Released 1995 (1995) Genre Alternative rock | Format CD, cassette Length 2:47 | |
B-side "Fearless Leader""You'll Live For Now" | ||
"Just Like Anyone" is a 1995 song by American alternative rock band Soul Asylum from their seventh album, Let Your Dim Light Shine. Written by lead singer Dave Pirner and produced by the band with Butch Vig, the song was released as the album's second single. It entered the singles charts in Canada and the United Kingdom, and reached the Modern Rock Tracks chart in the United States. The song was included on the band's 2000 greatest hits album, Black Gold: The Best of Soul Asylum, and a live version appears on the band's 2004 After the Flood: Live from the Grand Forks Prom, June 28, 1997 album.
Contents
CD1
- Just Like Anyone
- Get On Out (Live at Paradise Rock Club, 04/06/1995)
- Do Anything You Wanna Do
CD2
- Just Like Anyone
- Fearless Leader
- You'll Leave For Now
Music video
A music video for the song was filmed in Los Angeles during the summer of 1995. Directed by P.J. Hogan and produced by Michelle Alexander, the video features actress Claire Danes, who plays a high school student who is rejected and taunted by other students because she has two noticeable bumps on her back. Hidden beneath the bumps are angel wings, which are revealed later as she takes flight during a school dance. The video received exposure on MTV and MuchMusic, reaching the most-played charts on both networks.
Reception
"Just Like Anyone" peaked at number 52 in the UK and number 55 in Canada, where it also reached number 12 on the Alternative chart. In the U.S., the song was not released as a commercial single, but it received enough radio airplay to peak at number 11 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and number 19 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. New York Times music critic Jon Pareles said the song's lyrics "could have been written for the insecure high school students in the television drama My So-Called Life," in which Danes also starred.