"Anything, Anything (I'll Give You)" is a 1985 song by the
alternative rock
Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
band
Dramarama
Dramarama is an American, New Jersey–based alternative rock/power pop band, who later moved to Los Angeles. The band was formed in New Jersey in 1982 and disbanded in 1994. The band formally reunited in 2003 following an appearance on VH1's ' ...
released as the first single from their debut album ''
Cinéma Vérité
Cinéma vérité (, , ) is a style of documentary filmmaking developed by Edgar Morin and Jean Rouch, inspired by Dziga Vertov's theory about '' Kino-Pravda''. It combines improvisation with use of the camera to unveil truth or highlight subje ...
''. Written by John Easdale in the mid-1980s, "Anything, Anything" features a steady beat and lyrics about the breakdown of his marriage.
Although initially unsuccessful, the song saw commercial success after being played on
KROQ
KROQ-FM (106.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Pasadena, California, serving Greater Los Angeles. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock format known as "The World Famous KROQ" (pronounced "kay-rock").
The sta ...
and featuring on the ''
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master'' soundtrack. "Anything, Anything" remains one of the band's most famous songs and is a live favorite.
Background
"Anything, Anything (I'll Give You)" was written by Dramarama singer
John Easdale
John Easdale (born September 20, 1961 in Wayne, New Jersey) is the lead singer and songwriter for the American band Dramarama.
Easdale grew up in Wayne, New Jersey, and graduated from Wayne Hills High School
Wayne Hills High School is a fou ...
in the period from 1984 to 1985, a time he recalled as "definitely not a high point in
islife."
The song was written as a reflection on Easdale's deteriorating marriage.
Lyrically, the song mentions drinking and pills to reference partying, with the latter being used to rhyme with "hundred dollar bills." The song features the same beat throughout, a feature Easdale explains was meant as "a way to keep the anguish constant."
Release
Dramarama were largely unknown until Los Angeles DJ
Rodney Bingenheimer
Rodney Bingenheimer (born December 15, 1946) is an American radio disc jockey who is best known as the host of ''Rodney on the ROQ'', a radio program that ran on the Los Angeles rock station KROQ-FM from 1976 to 2017. In the early 1970s, he als ...
began regularly playing "Anything, Anything" on
KROQ
KROQ-FM (106.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Pasadena, California, serving Greater Los Angeles. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock format known as "The World Famous KROQ" (pronounced "kay-rock").
The sta ...
.
The song garnered phone requests and was added to the station's rotation shortly thereafter. The success prompted Dramarama to move to Los Angeles; the track remains one of the most requested songs in the history of Los Angeles radio station
KROQ
KROQ-FM (106.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Pasadena, California, serving Greater Los Angeles. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock format known as "The World Famous KROQ" (pronounced "kay-rock").
The sta ...
.
Easdale later described the song's success as a "miracle."
Music video
Two versions of the "Anything, Anything" music video were ultimately released. The first version, featuring clips of
Edie Sedgwick
Edith Minturn Sedgwick Post (April 20, 1943 – November 16, 1971) was an American actress, model and socialite who was one of Andy Warhol's superstars, starring in several of his short films during the 1960s.Watson, Steven (2003), "Factory Ma ...
from the underground 1972 film, ''
Ciao! Manhattan
''Ciao! Manhattan'' is a 1972 American avant garde film starring Edie Sedgwick. Written and directed by John Palmer and David Weisman, Warhol superstar Susan Bottomly (International Velvet) was initially intended to star in the film. When Sedgw ...
'' interspersed with the clips of the band, was initially rejected by
MTV
MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
due to the use word "pills" (which the band later rerecorded as "chills").
A second video was filmed in 1990 to accompany a re-released single by
Chameleon Records
Chameleon was a record label formed by producer, music entrepreneur and former Capitol Records A&R executive Stephen Powers, in association with Bob Marin, Managing Director of alternative rock importer Sounds Good, and Richard Foos, co-founder ...
.
Track listing
Reception and legacy
"Anything, Anything" remains one of the band's most popular songs. Easdale reflected on this, "I love that people I have never met know the song. I love hearing strangers perform cover versions. I love that it is still getting played on the radio, on the internet and elsewhere. I love that I still get to sing it and that people still come to hear us play it in concert. I love that 30 plus years later, outlets like NOISEY are asking me questions about it. I have written many, many songs, but it is the only one that has really had a life of its own."
