Tubthumping

Only '90s Kids Remember

Tubthumping by Chumbawamba

Tubthumping was successful single by British band Chumbawamba that comes from their eighth album "Tubthumber." It was nominated for a Brit award in 1998 and later ranked 12 on The Rolling Stone's list of Top 20 Most Annoying Songs. Awww.

Sounding on the surface like a mindless anthem about positivity and perseverance, Tubthumping is more than meets the eye. Uh, ear.

The term "tubthumper" is commonly used for someone, often a politician, seeming to "jump on the bandwagon" with a populist idea. The liner notes on the album Tubthumper, from which Tubthumping was the first single, put the song in a radical context, quoting a UK anti-road protester, Paris 1968 graffiti, details about the famous McLibel case and the short story "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner".

Who would've guessed?

Apparently everyone. Even Entertainment Weekly was aware the song wasn't just about drunken overconfidence, saying "social commentary never tasted so sweet" (x). Maybe you had to have been older than 3 years old in '98 to know what was up.

This is a band that took "about 30 seconds to say no" to $1.5 million from Nike to have their music featured in a World Cup commercial (x). They really don't like capitalism...and yet they signed with a major label and achieved their greatest success with one of their least political songs. Awkward.

But, whatever. The band isn't ashamed. "The whole point of art is to have an audience," they say, and I think that's a very valid standpoint (x).

Overview:

Genre:
Alt Rock

Favorite Lyrics:
You're not ever gonna keep me down.

Verdict:
it was this or All Star