Midlife Crisis

"Midlife Crisis" is a song by American rock band Faith No More. It was released on May 25, 1992, as the first single from their fourth album, Angel Dust. It became their only number-one hit on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and reached number 10 on the UK Singles Chart.

For the term describing the transition of identity and self-confidence, see Midlife crisis.

"Midlife Crisis"
Artwork for European releases
Single by Faith No More
from the album Angel Dust
B-side
  • "Midlife Crisis" (The Scream Mix)
  • "Jizzlobber"
  • "Crack Hitler"
  • "Midnight Cowboy"
ReleasedMay 25, 1992 (1992-05-25)[1]
StudioCoast Recorders, Brilliant (San Francisco, California)
GenreAlternative metal
Length4:22
LabelSlash
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Matt Wallace
Faith No More singles chronology
"Falling to Pieces"
(1990)		 "Midlife Crisis"
(1992)		 "A Small Victory"
(1992)

Music and lyrics

"Midlife Crisis" is an alternative metal song,[2] which incorporates progressive rock and hip hop elements.[3]

Mike Patton has denied that the song is about having a midlife crisis, as he did not know what one would feel like, but says that "it's more about creating false emotion, being emotional, dwelling on your emotions and in a sense inventing them"[4] and that:

The song is based on a lot of observation and a lot of speculation. But in sort of a pointed way it's kind of about Madonna... I think it was a particular time where I was being bombarded with her image on TV and in magazines and her whole shtick kind of speaks to me in that way... like she's going through some sort of problem. It seems she's getting a bit desperate.[4]

Production

During production, the song was given the working title of "Madonna";[5] this title was later maintained as a set list name during live performances.[6] The drum track for the song contains a sample of the first bar of the song "Cecilia", as performed by Simon and Garfunkel, repeated throughout.ⓘ[7] The bridge features a sample of "Car Thief" by the Beastie Boys.

Music video

The video for this song was directed by Kevin Kerslake, who also directed their shoestring video for the song "Everything's Ruined". The version on the Who Cares a Lot?: The Greatest Videos collection is uncensored and contains shots during the bridge which show a man being stretched by four horses (alluding to an old punishment for regicide, known as "quartering") – the censored version uses additional shots of choirboys running to a large cross instead. Singer Mike Patton can also be seen dancing around holding a spade.

For the video, the sound mix of this song is slightly different than the album version (on certain promotional releases it is referred to as 'The Scream Mix'). For the DVD re-release of Who Cares a Lot?: The Greatest Videos, the album version of the song is used instead, with the accommodating edits made.

Appearances and covers

"Midlife Crisis" has featured on the soundtrack for the videogames Tony Hawk's Underground 2 and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on the fictional radio station Radio X. It is a master track song on Rock Band 3, with the fade-out ending edited for gameplay reasons.

The song has been covered on industrial metal band Bile's 2002 album The Copy Machine.

It was covered by American rock band Disturbed twice: the first time for a Faith No More tribute album, which was instead released through the Internet; the second time as a B-side to their fourth studio album Indestructible. This re-recorded version was released on Covered, A Revolution in Sound and remastered for a third release on their B-side compilation album The Lost Children.[8]

In 2021, ex-Korn drummer David Silveria's band Breaking in a Sequence included a cover of "Midlife Crisis" on their debut EP.

Track listings
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Midlife Crisis" (The Scream Mix)Patton
  • Bottum
  • Bordin
  • Gould
  • Patton
3:55
2."Jizzlobber"
  • Martin
  • Patton
Martin6:39
3."Crack Hitler"Patton
  • Gould
  • Bottum
  • Bordin
4:39
4."Midnight Cowboy"InstrumentalBarry4:13
Australian edition
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Midlife Crisis"Patton
  • Bottum
  • Bordin
  • Gould
  • Patton
4:24
2."Jizzlobber"
  • Martin
  • Patton
Martin6:39
3."As the Worm Turns" (re-recording)Mosely
  • Bottum
  • Gould
  • Mosely
2:38

Personnel

Charts
Chart (1992) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[9] 31
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[10] 9
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[11] 39
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[12] 77
European Hot 100 Singles (Music & Media)[13] 61
Germany (Official German Charts)[14] 32
Ireland (IRMA)[15] 13
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[16] 36
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[17] 32
UK Singles (OCC)[18] 10
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[19] 1
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[20] 32

See also

References
  1. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. May 23, 1992. p. 19.
  2. Terich, Jeff; Blyweiss, Adam (October 3, 2012). "10 Essential Alternative Metal Singles". Treblezine. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  3. Grierson, Tim. "Faith No More - 'Angel Dust' Review". About.com. Archived from the original on October 7, 2014. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  4. Q30 on the FAQ on the Faith No More website
  5. The Making of Angel Dust. MTV. Retrieved February 26, 2008.
  6. "Faith No More FAQ, Q32". FNM.com. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  7. Q40 on the FAQ on the Faith No More website
  8. "BLABBERMOUTH.NET – MASTODON, DISTURBED Featured On 'Covered, A Revolution In Sound'". Roadrunner Records. January 13, 2009. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  9. "Faith No More – Midlife Crisis". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  10. "Faith No More – Midlife Crisis" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  11. "Faith No More – Midlife Crisis" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  12. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 1958." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  13. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 25. June 20, 1992. p. 17. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  14. "Faith No More – Midlife Crisis" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  15. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Faith No More". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  16. "Faith No More – Midlife Crisis" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  17. "Faith No More – Midlife Crisis". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  18. "Faith No More: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  19. "Faith No More Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  20. "Faith No More Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
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