderfinger's mainstream breakthrou ...
'', describing Whitten as "what a band looks for in a producer/engineer". Powderfinger's lead singer,
Bernard Fanning Bernard Fanning (born 15 August 1969) is an Australian musician and singer-songwriter. He was the lead vocalist of Queensland alternative rock band Powderfinger from its formation in 1989. Born and raised in Toowong, Brisbane, Fanning received ...
, was equally impressed with the radio response to "Pick You Up" and the next single, " D.A.F.". He told Drum Media "it's pretty weird hearing your song on
B105 B105 or B-105 may refer to: * B105 FM (call sign: 4BBB), a Mainstream CHR radio station broadcasting out of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia * B105, one of the B roads in Zone 1 of the Great Britain numbering scheme * WUBE, a country music radio sta ...
", in response to a question about the accessibility of the new album. In another interview, with ''Juice'', Fanning described "Pick You Up" as "a pretty obvious sort of song", calling "D.A.F." the more mysterious single from ''Double Allergic''. Guitarist
Ian Haug Ian Haug (born 21 February 1970) is an Australian musician and the lead guitarist, songwriter, and backing vocalist in the rock band Powderfinger from its formation in 1989 until its breakup in 2010. He is presently a member of The Church. Po ...
said it was odd for the band that "Pick You Up" was such a well-known song, when previously "people had known all our stuff equally because we've never had a big radio song." He also said that the song was able to attract new audiences to the band, some of whom would "go home after that song", but others who would develop as the band's new fan base. Despite the increase in popularity, Haug didn't think the band had changed a great deal, saying "I don't think our style has changed to lose the audience we had." In 2007, Fanning noted that their song "
Nobody Sees "Nobody Sees" is a song by Powderfinger from their sixth album ''Dream Days at the Hotel Existence''. It is the third single from the album and was released in Australia on 1 December 2007. The announcement that it would be released as a single ...
" was the bookend to "Pick You Up", with its first line "Who's gonna pick you up?", noting that he's no longer going to.


Response

"Pick You Up" was nominated for the 1996
ARIA Award The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...
for "Song of the Year". The song was also performed live by the band at the ceremony. Concrete Press
journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
Matt Budden was filled with praise for the four tracks on "Pick You Up's"
single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...
. He said that "Pick You Up" had a "very professional sound", which he said was well complemented by
Bernard Fanning Bernard Fanning (born 15 August 1969) is an Australian musician and singer-songwriter. He was the lead vocalist of Queensland alternative rock band Powderfinger from its formation in 1989. Born and raised in Toowong, Brisbane, Fanning received ...
's "grainy" voice. He also praised the rhythmic guitar set, saying that it "lingers like the smell at a cookie factory." Budden also lauded the
b-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
s, describing "Toffee Apple" as being reminiscent of Spinal Tap, calling the combination of "slow repetitive guitars" and "soft sweet lyrics" in "Wobbly Knee" beautiful, and dubbing "Come Away" bizarre in the most positive sense. Angus Fountaine of
The Sunday Telegraph ''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings. It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', kn ...
also approved of Fanning's voice in "Pick You Up", stating that "His smooth vocal €¦catapulted the band from rough 'n' ready indy hopefuls to slick Top 40 fortune seekers." When performed live, Alphonse Leong of Drop-D Magazine said that "Pick You Up", "which sounds kind of sappy on disc, packed more of a wallop live". He also described Powderfinger as "a band with a mastery of loud, driving music".


Track listing

#"Pick You Up" – 4:19 #"Toffee Apple" – 2:24 #"Wobbly Knee" – 3:56 #"Come Away" – 3:55 #"Piles" (Hidden Track)


Charts


References

{{Authority control Powderfinger songs 1996 singles 1996 songs Polydor Records singles Songs written by Jon Coghill Songs written by John Collins (Australian musician) Songs written by Bernard Fanning Songs written by Ian Haug Songs written by Darren Middleton