4 AM (Our Lady Peace song)

"4am"
Single by Our Lady Peace
from the album Clumsy
Released January 12, 1998
Format Promo-only CD single
Recorded 1996–1997
Genre Alternative rock, Post-grunge
Length 4:17
Label Columbia
Writer(s) Raine Maida, Arnold Lanni
Producer(s) Arnold Lanni
Our Lady Peace singles chronology
"Carnival"
(1997)
"4am"
(1998)
"One Man Army"
(1999)

"4am" is a song recorded by Canadian alternative rock band Our Lady Peace. It was released in January 1998 as the fourth single from their second album Clumsy.

Background and writing

The song title, "4am", was said by the band that it had double meanings—that it was completely written at 4:00 am, and it stands for Raine Maida's father's initials, Anthony Maida.

Content

The lyrical content in the song was about a dream vocalist Raine Maida had. In the dream, his father was dying in the hospital, but he arrives too late to say that he loved him. The song thoroughly explains it in direct context.

Critical reception

The song was reviewed negatively by Billboard Magazine who said, "To warrant a snail-paced tempo. a song should ideally deliver pleasing vocals or poetic lyrics, and this overwrought ballad by Our Lady Peace unfortunately does neither."[1]

Music video

The music video was directed by Tony Pantages and was filmed in early December 1997 in Los Angeles during El Niño. It premiered on MuchMusic on January 23, 1998.[2] In the video, the band is shown riding in a black 1958 Cadillac Series 75 limousine. There is also an edited version of the video made for airing in the U.S. The edited version is similar to the original, except it is shorter and features different camera shots at different times than the original. For example, in the original, Maida sings the majority of the song in the car, while in the edited version, he sings mostly on an empty street.

Track listing

US promo single

CSK 41071

  1. "Radio Edit" – 3:30
  2. "Album Version" – 4:15
  3. "Callout Hook #1" – :10
  4. "Callout Hook #2" – :05

Chart performance

Chart (1998) Peak
position
Canadian RPM Top Singles 29
Canadian RPM Alternative Top 30 8
U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks 31
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks 38

References

  1. Flick, Larry. "Our Lady Peace: 4 am." Billboard (magazine) 8 Aug. 1998: ABI/INFORM Trade & Industry, ProQuest. Web. Retrieved 27 Sep. 2010.
  2. Anon (1997). "News Archive" Ourladypeace.com at the Internet Archive. Retrieved September 18, 2009

External links


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