Released November 19, 1995 Recorded 1994 Length 4:27 | Format CD single Genre Ska punk
reggae rock | |
 | ||
B-side "Sailin' On"
"The Climb (Live)"
"D.J.'s (Live)"
"Let's Get Back"
"Dog House"
"Oi To The World" | ||
"Spiderwebs" is a song written and recorded by American rock band No Doubt for their third studio album Tragic Kingdom (1995). It was released on November 19, 1995, by Interscope Records as a single in the United States. The song was written by No Doubt's frontwoman Gwen Stefani and lead bassist Tony Kanal, and produced by Matthew Wilder and No Doubt.
Contents
"Spiderwebs" is a ska punk track with influence from reggae rock music. Lyrically, the track was inspired by a man who had been calling Stefani at all hours to recite bad poetry to her. This scenario was then turned into a song with the help of Kanal. Musically, the song uses a single drum for the beat and various brass instruments, such as a trombone to build up the crescendos in the chorus.
Upon release, "Spiderwebs" received both commercial and critical acclaim from music critics. Commercially, the track peaked at number 16 in the United Kingdom and number 11 in Canada, while peaking at number 5 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart. The accompanying music video featured the band members crashing a wedding while various Japanese phrases appeared on the screen.
Composition
The song's lyrics were inspired by a lonesome man reciting poetry to Stefani.
Music video
Two different music videos were produced for "Spiderwebs". In the first version, the music video showed clips of the band playing. MTV thought that the exploding telephones were inappropriate for younger viewers so they added more footage of the band. These included lead singer Gwen Stefani walking around being covered in "spiderwebs" made of strings sprayed out of aerosol cans and Gwen being tangled in various telephone cords. In the second version, the music video featured the band playing in a Japanese restaurant entertaining the patrons. As the band plays, various Japanese-language sentences are displayed on the screen.
The subtitles displayed in the Japanese music video during the wedding reception scene translate to: "Excellent party", "I really like cake a lot", "What is your name?", "This is excellent champagne", "What is this? Crazy kids", "It's making me sick".
Cover versions
Massachusetts pop punk band Four Year Strong covered the song on their '90s cover-album Explains It All in 2009.
Use in media
The song is featured as a playable song in both Guitar Hero: On Tour and Guitar Hero World Tour. It is also a downloadable song for the Rock Band and SingStar series, and Rocksmith 2014. The song also appears on the soundtrack of NBA 2K15, which had its soundtrack selected by Stefani's frequent collaborator Pharrell Williams.
Track listing
- "Spiderwebs" (LP version) – 4:27
- "Spiderwebs" (live from KROQ) – 4:05
- "Sailin' On" (from MOM: Music for Our Mother Ocean) – 3:37
- "Just a Girl" (video - enhanced version)
- "Spiderwebs" (LP version) – 4:27
- "The Climb" (live) 7:56
- "Doghouse" – 4:30
- "Spiderwebs" (video) – 4:08
- "Spiderwebs" (LP version) – 4:27
- "D.J.'s" (live) – 4:06
- "Let's Get Back" (LP version) – 4:14
- "Excuse Me Mr." (video) – 3:37
- "Spiderwebs" (Radio Edit) – 3:50
- "Spiderwebs" (Album Version) – 4:27
- "Spiderwebs" (LP version) – 4:27
- "Sailin' On" (from MOM: Music for Our Mother Ocean) – 3:37
- "Spiderwebs" (LP version) – 4:27
- "The Climb" (live) 7:56
- "Doghouse" – 4:30
- "Oi to the World" - 2:42
- "Spiderwebs" (video) – 4:08