February Son
Encyclopedia
February Son is the major label debut album from post-grunge
band Oleander
. It was released on Universal Records
in 1999 and eventually went gold. As such, February Son boasts some of Oleander's most successful single
s. It also includes new drummer
Scott Devours who was hired to replace the band's original drummer, Fred Nelson Jr. Most of the songs on the album had been previously released on the band's independent debut
.
, "Why I'm Here
," and "I Walk Alone." The latter had a music video
while the lead single was featured on the popular TV series Dawson's Creek
. A cover
of The Cure
's "Boys Don't Cry
" would serve as a UK single backed by a video in the summer of 2000. Directed by Cousin Mike, the video stars Bloodhound Gang
leader Jimmy Pop
who played a nerd
y man living in an apartment. Oleander surrounds him as they loudly perform the song, forcing him to weep. Frontman Thomas Flowers explained that the song "really typifies and exemplifies everything that I'm already trying to say on the album."
"Why I'm Here" appeared on Now, Vol. 3
and Universal Smash Hits. "I Walk Alone" landed on the Bravo Hits, Vol. 28 and Shine! compilations, and Gravity Games 2000: Summer Sounds, Vol. 1 featured "Where Were You Then?".
In promotion of February Son, the group opened for the headlining Creed
and Our Lady Peace
. They also performed at Woodstock '99. In December 1999, Oleander and Kid Rock
performed a charity concert for the Atlanta Community Food Bank. The band also played a New Year's Eve
concert with Fastball
at the Sacramento Convention Center
.
flagship Nirvana
, particularly on "Why I'm Here" which begins with a similar note pattern as "Heart-Shaped Box
." However, despite the accusation, other songs have been cited as boasting unique and enjoyable melodies, and the album managed to sell over a half-million copies.
Adrianne Stone of Rolling Stone
also described the album with content. She cited, "Razor sharp guitars on 'Lost Cause,' violin enhancing the warm tones of first single 'Why I'm Here,' and a surprise false ending on 'Never Again' are typical augmentations on a riff-laden album that hints of Nirvana's pained alterna-pop."
Post-grunge
Post-grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged in the mid-1990s as a derivative of grunge, using the sounds and aesthetic of grunge, but with a more commercially acceptable tone...
band Oleander
Oleander (band)
Oleander is a post-grunge band from Sacramento, California, USA. Its name is derived from the poisonous wildflower oleander, which line the highways of Northern California. In their nine years of activity, the band released four studio albums under various record labels...
. It was released on Universal Records
Universal Records
Universal Records was a record label owned by Universal Music Group, and it is now owned by Manny Patino and Michael Jackson, and operated as part of the Universal Motown Republic Group.-History:...
in 1999 and eventually went gold. As such, February Son boasts some of Oleander's most successful single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
s. It also includes new drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
Scott Devours who was hired to replace the band's original drummer, Fred Nelson Jr. Most of the songs on the album had been previously released on the band's independent debut
Shrinking The Blob
Shrinking the Blob is the first full-length album by American post-grunge band Oleander. It was released independently on Fine Records. Several tracks would be re-released on the band's major label debut, February Son, including the hit single "Why I'm Here." The song "Jimmy Shaker Day" was also...
.
Promotion and touring
The album features Oleander's breakout lead singleLead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
, "Why I'm Here
Why I'm Here
"Why I'm Here" is a song by American hard rock band Oleander. It was the lead single from their major label debut album, February Son. The track was previously included on Oleander's eponymous EP in 1996 and their independent LP, Shrinking the Blob, in 1997...
," and "I Walk Alone." The latter had a music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
while the lead single was featured on the popular TV series Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek is an American teen drama television series which debuted on January 20, 1998, on The WB Television Network and was produced by Sony Pictures Television. The show is set in the fictional seaside town of Capeside, Massachusetts, and in Boston, Massachusetts, during the later seasons...
. A cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
's "Boys Don't Cry
Boys Don't Cry (song)
"Boys Don't Cry" was the second single to be released by The Cure, released in June 1979. It was released in the UK as a stand-alone single, and was included as the title track on Boys Don't Cry, the American equivalent to Three Imaginary Boys....
" would serve as a UK single backed by a video in the summer of 2000. Directed by Cousin Mike, the video stars Bloodhound Gang
Bloodhound Gang
Bloodhound Gang is a Collegeville, Pennsylvania-based American comedy band, although it began as a rap group and gradually changed its genre throughout the years...
leader Jimmy Pop
Jimmy Pop
Jimmy Pop is an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, main songwriter, and founding member of the band Bloodhound Gang.-Biography:After graduating from Perkiomen Valley High School in 1990, he studied mass communication and history at Temple...
who played a nerd
Nerd
Nerd is a derogatory slang term for an intelligent but socially awkward and obsessive person who spends time on unpopular or obscure pursuits, to the exclusion of more mainstream activities. Nerds are considered to be awkward, shy, and unattractive...
y man living in an apartment. Oleander surrounds him as they loudly perform the song, forcing him to weep. Frontman Thomas Flowers explained that the song "really typifies and exemplifies everything that I'm already trying to say on the album."
