I Choose

"I Choose"
Single by The Offspring
from the album Ixnay on the Hombre
Released December 5, 1997
Format CD[1]
Recorded 1996
Genre Punk rock, ska punk
Length 3:54
Label Columbia[2]
Writer(s) Dexter Holland
Producer(s) Dave Jerden[2]
The Offspring singles chronology
"The Meaning of Life"
(1997)		 "I Choose"
(1997)		 "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)"
(1998)

"I Choose" is a punk rock song by The Offspring. It is the eighth track on their fourth studio album Ixnay on the Hombre (1997) and was released as the fourth and final single from the album.

The single enjoyed less commercial success compared with the previous singles from the album and was omitted from the band's Greatest Hits album (2005). However, it became another top 10 Hot Mainstream Rock Track for The Offspring.

Literary Reference

The song contains a literary reference in verse 2 to J. D. Salinger's short story, "A Perfect Day for Bananafish." In the story, the protagonist, who is suicidally depressed, tells a little girl at a Florida beach a story about bananafish, a fictional species of fish that hides in its burrow, eating bananas, until it is trapped inside forever and dies of banana fever.[3] In the original work, the bananafish is a tragic creature, but the song looks at the tragedy and laughs anyway, saying it "doesn't really matter" and shrugging off the self-pity of the original.

Track listing[1]

No. Title Length
1. "I Choose"   3:54
2. "All I Want" (Live) 2:02
3. "Mota"   2:55

Music video

The video for the song was directed by the band's lead singer and songwriter, Dexter Holland. The video takes place in an airport, where the band members depart from a taxi cab. While people are dancing, a skateboarder skates through. When his bag is checked, the x-ray sees a "ticking clock". Thinking that it is a bomb, a security guard chases him down only to open his bag and find a Flava Flav style clock necklace. This footage is spliced with footage of the band performing antics of their own (such as lead guitarist Noodles playing the solo on a conveyor belt) and performing in a completely different place where heavy winds blow trash into their equipment.

On the Greatest Hits DVD, the band joked about the idea of making a video like this now, with the seriousness of airport security. The band considered it one of their best music videos.

DVD appearances

The music video appears also appears on the Complete Music Video Collection DVD. It was released in 2005.

Chart positions

Chart (1997) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[4] 79
US Alternative Songs (Billboard)[5] 24
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[6] 5

References

  1. 1 2 "I Choose". Rate Your Music. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Offspring, The – I Choose". Discogs. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
  3. ↑ Salinger, J. D. "A Perfect Day for Bananafish." The New Yorker. 31 Jan. 1948: 21-25. 4 Oct. 2010 http://www.dibache.com/text.asp?cat=51&id=184.
  4. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  5. ↑ "The Offspring – Chart history" Billboard Alternative Songs for The Offspring.
  6. ↑ "The Offspring – Chart history" Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs for The Offspring.

External links

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