South Side (song)

"South Side"
Single by Moby featuring Gwen Stefani
from the album Play
B-side
  • "Ain't Never Learned"
  • "The Sun Never Stops Setting"
Released November 7, 2000 (2000-11-07)
Format
Recorded 1998 at Moby's home studio (Manhattan, New York)
Length
  • 3:48 (album version)
  • 3:49 (single version)
Label V2
Songwriter(s) Moby
Producer(s) Moby
Moby singles chronology
"Porcelain"
(2000)		 "South Side"
(2000)		 "Find My Baby"
(2000)
Gwen Stefani singles chronology
"South Side"
(2000) South Side2000		 "Let Me Blow Ya Mind"
(2001) Let Me Blow Ya Mind2001

"South Side" is a song written and recorded by American electronica musician Moby. It was released on November 7, 2000 as the seventh single from his fifth studio album Play. Initially recorded with No Doubt frontwoman Gwen Stefani, production problems forced Moby to leave Stefani's vocals off the mix of the song included on Play; Stefani's vocals were then restored for the song's single release. Although "South Side" was not a hit in Europe or Australasia, it is one of Moby's most commercially successful singles in North America, becoming his only solo single to appear on the United States Billboard Hot 100 chart, where it peaked at number 14. In Canada, the song reached number three on the Canadian Singles Chart.

The drums are sampled from "What's Up Front That Counts" by The Counts.

Background

In April 2005, Moby stated that "South Side" was inspired by his visits to Chicago and his love for its house music scene, but that its lyrics are intended to be unsettling and imply a connection between getting used to loud music as part of clubbing, and desensitization to violence.[1] Speaking to Rolling Stone on the tenth anniversary of its release, he described it as "essentially a song about abject amorality", as well as a "happy sing-along pop song about kids that become so inured to violence and become so desensitized that nothing gets through to them. It's about people who have become so over-exposed to stimuli that nothing matters to them anymore."[2]

During the recording sessions for Moby's fifth studio album Play, Gwen Stefani, lead singer of the rock band No Doubt, offered to perform guest vocals for "South Side".[2] Around the time of the song's recording, No Doubt had recently achieved substantial commercial success with their album Tragic Kingdom, and Moby reflected that he "couldn't figure out why she'd want to go into the studio with me. She was a big rock star and I was a has-been."[2] Moby was impressed by her vocal performance, but he struggled to produce an adequate mix of the song with her vocals, and ultimately left them off the version included on Play.[2]

Release

"South Side" originally appeared as the fifth track on Play. It was released as the seventh single from the album on November 7, 2000.[3] By this time, Moby had managed to tap a friend of his to produce a new mix of "South Side", and for the single release Stefani's vocals were restored to the song, as originally intended.[2]

Chart performance

Upon release, the song did not experience notable success in Europe or Australia, but it was a chart hit in North America. In the United States, the song debuted at number 94 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated December 2, 2000.[4] The song broke the top 40 on January 6, 2001, climbing to number 37.[5] On the week of May 26, the song reached its peak position of number 14, then exited the chart from number 46 seven weeks later, on the chart dated July 14.[6] Altogether, it stayed on the Hot 100 for 32 weeks and appeared at number 33 on Billboard's year-end chart for 2001. It was Moby's only appearance on the Hot 100 until 2018, when he appeared as a featured artist on A$AP Rocky's song "A$AP Forever". "South Side" also made appearances on several other Billboard charts, including the Modern Rock Tracks chart—where it reached number three—and the Adult Top 40 chart—where it peaked at number eight.

In Canada, "South Side" was more successful, becoming Moby's second single to chart on the country's prominent national chart, after "Porcelain" on the recently ceased RPM Top Singles chart.[7] It debuted and peaked at number three on the Canadian Singles Chart on December 9, 2000, then moved down to number four the following week.[8] It remained in the top 10 for a further 11 weeks, exiting the top 20 on March 31.[9] It re-entered the chart on the weeks dated April 7–April 14 and April 28,[10] and it spent 19 weeks on Canada's chart in total.

Music video

The music video was directed by Joseph Kahn and parodies hip hop and dance music videos. Scenes include Moby in garish fur coats and sunglasses, Moby and Gwen Stefani dancing in front of large neon signs of their names, and Moby "traveling" in a convertible with women and bottles of champagne, but the vehicle is not even actually being driven outside of the studio. The video also parodies artful videos with scenes of Moby and Gwen Stefani in a bare room, wearing drab clothing and holding a potted sunflower, visually parodying the New York "brick and plant" type of set commonly overused in videos and film.

Other elements observed in the video include Moby expressing discomfort for the fake gold "grill" insert used over his teeth to make him look more "gangsta". Eventually, he grudgingly adjusts it and walks off the set. Gwen Stefani is shown in one scene in front of the neon sign with her name wielding three-inch fingernails. Later, she interrupts the filming (to Moby's feigned disgust) to answer and talk on her cell phone.

Instead of a band, in the background of the video, six "musicians" at translucent computer workstations are shown. The workstation users are visually boring and a poor substitute for the presence of an actual band. The workers act as if they are playing and adjusting the electronica music samples in real-time on their keyboards during the performance, with no apparent enthusiasm whatsoever for the actual music being created. At the end of the video it shows a pot of mayonnaise and burning clothes falling from a rack.

The music video won the 2001 MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video.

Track listing

Charts

References

  1. ↑ DeRogatis, Jim (25 April 2005). "Moby's infectious gems have no regard for genre". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on May 7, 2005. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Weingarten, Christopher R. (July 2, 2009). "'Play' 10 Years Later: Moby's Track by Track Guide to 1999's Global Smash". Rolling Stone. New York. Archived from the original on May 10, 2013. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  3. ↑ "South Side". United States: Amazon. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
  4. ↑ "The Hot 100 The week of December 2, 2000". Billboard. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  5. ↑ "The Hot 100 The week of January 6, 2001". Billboard. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  6. ↑ "The Hot 100 The week of July 7, 2001". Billboard. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Results: RPM Weekly - "Moby","Top Singles"". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Canadian Digital Song Sales The week of December 16, 2000". Billboard. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Canadian Digital Song Sales The week of March 31, 2001". Billboard. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Canadian Digital Song Sales The week of April 7, 2001". Billboard. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  11. 1 2 "Moby – Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on May 14, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
  12. ↑ "Moby Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Moby Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Moby Chart History (Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Moby Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Moby Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
  17. ↑ "The Year in Music 2001: Hot 100". Billboard. New York. 113 (52): YE-40. December 29, 2001. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
  18. ↑ "The Year in Music 2001: Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks". Billboard. New York. 113 (52): YE-82. December 29, 2001. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
  19. ↑ "The Year in Music 2001: Hot Modern Rock Tracks". Billboard. New York. 113 (52): YE-72. December 29, 2001. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
  20. ↑ "The Year in Music 2001: Hot Dance Maxi-Singles Sales". Billboard. New York. 113 (52): YE-49. December 29, 2001. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
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