"Feeling This" is a song by Blink-182, released on October 2, 2003 as the lead single from the group's fifth studio album, Blink-182. Bassist Mark Hoppus and guitarist Tom DeLonge share songwriting credits on the track. Both wrote independently about sex, which resulted in the song's lyrics representing the lustful side of sex during the verses, the passionate side in the bridge and the romantic side in the chorus.
The band picked the song as the first single because it was representative of the transition the band had undergone since Take Off Your Pants and Jacket. The song became a critical and commercial success, peaking at number two on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and later certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. The single's success was widened with the release of its accompanying video, which was frequently played on music television channels.
Many music journalists, upon release of the song, cited it as a standout track from the album. True to the evolution of the band, the song is seen as a transition to a more mature style, lyrical and musical, than many of their previous releases. The song can be found on the band’s Greatest Hits.
Background []
The song was the first track written for Blink-182. Like all tracks on Blink-182, it was recorded at The Rubin’s House, a house just outside of San Diego that the band rented out and converted into a studio. The lyrics were written with Hoppus and DeLonge going into separate rooms – Hoppus writing the choruses and DeLonge writing the verses. The two had not spoken to each other about the lyrics ahead of time, and it turned out that the two had both written about sex. When they put it together, the song represents the lustful side of sex during the verses, the passionate side in the bridge and the romantic side in the chorus.
The effects on the opening drum introduction for the song features flanging. Although computer technology offered it during the album’s production (2003), according to Hoppus, the band opted to produce the effect "the old school way", opting for two tape machines. The song is particularly memorable for a section of the chorus of the song (right before the bridge begins), in which guitarist Tom DeLonge sings the vocals loudly and off-key. According to the liner notes for Blink-182, DeLonge stated that the recording was done in a 30-foot-long (9.1 m) living room at the home previously mentioned, with microphones 10 to 15 feet (3.0 to 4.6 m) away. The end of the song is a melodic duet between the band's two vocalists, both singing conflicting but harmonizing parts. The intro phrase 'get ready for action' is taken from Captain America (1990).
There is not a large difference between the single release of the song and the album version. The only difference is that the album version ends at the 2:52 mark, immediately beginning the next track, "Obvious". The single instead adds a couple of seconds of silent audio near the end; this version can be found on the band’s Greatest Hits.
Chart success and live history[]
"Feeling This" was released as a single on October 2, 2003. The song was the first to be released immediately through digital distribution (iTunes). A slightly different version of the song had been released previously as part of the soundtrack for the video game Madden NFL 2004 under the erroneous title "Action". Barker explained in an interview that "'Action' just sounded kind of dorky to us. Like we would always call it 'Feeling This' and then someone at our label, I think, like wrote it as 'Action' one time and sent out singles to people. And it was always supposed to be 'Feeling This'." The band picked "Feeling This" as the first single because it was representative of the transition the band had undergone since Take Off Your Pants and Jacket.
"Feeling This" was a large success, peaking high at number 2 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The song reached number 15 in the United Kingdom.
In popular culture[]
As previously mentioned, "Feeling This" was released on the soundtrack for the video game Madden NFL 2004 (However entitled "Action" in the game). "Feeling This" is also featured on the U.S. edition of the compilation album Now That's What I Call Music! 15. It was included by the television channel Spike in a special compilation album released in conjunction with the Spike TV 2004 Video Game Awards: Video Game Awards Vol. 1: Best of Video Game Music. The inclusion was based on the appearance of "Feeling This" in Madden NFL 2004. Richard Cheese covered the song on his 2004 album I'd Like a Virgin. The song can also be heard in the background in the Drake and Josh episode Guitar. The song is available as DLC for Rock Band.
Music video[]
The video for "Feeling This" was recorded on October 1st, 2003 and was set in the Lincoln Heights prison. "Feeling This" as a video was released on November 10, 2003, a week before the official release of Blink-182. The video starts out in a dystopian-based school-prison while a policeman is shown shaving a boy's hair off, leaving him bald. Next, it shows the desolate lives of the students in juvenile hall as they get pushed around by policemen and teachers. Some students get locked in cells and a policeman is seen pushing a boy (played by Alexander Cappelli) down in a seat next to a glass window whereupon the boy sees a girl and they begin to kiss while being on opposite sides of the window. Suddenly, one student gets up and the other students join him to spark rebellion by creating chaos and wreaking havoc in the juvenile hall and they escape to see Blink-182 play inside a cage, celebrating freedom. The video was directed by David LaChapelle.
This was the first video that shows Tom DeLonge's new Gibson signature guitar. However, Hoppus is still using his signature pink Jazz Bass, as was first seen in the video for "The Rock Show". During "Making of the Video", Tom Delonge admits that towards the end of the video he accidentally hit Mark Hoppus in the head with his guitar, which takes place at 2:50.
There is also a second "Feeling This" Video, where the band is playing in the room where "Down", "Violence", and "Stockholm Syndrome" videos also took place.
Track listing[]
All songs written and composed by Blink-182.
| Feeling This Single CD | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | ||||||||
| 1. | "Feeling This" | 2:56 | ||||||||
| 2. | "Violence" | 3:48 | ||||||||
| 3. | "The Rock Show" (Live in Chicago) | 3:08 | ||||||||
| 4. | "Carousel" (Live in Chicago) | 2:55 | ||||||||