Hate Me
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Hate Me" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Single by Blue October | ||
| from the album Foiled | ||
| Format | Digital download, CD single | |
| Genre | Alternative Rock | |
| Length | 4:11 | |
| Label | Universal Records | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| Blue October singles chronology | ||
| "Calling You" (2003) |
"Hate Me" (2006) |
"Into the Ocean" (2006) |
Hate Me is a 2006 single from the Houston, Texas alternative rock group Blue October. For a time, it was the most requested song on modern rock radio[1]. The song peaked at number two on the Billboard Modern Rock charts and at number 31 on the U.S. Hot 100.
Synopsis Of The Video
The music video follows the lead singer, Justin Furstenfeld, as he receives a call from his mother on an answering machine. His mother is concerned about the stress he is currently facing and she wonders if he is being responsible with regards to taking his medication. The video then depicts Justin dropping the answering machine, wishing that his mother wouldn't care about him so much. The video then follows him as he walks around his house and scenes change to showcase his childhood, first showing that he was a happy young boy and then, as the video progresses, his acts of rebellion and disrespect for his mother. Scenes include a happy baby, an emotional child, a scene involving his prom night with his date that is clearly meant to "lash out" and finally to him passed out on the floor by the door, likely due to substance abuse. In each scene, his mother is there, caring for him. She seems to be the only one that has and will ever love him and yet he runs away from her. Later in the video Justin is traveling to a grave yard in a black car holding the answering machine (which was the only thing he took with him when he left). He leaves it on a grave, making the viewer wonder if it is his mother that has died. At the conclusion to the music video, Justin is with his mother, sitting and talking with him. The answering machine is placed between the two, showing that Justin has matured and understands his past problems.
Synopsis of the Lyrics
Based on the music and song lyrics alone, radio listeners would probably not make the mother-son connection that the video portrays. The radio-edit cuts out the answering machine lead-in to the song contained on the CD track and in the video.
The video fills in many of the gaps. However, if the video were never viewed by a listener, the music and song lyrics alone, through the radio-edit, strongly suggest the original intent: a man who inflicted deep emotional damage on his ex-girlfriend through his own self-destructive patterns. Possibly his alcoholism or substance abuse resulted in a selfish/hurtful behavior like abuse, cheating or something of that nature.
The lyrics further imply that an overwhelming sense of guilt for the pain his destructive behavior caused, and his possible inability to currently control his tendencies, are causing him to remove himself from her life, so as to protect her from further emotional damage.
Other implications include a thank you when looking back at all of the care that given to him by her (similar to that in the video from his mother) as well as the selfless (in his own way) message that it is ok to "hate me" for all of the pain he's caused.
This reflects the songs main-stream radio acceptance and success as many modern rock and top 40 hits lyrically are about love's watered down or raw (like these lyrics) emotion.
From the Blue October Lyrics (http://www.geocities.com/blueoctoberlyrics/) web-site:
" Basically, I was in L.A. for awhile, and going through some stuff...and my mom hadn't heard from me for three or four months, and she was just kinda getting worried about me and checking into see if I had re-upped all my medication. Which I hadn't. And she probably knew that, cause of mom's intuition, you know...they always know when something's wrong. And I actually realized at the beginning of that song that it wasn't just a song about relationships anymore, it was more of a song about a universal theme about not forgetting who's important to you, and things like that...so I wanted to add my mom into the beginning of that just cause you only get one chance at having a great relationship with everybody you're surrounded with."
-Justin 04-04-06 "
[edit] Track Listing
- Hate Me (with intro)
- Hate Me (acoustic)
- Independently Happy (live)
- Hate Me (video)
[edit] Charts
| Chart (2006) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Modern Rock Tracks | 2 |
| Canadian Hits Chart | 6 |
| Canadian Digital Singles | 9 |
| U.S. Hot Adult Top 40 | 13 |
| U.S. Top 40 Mainstream | 20 |
| U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks | 21 |
| U.S. Hot Digital Tracks | 27 |
| U.S. Pop 100 | 29 |
| U.S. Hot 100 | 31 |
| Blue October |
| Justin Furstenfeld | Ryan Delahoussaye | Jeremy Furstenfeld | C.B. Hudson | Matt Noveskey |
| Liz Mullally | Dwayne Casey | Piper Dagnino | Brant Coulter | Julian Mandrake |
| Discography |
|---|
| The Answers | Consent to Treatment | History for Sale | Argue with a Tree | Foiled |
| Singles |
| Breakfast After 10 | HRSA | James | Calling You | Hate Me | Into the Ocean | X-Amount of Words |
| Label(s) |
| RoDan Entertainment | Scoop Brando Records | Universal Records | Motown Records |
| Related Bands |
| (a+)machines | Canvas | Last Wish |
