Hello Time Bomb
"Hello Time Bomb" is a song by Canadian alternative rock group Matthew Good Band. It was released in September 1999 as the lead single from their third studio album, Beautiful Midnight. It was nominated for "Best Single" at the 2000 Juno Awards and is one of the band's signature songs. Between 1995 and 2016, "Hello Time Bomb" was the fourth most played song by a Canadian artist on rock radio stations in Canada.[1]
"Hello Time Bomb" | ||||
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Single by Matthew Good Band | ||||
from the album Beautiful Midnight | ||||
Released | September 14, 1999 | |||
Recorded | February - April 1999 | |||
Genre | Alternative rock | |||
Length | 3:58 | |||
Label | Universal Music Canada (Canada) Atlantic Records (US) | |||
Songwriter(s) | Matthew Good, Dave Genn | |||
Producer(s) | Warne Livesey | |||
Matthew Good Band singles chronology | ||||
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Song information
Good mentions that he wrote the song quickly on an old acoustic guitar at a friend's place.
Sometimes the unexpected happens. Years ago I had a day off during the making of Beautiful Midnight. Two friends had dropped by my place to get me, as we were going out. While sitting there, we somehow got into a discussion about writing quick songs about nothing. So I picked up this crappy old classical guitar that belonged to my ex-girlfriend and proceeded to play do-do-do-do-do…click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click…do-do-do-do-do. And then the words came - 'I found me a reason, so check me tomorrow, we’ll see if I’m leaking, push and push and push till it hurts…'
In about 45 minutes I had what would basically be Hello Time Bomb, which later that night I quickly recorded onto a cassette and we tracked the very next day.
Sometimes the unexpected happens.Of course, never in my wildest dreams did I think that that song would go on to become one of my biggest singles. I mean let’s face it, I wrote it on a dust covered classical guitar that had been sitting unused behind a large plant for years. But, in the end, that’s how it happened.
Charts
Weekly charts
Chart (1999-01) | Peak position |
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Canada Rock (RPM)[3] | 3 |
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[4] | 34 |
Trivia
- The song is featured on MuchMusic's compilation album, Big Shiny Tunes 4.
- In a 2009 list of the "Top 200 songs of the 1990s" by CFNY-FM (102.1 "The Edge"), "Hello Time Bomb" was voted #35.
- The song is featured on the soundtrack of the 2002 film Men with Brooms.
- Todd Kerns from The Age of Electric is a featured background vocalist in the song.
References
- "Top 150 Canadian Airplay Songs – Rock". musiccanada.wordpress.com. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
- "Writing of Hello Time Bomb". Matthew Good. Archived from the original on 2009-01-08. Retrieved 2008-10-24.
- "Rock/Alternative – Volume 69, No. 23, September 27, 1999". RPM. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
- "Matthew Good Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved February 3, 2019.