The song remains a live favorite for the band; according to Easdale, "It's a fun song to play, the crowd more often than not sings along, the best is when the audience is singing louder than me. 'Anything, Anything' is the only song that has consistently been performed at nearly all Dramarama live shows since 1985."
The single was featured on the ''
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master'' soundtrack. A short clip of it was also featured in an episode of ''
Entourage
An entourage () is an informal group or band of people who are closely associated with a (usually) famous, notorious, or otherwise notable individual. The word can also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* L'entourage, French hip hop / rap collecti ...
''. Since 2009 the song has been the name and title of Rich Russo's free form radio show
Anything Anything with Rich Russo where the song opens the show each week.
The song also features in the 2014 film ''
Two Night Stand'', as well as the 2003 film ''
11:14''.
American talk show host
Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen Lee DeGeneres ( ; born January 26, 1958) is an American former comedian, actress, television host, writer, and producer.
She began her career in stand-up comedy in the early 1980s, gaining national attention with a 1986 appearance on '' ...
has said it is her favorite song. For DeGeneres' 50th birthday, ''
Ellen DeGeneres Show
''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. The show ran for nineteen seasons from September 8, 2003, to May 26, 2022, in which it broadcast 3,339 episodes. It was produced by ...
'' DJ
Stryker
The Stryker is a family of Eight-wheel drive, eight-wheeled armored fighting vehicles derived from the Canadian LAV III. Stryker vehicles are produced by General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada (GDLS-C) for the United States Army in a plant in L ...
surprised her by bringing Dramarama to the show to perform the song live.
Charts
Cover versions
*In 1992, punk band Y-Fronts from Hannover, Germany covered the song on their EP ''Y-Fronts'' (Nasty Vinyl)
*In 1994, punk band Big Boy Tomato covered the song on their EP ''Hormones and Hangovers''
*In 1994, rock band The Kaper covered the song on their album ''From Now On...''
*In 1997, grunge band
Grey Daze
Grey Daze is an American rock band from Phoenix, Arizona formed in 1993. They are known for being one of the first bands of Linkin Park vocalist Chester Bennington.
History
Grey Daze was formed in 1993 by drummer Sean Dowdell alongside Chester B ...
covered the song on their album ''...No Sun Today''.
*In 2000, rock band
Buckcherry
Buckcherry is an American hard rock band from Anaheim, California, formed in 1995. The band released two albums, ''Buckcherry (album), Buckcherry'' (1999) and ''Time Bomb (Buckcherry album), Time Bomb'' (2001), before dissolving in 2002. Buckche ...
covered the song for the ''
Road Trip
A road trip, sometimes spelled roadtrip, is a long-distance Travel, journey traveled by a car or a motorcycle.
History
First road trips by automobile
The world's first recorded long-distance road trip by the automobile took place in German Em ...
'' movie soundtrack.
*In 2005, punk band Heads Held High covered the song on their EP ''Building Up To The Breakdown''
*In 2006, punk band
Lucky Boys Confusion
Lucky Boys Confusion is an American rock music, rock band from the western suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Hailing from DuPage County, the band's music is a mix of rock, Punk rock, punk, ska and hip hop music, hip hop. The band con ...
covered the song for the EP ''
How to Get Out Alive
Lucky Boys Confusion is an American rock band from the western suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Hailing from DuPage County, the band's music is a mix of rock, punk, ska and hip hop. The band consists of vocalist Kaustubh "Stubhy" P ...
''.
*In 2016, alt rock band
Beach Slang
Beach Slang was an American rock band from Philadelphia formed in May 2013. The band underwent several line-up changes, with lead vocalist/guitarist James Alex serving as the band's leader, figurehead, chief songwriter and sole original member.
...
covered the song for the EP ''
Here I Made This For You: Vol 1''.
*In 2018,
psychobilly
Psychobilly (or punkabilly) is a rock music fusion genre that fuses elements of rockabilly and punk rock. It has been defined as "loud frantic rockabilly music", it has also been said that it "takes the traditional country rock, countrified rock ...
band
The Thirsty Crows
The Thirsty Crows are an American rock band from the South Bay area of Los Angeles, California. Thematically their songs tend to revolve around horror, binge drinking, and acts of revenge.
History
Founded in the early 2011 by former members ...
covered the song for the album ''Hangman's Noose''.
References
{{authority control
1985 songs
1985 singles
American rock songs