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Innocent (Our Lady Peace song)

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"Innocent"
Single by Our Lady Peace
from the album Gravity
B-side"Whatever" (live)
ReleasedAugust 13, 2002 (2002-08-13)
Length3:42
Label
Songwriter(s)Raine Maida
Producer(s)Bob Rock
Our Lady Peace singles chronology
"Somewhere Out There"
(2002)
"Innocent"
(2002)
"Made of Steel"
(2003)
Music video
"Innocent" on YouTube

"Innocent" is a song by Canadian alternative rock band Our Lady Peace. Written by lead vocalist Raine Maida, it was released in August 2002 as the second single from the band's fifth studio album, Gravity. It reached the top 40 on two US Billboard rock charts, as well as on the New Zealand Singles Chart.

Background and writing

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Maida said in 2002 that "Innocent" was one of his favorite songs from Gravity. "I wrote this song over a year ago and I was originally hesitant to play it for the band, but once we got into the studio and began working with Bob we were able to make it an Our Lady Peace song."[1] According to Maida, the song's title was originally "Arrogant" and it had different lyrics. The producer, Bob Rock, made him rewrite most of the songs from Gravity in order to make them more accessible and easier to understand.[2]

Content

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The song is about young people who are going through a difficult phase in their lives, namely Johnny, who wants to be a famous musician but struggles with writing songs, and Tina, who is insecure about her body and appearance. The song refers to the legendary rock musicians John Lennon and Kurt Cobain.[3][better source needed]

Recording

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Local school children in Hawaii sang backing vocals on the chorus of the song.[4] Before Mike Turner left the band, he recorded the rhythm guitar for this track. It was later interlaced with Steve Mazur's guitar playing for the final recording, but Turner's style of playing is still recognizable.

Music video

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The music video for "Innocent" was filmed on August 31, 2002, in Syracuse, Los Angeles, New Orleans and a school parking lot in Toronto.[5] It shows the band performing in an alley while showing people going through various struggles. The video won two MuchMusic Video Awards in 2003, including "Best Video".[citation needed]

Track listing

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Canadian CD single[6]

  1. "Innocent" (album version) – 3:42
  2. "Whatever" (live) – 4:00

Charts

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Release history

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Region Date Format Label Ref.
Canada August 13, 2002 Radio airplay Columbia [13]
United States
Denmark March 10, 2003 CD Epic [14]

References

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  1. ^ Anon (2002). "Bio" Ourladypeace.com at the Internet Archive. Retrieved September 19, 2009[better source needed]
  2. ^ "Our Lady Peace Frontman Pushed To Sickness Writing 'Gravity' Lyrics". July 2002. Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
  3. ^ "Our Lady Peace – Innocent". Genius.
  4. ^ "Our Lady Peace – Innocent; interview snippet – Mix 100 FM. August 22, 2002". Retrieved November 15, 2009.[dead link]
  5. ^ "Innocent Video Shoot". Our Lady Peace. Archived from the original on February 10, 2003. Retrieved February 8, 2010.[better source needed]
  6. ^ Innocent (Canadian CD single liner notes). Epic Records. 2003. EPC 673439 1.
  7. ^ "Canadian Top 20 in 2002" (PDF). Cross Canada Countdown. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 7, 2005. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  8. ^ "Our Lady Peace – Innocent". Top 40 Singles.
  9. ^ "Our Lady Peace Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  10. ^ "Our Lady Peace Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  11. ^ "Top 100 top played radio tracks in Canada in 2002". Jam!. Archived from the original on September 6, 2004. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  12. ^ "Most-Played Modern Rock Songs of 2002". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 10, no. 51. December 20, 2002. p. 44.
  13. ^ "News Archive". ourladypeace.com. Archived from the original on October 1, 2002. Retrieved November 11, 2023. To view release date, select News & Tour, then News Archive.
  14. ^ "Nye Udgivelser" [New Releases] (in Danish). Sony Music Denmark. Archived from the original on April 6, 2003. Retrieved November 11, 2023.