Hip to Be Square

"Hip to Be Square" is a song by Huey Lewis and the News, written by Bill Gibson, Sean Hopper, and Huey Lewis, and released in 1986 as the second single from the multi-platinum album Fore!.

"Hip to Be Square"
Single by Huey Lewis and the News
from the album Fore!
B-side"Some of My Lies Are True" (Remix)
ReleasedOctober 6, 1986
Recorded1986
GenreRock
Length4:01
LabelChrysalis
Songwriter(s)Bill Gibson
Sean Hopper
Huey Lewis
Producer(s)Huey Lewis and the News
Huey Lewis and the News singles chronology
"Stuck with You"
(1986)		 "Hip to Be Square"
(1986)		 "Jacob's Ladder"
(1986)

The song features San Francisco 49ers players Joe Montana, Ronnie Lott, Dwight Clark, and Riki Ellison singing backup vocals.[1] The single reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100. In later concerts, Lewis performed the song as "(Too) Hip to Be Square", as performed on their live album, Live at 25.

Composition

In a 2008 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Lewis stated he originally wrote the song's lyrics in the third person, "He used to be a renegade...".[2] He referenced the book Bobos in Paradise in describing the song's inspiration, explaining that "Hip to Be Square" was about the "phenomenon where people from the '60s started to drop back in, cut their hair, work out, that kind of crap, but they kept their bohemian tastes. ... bourgeois bohemians." Lewis later modified the lyrics to be in the first person as he believed it would enhance the joke, but stated this had unintentionally led to the interpretation of the song as an "anthem for square people".[2]

Reception

Billboard said that "this bouncy stomp should find a wide constituency identifying with the lyrics."[3] Cash Box said that "utilizing the 'Power of Love' formula," it "jumps off to a quick start and drives home the populist message of its title."[4]

Appearances

American Psycho

The song is referred to in the novel American Psycho when the main character, Patrick Bateman, provides a lengthy critique of Huey Lewis and the News' career.

The song was then featured in the film adaptation during a scene in which Bateman (played by Christian Bale) gives an abridged version of his critique from the novel to his coworker Paul Allen (Jared Leto) just before killing him in his house with an axe in a turning point of the film:

"In '87, [sic] Huey released this ... Fore!, their most accomplished album. I think their undisputed masterpiece is 'Hip to Be Square,' a song so catchy, most people probably don't listen to the lyrics. But they should, because it's not just about the pleasures of conformity, and the importance of trends, it's also a personal statement about the band itself."

The song was originally featured on the accompanying soundtrack, but shortly after it was released, the album was pulled from the shelves and the song was removed before being reissued, but a small number had already been sold. Reports erroneously claimed that Lewis had objected to the context in which his song was used in the film and demanded it be removed from the album.[5][6] In reality, the film's production team had paid for the rights to use the song in the film, but overlooked receiving the rights to include it on the soundtrack. When the soundtrack was released with the song on it, Lewis had it withdrawn, as the soundtrack rights had not been secured.[7]

In 2013, Lewis himself guest starred in a parody of the scene with "Weird Al" Yankovic for comedy website Funny or Die.[8][9]

In 2021, metalcore band Ice Nine Kills released "Hip to Be Scared" as the lead single from their album The Silver Scream 2: Welcome to Horrorwood. In addition to the title being a direct reference, the song and video featured an interpolation of the main melody from "Hip to Be Square" during a skit which parodies Bateman's critique of the band.[10]

Sesame Street

The popular children's show Sesame Street created an educational parody of the song called "Hip to Be a Square" and used it during a cartoon portion of the program.[11] Lewis said of the parody, "they contacted our publisher about doing it, and we were happy to let 'em. I think it's sweet."[12]

Track listing
7-inch single
  1. "Hip to Be Square"
  2. "Some of My Lies Are True" (Remix)
12-inch single
  1. "Hip to Be Square" (Dance remix) – 6:05
  2. "Hip to Be Square" (Dub mix) – 5:11

Charts
Chart (1986–1987) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[13] 17
Canadian Singles Chart[14] 14
Dutch Singles Chart[15] 28
Finnish Singles Chart[16] 12
Ireland (IRMA)[17] 29
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[18] 9
Spanish Singles Chart 32
UK Singles Chart[19] 41
US Billboard Hot 100[20] 3
US Cashbox Top 100[21] 6
US Billboard Adult Contemporary[22] 20
US Billboard Album Rock Tracks[23] 1
Year-end chart (1987) Position
US Top Pop Singles (Billboard)[24] 49

See also

References
  1. Janofsky, Michael (January 2, 1987). "N.F.L. PLAYOFFS; 49ERS PRACTICE TO A NOISY BEAT". The New York Times. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  2. Blerly, Mandi (August 4, 2008). "Name That Movie Mondays! (Vol. 7: Special Huey Lewis & the News edition)". Entertainment Weekly.
  3. "Reviews". Billboard. October 18, 1986. p. 95. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  4. "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. October 18, 1986. p. 9. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  5. Dansby, Andrew (April 11, 2000). "Huey Lewis Sparks 'American Psycho' Soundtrack Recall". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 1, 2007. Retrieved July 11, 2007.
  6. Zacharek, Stephanie (April 14, 2000). "American Psycho". Salon. Archived from the original on April 28, 2009. Retrieved July 11, 2007.
  7. Quelland, Sarah (April 20, 2000). "Huey in the News". metroactive.com. Retrieved July 11, 2007.
  8. "American Psycho with Huey Lewis and Weird Al". Funny or Die. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
  9. "Huey Lewis discusses killing Weird Al, his 'American Psycho' boycott and new music for 2015". mlive. October 9, 2014. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
  10. DiVita, Joe. "Ice Nine Kills Debut 'Hip to Be Scared' Feat. Jacoby Shaddix, Announce New Album". Loudwire. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  11. Sesame Street: It's Hip to Be a Square. March 19, 2010. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021 – via YouTube.
  12. Huey Lewis Fan Q&A: November 23, 2015, via archive.org
  13. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  14. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on May 13, 2016. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
  15. "Zoeken - MEGA TOP 50". 3fm.nl.
  16. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 263. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  17. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Hip to be Square". Irish Singles Chart.
  18. "Huey Lewis and the News – Hip to be Square". Top 40 Singles.
  19. officialcharts.com
  20. "Huey Lewis & the News Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  21. "Cashbox Top 100: December 6, 1986". Cashbox. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  22. "Huey Lewis & the News Chart History: Adult Contemporary". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  23. "Huey Lewis & the News Chart History: Mainstream Rock". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  24. "1987 The Year in Music & Video: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 99, no. 52. December 26, 1987.
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