Just Like Anyone (song)

"Just Like Anyone"
Single by Soul Asylum
from the album Let Your Dim Light Shine
B-side "Fearless Leader"
"You'll Live For Now"
Released 1995 (1995)
Format CD, cassette
Genre Alternative
Length 2:47
Label Columbia
Writer(s) David Pirner
Producer Butch Vig
Soul Asylum
Soul Asylum singles chronology
"Misery"
(1995)		 "Just like Anyone"
(1995)		 "Promises Broken"
(1996)

"Just Like Anyone" is a 1995 song by American alternative rock band Soul Asylum from their seventh album, Let Your Dim Light Shine. Written by lead singer Dave Pirner and produced by the band with Butch Vig, the song was released as the album's second single. It entered the singles charts in Canada and the United Kingdom, and reached the Modern Rock Tracks chart in the United States. The song was included on the band's 2000 greatest hits album, Black Gold: The Best of Soul Asylum,[1] and a live version appears on the band's 2004 After the Flood: Live from the Grand Forks Prom, June 28, 1997 album.[2]

Contents

Music video

A music video for the song was filmed in Los Angeles during the summer of 1995.[3] Directed by P.J. Hogan and produced by William Green and Michelle Alexander, the video features actress Claire Danes, who plays a high school student who is rejected and taunted by other students because she has two noticeable bumps on her back.[3] Hidden beneath the bumps are angel wings, which are revealed later as she takes flight during a school dance.[3] The video received exposure on MTV and MuchMusic, reaching the most-played charts on both networks.[4][5]

Reception

"Just Like Anyone" peaked at number 52 in the UK[6] and number 55 in Canada,[7] where it also reached number 12 on the Alternative chart.[8] In the U.S., the song was not released as a commercial single, but it received enough radio airplay to peak at number 11 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and number 19 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.[9] New York Times music critic Jon Pareles said the song's lyrics "could have been written for the insecure high school students in the television drama My So-Called Life," in which Danes also starred.[10]

Chart performance

Chart (1995) Peak
position
Canadian Singles Chart[7] 55
Canadian Alternative Chart[8] 12
UK Singles Chart[6] 52
U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks[9] 11
U.S. Modern Rock Tracks[9] 19

References

  1. ^ "Black Gold: The Best of Soul Asylum - Overview". Allmusic (Rovi Corporation). http://www.allmusic.com/album/r499531. Retrieved 2009-12-05. 
  2. ^ "After the Flood: Live from the Grand Forks Prom, June 28, 1997 - Overview". Allmusic (Rovi Corporation). http://www.allmusic.com/album/r708028. Retrieved 2009-12-05. 
  3. ^ a b c "The Eye: Asylum For So Called Star". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media, Inc.) 107 (36): 119. 1995-09-09. ISSN 0006-2510. http://books.google.com/books?id=1g0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA119&dq#v=onepage&q=&f=false. Retrieved 2009-12-05. 
  4. ^ "Billboard Video Monitor". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media, Inc.) 107 (36): 120. 1995-09-09. ISSN 0006-2510. http://books.google.com/books?id=1g0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA120#v=onepage&q=&f=false. Retrieved 2009-12-05. 
  5. ^ "Billboard Video Monitor". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media, Inc.) 107 (41): 83. 1995-10-14. ISSN 0006-2510. http://books.google.com/books?id=iA4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA83#v=onepage&q=&f=false. Retrieved 2009-12-05. 
  6. ^ a b Strong, Martin Charles (2003). The Great Indie Discography (2nd ed.). Edinburgh: Canongate Books. ISBN 978-1841953359. 
  7. ^ a b "RPM 100". RPM (RPM Music Publications Ltd.) 62 (13). 1995-10-30. ISSN 0315-5994. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.2794&volume=62&issue=13&issue_dt=October%2030%201995&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=r8p1k0kggdclp1gej6if7e5jm3. Retrieved 2009-12-05. 
  8. ^ a b "RPM Alternative 30". RPM (RPM Music Publications Ltd.) 62 (12). 1995-10-23. ISSN 0315-5994. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.9098&volume=62&issue=12&issue_dt=October%2023%201995&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=r8p1k0kggdclp1gej6if7e5jm3. Retrieved 2009-12-05. 
  9. ^ a b c "Soul Asylum - Charts & Awards - Billboard Singles". Allmusic (Rovi Corporation). http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p5478. Retrieved 2009-12-05. 
  10. ^ Pareles, Jon (1995-06-04). "Growing Up Means Keeping It Down a Bit". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). http://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/04/arts/recordings-view-growing-up-means-keeping-it-down-a-bit.html. Retrieved 2009-12-05. 

External links