Buttercup
by Brad

Album: Shame (1993)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • A track from their first album, Brad was formed by Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard along with lead singer Shawn Smith and drummer Regan Hagar. When they came up with this song, the band didn't exist - they were merely recording some songs together. They recorded their first jam session on DAT; Smith took the tape home and added a chorus and some other vocal parts. The results convinced the assemblage that they could record an entire album, which they did.

    "It was that song that made Stone go, 'Dude, let's the three of us go in the studio in the fall after I'm done with Pearl Jam stuff,'" Smith told us.

    Adding bass player Jeremy Toback, the group returned to the studio while Gossard was on break from Pearl Jam (not long after their 1992 Lollapalooza gig) and spent 17 days making the Shame album. Brad turned out to be more than a one-off side project: they released another album in 1997 and have continued recording together when time permits.
  • The Prince influence is apparent on this song. "On my end it's 'Purple Rain,' with like one different chord," said Smith, who played piano on the track.

    Smith grew up listening to Prince, and cites the purple one as a favorite songwriter. The funky, Prince-infused side of the band helped Brad stand out among other Seattle acts.
  • Don't read too much into the lyrics to this song - even if you can understand them. "The vocal's improvised, except the chorus," Smith told us. "That's why some of the words are muffled. They don't say anything, really, except 'absjurhh.'" (Here's our full interview with Shawn Smith.)

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

The Police

The PoliceFact or Fiction

Do their first three albums have French titles? Is "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" really meaningless? See if you can tell in this Fact or Fiction.

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," Kiss

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," KissSong Writing

After cutting his teeth on hardcore punk videos, Paul defined the grunge look with his work on "Hunger Strike" and "Man in the Box."

Rufus Wainwright

Rufus WainwrightSongwriter Interviews

Rufus Wainwright on "Hallelujah," his album Unfollow The Rules, and getting into his "lyric trance" on 12-hour walks.

80s Video Director Jay Dubin

80s Video Director Jay DubinSong Writing

Billy Joel and Hall & Oates hated making videos, so they chose a director with similar contempt for the medium. That was Jay Dubin, and he has a lot to say on the subject.

Facebook, Bromance and Email - The First Songs To Use New Words

Facebook, Bromance and Email - The First Songs To Use New WordsSong Writing

Where words like "email," "thirsty," "Twitter" and "gangsta" first showed up in songs, and which songs popularized them.

Barney Hoskyns Explores The Forgotten History Of Woodstock, New York

Barney Hoskyns Explores The Forgotten History Of Woodstock, New YorkSong Writing

Our chat with Barney Hoskyns, who covers the wild years of Woodstock - the town, not the festival - in his book Small Town Talk.