"Why I'm Here" appeared on Now, Vol. 3
Now That's What I Call Music! 3 (U.S. series)
-Chart performance:...
and Universal Smash Hits. "I Walk Alone" landed on the Bravo Hits, Vol. 28 and Shine! compilations, and Gravity Games 2000: Summer Sounds, Vol. 1 featured "Where Were You Then?".
In promotion of February Son, the group opened for the headlining Creed
Creed (band)
Creed is an American rock band formed in 1995 in Tallahassee, Florida. Becoming popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the band has released three consecutive multi-platinum albums, one of which has been certified diamond, and has sold over 28 million records in the United States, with an...
and Our Lady Peace
Our Lady Peace
Our Lady Peace is a Canadian alternative rock band that formed in Toronto, Ontario in 1992. Headed by lead vocalist Raine Maida since its formation, the band additionally consists of Jeremy Taggart on percussion, Duncan Coutts on bass, and Steve Mazur as lead guitarist...
. They also performed at Woodstock '99. In December 1999, Oleander and Kid Rock
Kid Rock
Robert James "Bob" Ritchie , known by his stage name Kid Rock, is an American singer-songwriter, musician and rapper with five Grammy Awards nominations...
performed a charity concert for the Atlanta Community Food Bank. The band also played a New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...
concert with Fastball
Fastball (band)
Fastball is an American rock band that formed in Austin, Texas in the 1990s. The band originally called themselves "Magneto U.S.A." but changed their name after signing with Hollywood Records....
at the Sacramento Convention Center
Sacramento Convention Center
The Sacramento Convention Center Complex is a complex of entertainment venues and a convention center located in downtown Sacramento, California...
.
Reception
February Son received some criticism for allegedly imitating the influential grungeGrunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
flagship Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
, particularly on "Why I'm Here" which begins with a similar note pattern as "Heart-Shaped Box
Heart-Shaped Box
"Heart-Shaped Box" is a song by the American grunge band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain. The song was released as the first single from the group's third and final studio album, In Utero, in 1993. It was one of two songs from the album mixed by Scott Litt in order to augment...
." However, despite the accusation, other songs have been cited as boasting unique and enjoyable melodies, and the album managed to sell over a half-million copies.
Adrianne Stone of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
also described the album with content. She cited, "Razor sharp guitars on 'Lost Cause,' violin enhancing the warm tones of first single 'Why I'm Here,' and a surprise false ending on 'Never Again' are typical augmentations on a riff-laden album that hints of Nirvana's pained alterna-pop."
Track listing
(All songs written by Thomas Flowers and Oleander, except where noted)- "You'll Find Out" – 3:12
- "Stupid" – 3:51
- "Down When I'm Loaded" – 4:24
- "Why I'm HereWhy I'm Here"Why I'm Here" is a song by American hard rock band Oleander. It was the lead single from their major label debut album, February Son. The track was previously included on Oleander's eponymous EP in 1996 and their independent LP, Shrinking the Blob, in 1997...
" – 3:58 - "I Walk Alone" – 4:09
- "Lost Cause" – 4:28
- "Where Were You Then?" – 4:05
- "Shrinking The Blob" (Flowers, Ivanisevich) – 4:25
- "How Could I?" – 5:13
- "Boys Don't CryBoys Don't Cry (song)"Boys Don't Cry" was the second single to be released by The Cure, released in June 1979. It was released in the UK as a stand-alone single, and was included as the title track on Boys Don't Cry, the American equivalent to Three Imaginary Boys....
" (Dempsey, Smith, Tolhurst) – 3:14 - "Never Again" – 3:58
Personnel
- Thomas Flowers - vocals, guitar
- Doug Eldridge - bass guitar
- Ric Ivanisevich - guitar
- Fred Nelson, Jr. - drums
- Additional personnel:
-
- Jonathan Mover
- Rich Mouser
- Kristina Kopriva
- Steven "Tambourine Man" Haigler
-
Album
| Chart | Peak position |
Year |
|---|---|---|
| Billboard 200 | 115 | 1999 |
| Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical... |
1 | 1999 |
Singles
| Song | Chart | Peak position |
Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Why I'm Here" | Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock Tracks Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue... |
3 | 1999 |
| "Why I'm Here" | Modern Rock Tracks Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs... |
13 | 1999 |
| "I Walk Alone" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 24 | 1999 |
| "I Walk Alone" | Modern Rock Tracks | 37 | 1999 |
External links
- "Boys Don't Cry" video on Yahoo! MusicYahoo! MusicYahoo! Music, owned by Yahoo!, is the provider of a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming...
- "I Walk Alone" video on Yahoo! MusicYahoo! MusicYahoo! Music, owned by Yahoo!, is the provider of a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming...