You Get What You Give (song)

"You Get What You Give" is a 1998 song by the New Radicals. It was an international hit, the first and most successful single from their album Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too. It reached number 30 on Billboard Hot 100 Airplay in January 1999, number 36 on the overall Hot 100 and number eight on the Billboard Modern Rock chart. It also reached number five in the United Kingdom, number four in Ireland, and number one in Canada and New Zealand.

For the album by Zac Brown Band, see You Get What You Give (album).

"You Get What You Give"
Single by New Radicals
from the album Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too
B-side"To Think I Thought"
ReleasedNovember 10, 1998
Recorded1997–1998
Genre
Length5:00
LabelMCA
Songwriter(s)Gregg Alexander, Rick Nowels
Producer(s)Gregg Alexander
New Radicals singles chronology
"You Get What You Give"
(1998)		 "Someday We'll Know"
(1999)
Music video
"You Get What You Give" on YouTube

Music video

The music video for "You Get What You Give" was filmed in the Staten Island Mall in New York and directed by Evan Bernard. The New Radicals' frontman Gregg Alexander said he chose this setting because he sees the shopping mall as a metaphor for society—a fake, controlled environment engineered to encourage spending. The video showed a group of teenagers, led by Alexander, going through the mall wreaking havoc—tossing nets on security guards, placing businessmen in animal cages, knocking over merchandise, hijacking Lambrettas, and moshing in the food court.[1]

Critical reception

In a Time interview, U2 lead guitarist The Edge is quoted saying "You Get What You Give" is the song he is "most jealous of. I really would love to have written that."[2] Billboard gave a mixed review, saying that it was a "chugging, Wham!-style pop song with slightly cheesy lyrics" but that the ending lyrics were "interesting".[3]

The song was listed No. 440 on Blender's list of The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born.[4]

The song is an unofficial Newcastle United anthem and is regularly played at their home ground St James' Park. The song was used by local radio station Metro Radio during Newcastle's FA cup-run of 1998–99, with Mick Lowes' commentary of Newcastle's cup goals mixed over the song.

In the liner notes to her 2004 compilation Artist's Choice, Joni Mitchell praises "You Get What You Give" for "rising from the swamp of 'McMusic' like a flower of hope."[5] Michelle Branch, Lulu, The Okay Feeling, and Martin Fry have covered this song live in concert. It was also performed by the final 13 of Australian Idol 2005 and 2006. Both times the controversial "Health insurance..." section was omitted.

LMC released a remix of this song sampling the original Alexander vocals as "LMC vs. New Radicals" in 2005, under the title "Don't Let Go". Another remix entitled "You Get What You Give" was released in 2006, this time with a re-recorded vocal performance by Rachel McFarlane. "You Get What You Give" charted at No. 30 in the United Kingdom.

In 2006, Ice-T was asked on Late Night with Conan O'Brien about what he has heard, besides rap music, in the last few years that really grabbed him and his only reply was "You Get What You Give".

The song was used on the soundtrack of the 2006 film Click, which starred Adam Sandler.[6]

"You Get What You Give" is also featured in the soundtrack of the 2007 animated film Surf's Up and on the 2019 TV series Schooled as well as trailers for "Cheaper by the Dozen (2003)" and "The Muppets (2011)".

Controversy

Much of the media attention "You Get What You Give" received centered on the closing lyrics:

"Health insurance, rip-off lying
FDA, big bankers buying
Fake computer crashes dining
Cloning while they're multiplying
Fashion shoots with Beck and Hanson,
Courtney Love and Marilyn Manson
You're all fakes, run to your mansions
Come around, we'll kick your ass in."

According to lead singer Gregg Alexander, he had written this section for the song as a test to see whether the media would focus on the important political issues of the first few lines, or the petty celebrity-dissing. As suspected, a considerable amount of press began to appear about the name-dropping, and the other political issues were largely ignored.[7]

Marilyn Manson commented that he was "not mad he said he'd kick my ass, I just don't want to be used in the same sentence with Courtney Love.... I'll crack his [Alexander's] skull open if I see him."[8] Beck reported that Alexander personally apologized for the line when they met each other by chance in a supermarket, claiming that it was never meant to be personal.[9] Alexander collaborated with Hanson, whose drummer, Zac Hanson, called him "a bit of a character, but a cool guy."[10]

Although the lines were used for the band's Top of the Pops appearance, it was truncated at "kick you".[11]

Legacy

In 2002, VH1 voted it as the 64th greatest one-hit wonder of all time. In 2007, the song was voted No. 90 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the 90s",[12] and in 2010 it was number 106 on Pitchfork's Top 200 Tracks of the 90s.[13] In 2011, VH1 ranked it as 11th on "40 Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the 90s". Annie Zaleski for The A.V. Club wrote that the song was "surprisingly influential on popular music, just in a non-obvious, almost obscured way", and that it was "both a nostalgic artifact and a song that transcends any era".[14] BBC Radio ranked the song at number 38 on its list of the "Most Heard Recordings in Britain of the Last 75 Years".[15]

Accolades
Publication Accolade Rank
1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die Not ranked
VH1 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders[16] 64
VH1 40 Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the '90s[17] 11
Blender 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born[18] 440
Pitchfork Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s[19] 106
Rolling Stone 50 Best Songs of the Nineties[20] 37

Track listing
  1. "You Get What You Give" (Edit) – 4:42
  2. "To Think I Thought" – 2:47
  3. "Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too" – 5:21
  4. "You Get What You Give" (Album) – 5:02 (Not on some copies)

Personnel
  • Gregg Alexander – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
  • Rusty Anderson – lead guitar
  • John Pierce – bass guitar
  • Rick Nowels – keyboard, backing vocals
  • Gary Ferguson – drums
  • Juliet Prater - percussion
  • Richie Podler – additional vocal arrangement
  • Michael Brauer – mixing

Live versions

Two live recordings of "You Get What You Give" were officially released:

  • "You Get What You Give" (Live at WXPN's World Cafe) on Live at the World Cafe – Volume 8 (1999)
  • "You Get What You Give" (Live at KBCO, September 13, 1998) on KBCO Studio C – Volume 11 (1999)

Also there are three MP3's circulating:

Other versions
  • "You Get What You Give" performed by Vassy (featured on Grey's Anatomy: Season 10 Episode 22 "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" ) (2014)
  • "You Get What You Give" performed by The Maine featuring Brennan Smiley on Covers (Side A)
  • "You Get What You Give" performed by the Glee Cast (episode 22, season 3 "Goodbye") (2012)
  • "Get What You Give" performed by Felix Cartal (2017)[21]

Charts and certifications

Release history
Country Release date
United States November 10, 1998
United Kingdom March 22, 1999

References
  1. Gregg Alexander & Rick Nowels. "You Get What You Give". Music Video. MCA Records. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
  2. 10 Questions for The Edge, Time Magazine, September 25, 2006
  3. "'You Get What You Give' review". Billboard: 25. September 19, 1998.
  4. "The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born: 401–450". Blender. Archived from the original on October 19, 2006. Retrieved November 23, 2006.
  5. "PopMatters Short Takes: Brief Reviews of New Music". Popmatters.com. February 28, 2005. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
  6. "Click (2006) Soundtracks". IMDB. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  7. Sibilla, Gianni (March 25, 1999). "New Radicals Song Misunderstood, Singer Says". MTV. Retrieved April 24, 2013.
  8. "New Radicals Discuss Slighting Marilyn Manson And Courtney Love, Manson Responds". MTV. Archived from the original on May 23, 2006. Retrieved August 6, 2005.
  9. "No turning Beck". The Sunday Times. July 10, 2005. Archived from the original on August 9, 2011. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
  10. Fuoco, Christina (July 19, 2004). "liveDaily Interview: Zac Hanson of Hanson". Live Daily News. Archived from the original on August 11, 2004. Retrieved December 30, 2005.
  11. "One-Hit Wonders at the BBC". April 17, 2015. BBC Four. Missing or empty |series= (help)
  12. "100 Greatest Songs of the '90s". Blog.vh1.com. December 13, 2007. Archived from the original on February 14, 2012. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
  13. "Pitchfork Top 200 Tracks of the 90s". Pitchfork.com. August 31, 2010. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
  14. Annie Zaleski (July 28, 2015). "New Radicals' only hit, "You Get What You Give," was secretly influential". The A.V. Club.
  15. "Gregg Alexander". Billboard: 145. October 3, 2009. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  16. "VH1's 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders". Rate Your Music. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
  17. "VH1's 40 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the '90s". Top One Hit Wonders. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
  18. "The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born: 401-450". Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on October 19, 2006. Retrieved November 18, 2016.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  19. Dombal, Ryan. "The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s: 150-101". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
  20. Sheffield, Rob. "The 50 Best Songs of the Nineties". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
    • "You Get What You Give" performed by Smallpools (KROQ performance) (2013)
    "Felix Cartal Drops Infectious Track 'Get What You Give': Premiere". Billboard, March 24, 2017.
  22. "Australian-charts.com – New Radicals – You Get What You Give". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  23. "Austriancharts.at – New Radicals – You Get What You Give" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  24. "Ultratop.be – New Radicals – You Get What You Give" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  25. "Ultratop.be – New Radicals – You Get What You Give" (in French). Ultratop 50.
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  27. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 7484." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  28. Danish Singles Chart 9 April 1999
  29. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 16 no. 15. April 10, 1997. p. 8. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  30. "Lescharts.com – New Radicals – You Get What You Give" (in French). Les classement single.
  31. "Offiziellecharts.de – New Radicals – You Get What You Give". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  32. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (NR. 319 Vikuna 16.4. – 23.4. 1999)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). April 16, 1999. p. 10. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  33. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – You Get What You Give". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  34. "Hits of the World – Italy" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 111 no. 16. April 17, 1999. p. 62. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  35. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 11, 1999" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  36. "Dutchcharts.nl – New Radicals – You Get What You Give" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  37. "Charts.nz – New Radicals – You Get What You Give". Top 40 Singles.
  38. "Norwegiancharts.com – New Radicals – You Get What You Give". VG-lista.
  39. "Lista Przebojów Trójki – Polskie Radio Online". Polskie Radio. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
  40. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  41. "Spanishcharts.com – New Radicals – You Get What You Give" Canciones Top 50.
  42. "Swedishcharts.com – New Radicals – You Get What You Give". Singles Top 100.
  43. "Swisscharts.com – New Radicals – You Get What You Give". Swiss Singles Chart.
  44. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  45. "New Radicals Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  46. "New Radicals Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  47. "New Radicals Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  48. "New Radicals Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  49. "New Radicals Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  50. "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 100 Singles 1999". ARIA. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  51. "RPM 1999 Top 100 Hit Tracks". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  52. "RPM 1999 Top 100 Adult Contemporary". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  53. "Yearly Best Selling Singles" (PDF). British Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 24, 2010. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  54. "1999 – The Year in Music" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 111 no. 52. December 25, 1999. p. 138. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  55. "British single certifications – New Radicals – You Get What You Give". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved January 31, 2019. Select singles in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type You Get What You Give in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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