Hit That

"Hit That" is a song released by the American rock band the Offspring. The song is featured as the fourth track on the band's seventh studio album, Splinter (2003), and was released as its first single. The song also appears as the 13th track on their Greatest Hits (2005).

"Hit That"
Single by the Offspring
from the album Splinter
B-side"Da Hui"
ReleasedDecember 9, 2003
Recorded2003
Genre
Length2:48
LabelColumbia[2]
Songwriter(s)Dexter Holland
Producer(s)Brendan O'Brien[3]
The Offspring singles chronology
"Defy You"
(2001)		 "Hit That"
(2003)		 "(Can't Get My) Head Around You"
(2004)
Alternative cover
European version
Alternative cover
Import cover

"Hit That" was released to radio on November 4, 2003.[4] The single was first released in the United States and Australia in December 2003, and in the United Kingdom in January 2004, reaching the top 20 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart and the UK Singles Chart (No. 13 and No. 11 respectively) and No. 64 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song also topped the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, proving to be one of their most successful singles since the 1990s. This was the first time an Offspring song would hit No. 1 on that chart since their breakthrough single "Come Out and Play" was released a decade earlier in 1994.

Composition

The song's lyrics, as put by Dexter Holland, are "about the consequences of promiscuity or the idea that no matter what the consequences might be, people are going to be out there doing it with each other", discussing how it results in teenage pregnancy and dysfunctional families.[5] Holland detailed:

"It's about taking responsibility. A generation ago, people were talking about the disintegration of the family because everyone was getting divorced, and how it was taking such a terrible toll on society. Well, you look around nowadays, and it's disintegrated so much more. Joe Blow has got three different kids by three different girls and vice versa, and it's happening more and more. And ultimately the kids are the ones who suffer from that. But when you get down to it, people are gonna hook up, so there's nothing you can do about it."[6]

Music video

The music video for the song, directed by John Williams and David Lea, tried to reflect the irresponsible male of the lyrics not in a literal way, but by telling the story of a dog that turns out to be an amoral force of mayhem, and needed to be caught and neutered to stop its destructive nature. The video combines live-action footage and computer-generated effects, with Williams and Lea playing the part of the dog's owner, a blue man lip-syncing the song's lyrics done by wearing gloves and a mask, onto which digital eyes and mouth were superimposed, to create what Williams described as "a character you can't peg as either completely real or completely computer-generated". To create the same effect on the dog, there was an attempt at making a Great Dane wear a mask, but the dog did not like it, so instead an illuminated muzzle was worn that gave reference for the eventually superimposed animated head. A first draft had caricatures of The Offspring's members through the video, but the band denied that, wanting to avoid something resembling a typical performance video.[5]

The video appears on the Complete Music Video Collection DVD, released in 2005.

Track listing
European CD maxi
No.TitleLength
1."Hit That"2:48
2."Da Hui"1:32
3."Hit That" (USC Marching Band) 
UK CD maxi
No.TitleLength
1."Hit That"2:48
2."The Kids Aren't Alright" (BBC Radio 1 Session)4:16
3."Long Way Home" (Live)2:34
4."Hit That" (USC Marching Band)1:51
5."Hit That" (Video CD Extra) 
Limited edition 7" picture disc
No.TitleLength
1."Hit That"2:48
2."(Can't Get My) Head Around You" (Live) 
Germany limited edition 3" CD
No.TitleLength
1."Hit That"2:48
2."Hit That" (USC Marching Band)1:51
Promo CD
No.TitleLength
1."Hit That"2:48

Personnel

The Offspring

Additional musicians

Charts
Chart (2003–2004) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[7] 13
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[8] 21
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[9] 16
Croatia (HRT)[10] 10
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[11] 13
France (SNEP)[12] 32
Germany (Official German Charts)[13] 31
Ireland (IRMA)[14] 33
Italy (FIMI)[15] 19
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)[16] 2
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[17] 60
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[18] 24
Scotland (OCC)[19] 8
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[20] 57
UK Singles (OCC)[21] 11
UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[22] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[23] 64
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[24] 1
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[25] 6

References
  1. "The Offspring guest program". Rage. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 6 December 2003.
  2. "Hit That". Rate Your Music. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
  3. "Press Release – January 2004". Southerntracks.com. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
  4. "FMQB Airplay Archive: Modern Rock". Friday Morning Quarterback Album Report, Incorporated. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  5. D'Angelo, Joe (February 12, 2004). "Lens Recap: The Story Behind The Offspring's 'Hit That'". MTV News. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  6. Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy Snatched By Offspring
  7. "The Offspring – Hit That". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  8. "The Offspring – Hit That" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  9. "The Offspring – Hit That" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  10. "Top Lista Hrvatskog Radija". Croatian Radiotelevision. Archived from the original on February 5, 2004. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  11. "The Offspring: Hit That" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat.
  12. "The Offspring – Hit That" (in French). Les classement single.
  13. "The Offspring – Hit That" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  14. "Discography The Offspring". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  15. "The Offspring – Hit That". Top Digital Download.
  16. "Tipparade-lijst van week 9, 2004" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  17. "The Offspring – Hit That" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  18. "The Offspring – Hit That". Top 40 Singles.
  19. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  20. "The Offspring – Hit That". Swiss Singles Chart.
  21. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  22. "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  23. "The Offspring Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  24. "The Offspring Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard.
  25. "The Offspring Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.