Fat Lip

This article is about song by Sum 41. For musician, see Fatlip. For record label, see FatLip Recordings.
"Fat Lip"
Single by Sum 41
from the album All Killer, No Filler
Released April 22, 2001 USA
October 1, 2001 UK
Format CD, cassette, DVD
Genre Pop punk, rapcore, skate punk
Length 2:58
Label Island
Writer(s) Deryck Whibley, Steve Jocz
Producer(s) Jerry Finn
Sum 41 singles chronology
"Makes No Difference"
(2000)		 "Fat Lip"
(2001)		 "In Too Deep"
(2001)

"Fat Lip" is a song by Canadian punk rock band Sum 41. It is the fourth track on their 2001 album All Killer No Filler and was released as the lead single in April 2001. It is the band's most successful single to date, topping the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. It peaked at number 66 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and at number 8 on the UK Singles Chart.[1]

Musical style

The high-tempo song includes elements of hip hop, heavy metal, pop punk and skate punk, with Deryck Whibley, Dave Baksh and Steve Jocz sharing vocals. "The verses are really about what we do: growing up in the suburbs, going to parties and hanging out with our friends, and causing trouble. A lot of people say they relate to it," said Whibley.[2] The song gets its name from the slang term for a swollen lip as a result of being punched in the face.

Music video

The song topped MTV's Total Request Live and MuchMusic's MuchMusic Countdown in the summer of 2001. In the original Canadian version, the music video combines with "Pain for Pleasure", a very short Iron Maiden-esque song that is the only metal song found on the album. The video was ranked at #75 on "MuchMusic's 100 Best Videos". In the beginning of the music video, the band does an a cappella of the first verse of "What We're All About", which would be their future single.

Appearances in other media

The song is featured in several movies and video games, such as EA Sports' NHL 2002, American Pie 2, Guitar Hero, ESPN X Games Skateboarding,[3] GuitarFreaks V4 and DrumMania V4 and as downloadable content for Guitar Hero 5. It can be heard playing in the distance at the beginning of the band's video for "In Too Deep." The song is also heard playing in the background during the season one Smallville episode titled "Leech". It was also featured in the 2001 film American Pie 2.

It was made available to download on January 31, 2012 for play in Rock Band 3 Basic and PRO mode utilizing real guitar / bass guitar, and MIDI compatible electronic drum kits plus vocal harmonies.[4]

Live performances

The song was performed on Saturday Night Live on October 6, 2001, hosted by Seann William Scott.

Reception

The song has been generally well-received, with critics praising the song's unique style. Rolling Stone magazine described the sound of the song "as if Sum 41 went from Blink-182 to Beastie Boys to Black Sabbath, all in one song." The song is considered one of the band's signature songs.

Tracklisting

  1. "Fat Lip" (3:04)
  2. "Makes No Difference" (3:12)
  3. "What I Believe" (2:52)
  4. "Machine Gun" (2:30)

EU Import:

  1. "Fat Lip"
  2. "T.H.T. (Tables Have Turned)"
  3. "Makes No Difference"
  4. "What I Believe"
  5. "Machine Gun"

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2001) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[5] 58
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[6] 21
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[7] 41
Germany (Media Control Charts)[8] 68
Ireland (IRMA)[9] 16
Italy (FIMI)[10] 41
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[11] 38
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[12] 51
U.S. Billboard U.S. Modern Rock Tracks 1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 66
Preceded by
"It's Been Awhile" by Staind		 Billboard Modern Rock Tracks number-one single
August 18, 2001 		Succeeded by
"Smooth Criminal" by Alien Ant Farm

References

  1. ↑ http://www.everyhit.com/
  2. ↑ Jill, Pesselnick. "The Modern Age." Billboard 19 May 2001: 80. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. University of Illinois. 18 Feb. 2008.
  3. ↑ "ESPN X-Games Skateboarding Review". Psxextreme.com. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
  4. ↑ http://www.nintendogal.com/2012/02/08/rock-band-dlc-update-2712/
  5. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Sum 41 – Fat Lip". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  6. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Sum 41 – Fat Lip" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  7. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Sum 41 – Fat Lip" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  8. ↑ "Chartverfulgong > Sum 41 > Fat Lip – musicline.de" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  9. ↑ "Irish Singles Chart – Search for song". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved July 6, 2011.
  10. ↑ "Hit Parade Italia - Indice per Interprete: P". Hit Parade Italia. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  11. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Sum 41 search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
  12. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Sum 41 – Fat Lip". Swiss Singles Chart.

External links