Harpoon (EP)

Harpoon is a song by Australian alternative rock band Jebediah. It appears on the band's debut studio album Slightly Odway (1997). The following year, it was released as a six-track EP by record label Murmur, which reached number 46 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart.

Harpoon EP

Harpoon
EP by Jebediah
Released	22 June 1998
Recorded	1997
Length	23:43
Label	Murmur
Producer	Neill King
Jebediah chronology
Twitch (1996) Harpoon (1998) Anniversary E.P. (2005)

The cover art for the EP uses a photograph that was taken by the father of band members, Kevin and Brett Mitchell.

The EP contains a cover version of "Harpoon" by Melbourne-based band and label mates Something for Kate. Jebediah's lead singer Kevin Mitchell was interviewed in May 2014 by Richard Kingsmill on national youth broadcaster Triple J,[1] recalling:

He (Paul Dempsey) got a few words wrong, but that's OK, I can understand! Actually, the first time I heard it was live, at Pushover. It was great. That's the first time we'd ever heard a band play one of our songs. It was such a buzz. And the fact that they did it so well was even cooler.[1]

The EP also includes Jebediah's cover version of Something for Kate's track "Clint", which appeared on that band's 1996 EP ....The Answer to Both Your Questions. Something for Kate included the Jebediah cover of "Clint" as the B-side on their 1998 single, "Roll Credit". Dempsey, Something for Kate's guitarist-singer-songwriter, explained to Kingsmill:

In true Jebediah style, it has a lot of energy and it's a lot poppier. I think it has more appeal than the original. When we listen to our version of it, it drags. It's muddy. And then you hear the Jebediah version and it automatically puts a smile on your face. It just picks you up. You could jump off stages to their version.[1]

The EP also contains a cover of "I Ran", originally by A Flock of Seagulls.

Music video

The "black-and-white" music video for "Harpoon" featured the animated artwork of an artist who used charcoal on paper.[2] In the Sony-produced documentary Jebediaries, lead singer Kevin Mitchell explains that the artist based the animation on the single's cover art.[3]

Release

"Harpoon" was originally featured on the band's debut studio album Slightly Oddway (1997).

The Harpoon EP was released on 22 June 1998 by record label Murmur. It reached number 46 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart.[4] The label also released a limited edition split single, "Harpoon"/"Clint", with both band's respective versions of both songs.

"Harpoon" was also included in a split EP with American band Jimmy Eat World. This EP was released on Redline Records (an independent label co-founded by Jebediah with its management company) in Australia and Big Wheel Recreation (United States).[5]

A re-recorded version of "Harpoon" was included on the US release of the band's 2011 album, Kosciuszko.[6]

Reception

In a review on U-WIRE, Amanda Fazzone describes the song as "an Oasis-style track (complete with chimes) that sustains rhythm and momentum but suffers from the repetition of its cliched Brit poppy [sic] chorus ("like a harpoon in my heart"), hard to say whether its tongue-in-cheek or heart-on-sleeve. A brief gorgeous guitar melody saves the song, but Mitchell's voice becomes tedious until the song's culmination in a few broad acoustic brushstokes."[7]

Triple J Hottest 100 placings

"Harpoon" appeared twice in the 1998 Triple J Hottest 100, a poll of listeners of the national radio station, with Jebediah's original listed at number 7 and Something for Kate's cover version at number 85.[8] It was the first time that two versions of the same song polled in the same Hottest 100 list.[9]

In June 2013 Triple J conducted a poll to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Hottest 100's current format, with "Harpoon" listed at number 91 of the Hottest 100 of the Past 20 Years.[10]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Chris Daymond, Brett Mitchell, Kevin Mitchell and Vanessa Thornton,[11] unless otherwise indicated.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Harpoon"		4:26
2.	"Harpoon" (performed by Something for Kate)		4:19
3.	"Clint"	Paul Dempsey, Julian Carroll, Clint Hyndman	5:16
4.	"Sorry"		3:10
5.	"Ski Trip"		2:25
6.	"I Ran"	Mike Score, Ali Score, Frank Maudsley, Paul Reynolds	4:07

Charts

Chart (1998)	Peak Position[4]	Weeks In
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	46	1

References

1. Kingsmill, Richard (29 May 2014). "The Early Years of Something for Kate". Triple J. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Retrieved 30 January 2015.
2. MAX452AU (21 January 2007). "Harpoon Jebediah". YouTube. Google, Inc. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
3. Jebediah (2000). "Jebediaries / Jebediah. [videorecording]". Sony Music Video Enterprises. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
4. Hung, Steffen. "Jebediah - Harpoon". Australian Charts Portal. Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
5. MacKenzie Wilson (2012). "Jimmy Eat World". SongFreaks. SongFreaks Inc. Archived from the original on 2 February 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
6. "Jebediah - Kosciuszko - Track Listings". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
7. Fazzone, Amanda (2000). "Jebediah and Jimmy Eat World go Halvsies". U-Wire. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
8. "Hottest 100 1998". Triple J. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). 1998. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
9. Richard Kingsmill (interviewer), Kevin Mitchell, Chris Daymond, Vanessa Thornton and Brett Mitchell (interviewees) (4 April 2002). J Files: Jebediah. Triple J. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
10. Northover, Kylie (9 June 2013). "Oasis tops Triple J's Hottest 100 Poll". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
11. "'Leaving Home' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 30 January 2015. Note: User may have to click 'Search again' and provide details at 'Enter a title:' e.g Leaving Home; or at 'Performer:' Jebediah

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics