Real World (Matchbox Twenty song)

"Real World"
Single by Matchbox Twenty
from the album Yourself or Someone Like You
Released June 23, 1998
Format CD single / Audio cassette
Recorded 1996
Genre Alternative rock, post-grunge[1]
Length 3:51
Label Atlantic
Writer(s) Rob Thomas
Producer(s) Matt Serletic
Matchbox Twenty singles chronology
"3 a.m."
(1997)		 "Real World"
(1998)		 "Girl Like That"
(1998)

"Real World" is a song by American alternative rock group Matchbox Twenty. It was released in June 1998 as the fourth single from their debut album, Yourself or Someone Like You.

Content

The song was written by lead singer Rob Thomas, and details him wondering about what it would be like if he lived in various settings other than the current one, including a superhero, a rainmaker, and being a boss at a job, and if they would worsen or improve his life.

Music video

The music video, directed by Matthew Rolston, starts with Rob walking through a bowling alley with a camel. It then shows him on a street, where Kyle Cook is on an ice cream truck, but instead of selling ice cream, he unveils what appears to be a raw steak. Next, Rob is doing a news broadcast, with Brian Yale acting as a director. In the meantime, intercut with this is a diner with Paul Doucette dressed as a waitress, eventually discarding the outfit. In the midst of the news broadcast, we see what appears to be a breakfast cereal commercial with Adam Gaynor sitting with a family. The video concludes with the camera going back and forth between Rob with the camel and at the news station.

Chart positions

Chart (1998) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[2] 40
Canada Top Singles (RPM) 5
Canada Alternative 30 (RPM) 8
Germany (Media Control Charts)[3] 99
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company) 119
US Billboard Hot 100 38
US Billboard Top 40 Mainstream 4
US Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks 13
US Billboard Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks 3
US Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks 17

Track listing

Australian CD single
  1. "Real World" – 3:50
  2. "Long Day" (live) – 3:53
  3. "3am" (live) – 3:45
Japanese CD single
  1. "Real World" – 3:50
  2. "Push" (live acoustic) – 4:11
  3. "3am" (live acoustic) – 3:48
  4. "Busted" (live acoustic) – 4:24

References

  1. ↑ Allmusic.com entry for Real World
  2. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Matchbox 20 – Real World". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  3. ↑ "Chartverfulgong > Matchbox 20 > Real World – musicline.de" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.

External links