Seether (song)

For the South African rock band, see Seether.

"Seether"
US vinyl single standard artwork
Single by Veruca Salt
from the album American Thighs
B-side	"All Hail Me" (NA, AUS) "Straight" (EU)
Released	March 1994[1]
Recorded	January 1994
Genre	Alternative rock[2][3] grunge[4] bubblegum[5]
Length	3:16
Label	Minty Fresh
Songwriter(s)	Nina Gordon
Producer(s)	Brad Wood
Veruca Salt singles chronology
"Seether" (1994) "Number One Blind" (1995)
Alternative cover art
UK artwork for mostly vinyl releases
Music video
"Seether"

"Seether" is a 1994 single by American alternative rock band Veruca Salt.

Background

The song was written by Veruca Salt singer-guitarist Nina Gordon. "Seether" was more pop-sounding compared to the rest of the band's material. In a 1994 interview with MuchMusic, an interviewer suggested that "Seether" could either be about female "animalistic instincts" or bouts of rage. Gordon agreed that her songs' meanings often changed during and after the writing process. "You write a song, think it's about one thing for five minutes....and discover that it's about many different things and working on many different levels."^[6] In Veruca Salt's 1997 hit single "Volcano Girls," the seether was identified as "Louise," which presumably refers to Veruca Salt singer-guitarist Louise Post.[2]

Release

Veruca Salt recorded the song in early 1994, with production by Brad Wood. They then released "Seether"/"All Hail Me" as their debut single on the independent label Minty Fresh. "Seether" quickly became popular on college and alternative radio stations.^[7][8] Its success led the band to record and release their debut album American Thighs, which included "Seether", later that year. Shortly thereafter, the band signed with the major label Geffen Records, which re-released the album. "Seether" peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, became a hit on MTV, and launched the band into fame.^[7][8]

Legacy and reception

In 1994, the song was number 3 in British Radio One DJ John Peel's Festive Fifty. In a 2014 retrospective, music magazine Paste listed "Seether" at number 10 on their list of the 50 greatest grunge songs of all time.

Pitchfork called it, "bubblegrunge at its finest, all guitar fuzz and pop stickiness and crackling angst animating a personification of anger that just can't be leashed. 'I try to cram her back in my mouth,' co-frontwoman Nina Gordon sings in the verse, but she didn’t really try that hard."^[9]

Music video

The video features band members Nina Gordon, Louise Post, Jim Shapiro, and Steve Lack playing the song in front of the iconic shimmering red Randolph Street Gallery building when it was located at 756 N. Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago. The indoor shots of the band with cats roaming about and in acclimating cages were taken at Tree House Humane Society at their former location, 1212 W Carmen Street, Chicago. Tree House is a stray cat shelter and adoption center founded in 1971 and operating from that address until 2017.

Charts

Chart performance for "Seether"

Chart (1994)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[10]	34
UK Singles (OCC)[11]	61
US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks[12]	8

Seether version

The band Seether named themselves after this song, and in 2012, recorded a cover of the song for their greatest hits album Seether: 2002–2013.^[13] It was released as a single on September 3, 2013.

References

1. [1] ^{[dead link‍]}
2. "100 Best Alternative Rock Songs of 1994". Spin. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
3. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Various Artists - Whatever: The '90s Pop and Culture Box (2005) Review at AllMusic. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
4. Danaher, Michael (August 4, 2014). "The 50 Best Grunge Songs". Paste. Archived from the original on November 9, 2014. Retrieved November 9, 2014.
5. Pitchfork Staff (September 27, 2022). "The 250 Best Songs of the 1990s". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 21, 2022. "Seether" is bubblegrunge at its finest, all guitar fuzz and pop stickiness...
6. "Veruca Salt Interview on Much Music 1994". Much Music. 1994. Retrieved July 12, 2019.^{[dead link‍]}
7. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Veruca Salt". allmusic.com. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
8. Caro, Mark. "Veruca Salt reunites years after explosive breakup". chicagotribune.com. July 3, 2014. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
9. Olivia Horn. "The 250 Best Songs of the 1990s". Pitchfork.
10. "Veruca Salt – Seether". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
11. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
12. "Artist Chart History/Veruca Salt". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
13. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Seether – Seether: 2002-2013 > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved November 29, 2013.

External links

• Official artist website Archived 2005-06-29 at the Wayback Machine
• Veruca Salt at Rolling Stone