Out Of Control

Album: Surrender (1999)
Charted: 21
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The third single from the Surrender album, "Out Of Control" features sassy guest vocals by New Order's Bernard Sumner and Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie. Sumner also co-wrote the tune with the Chemical Brothers pair.
  • The music video was directed by Andrew "W.I.Z." Whiston. The clip starring Rosario Dawson, depicts what initially appears to be a protest but turns out to be an advertisement for a fictional Coca-Cola-type beverage.

    The visual turned out to be strangely prophetic when 18 years later Pepsi released a controversial commercial that showed a protest march being stopped by a wall of police. Kendall Jenner then walks forward and hands an officer a Pepsi, who drinks it and smiles, while the crowd cheers. To nobody's surprise the ad was pulled a day later.

    In a statement to Fader, Wiz said: "The original inspiration for my Chemical Brothers film came from The Clash lyric: 'Huh, you think it's funny turning rebellion into money,' crystallizing a deep-felt anger that when it comes to the profit margin, absolutely nothing is sacred, not even heartfelt expressions for social justice. We made this film in 1999, however today the inevitable has materialized: it's become a self-fulfilling prophecy."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Country Song Titles

Country Song TitlesFact or Fiction

Country songs with titles so bizarre they can't possibly be real... or can they?

Jason Newsted (ex-Metallica)

Jason Newsted (ex-Metallica)Songwriter Interviews

The former Metallica bassist talks about his first time writing a song with James Hetfield, and how a hand-me-down iPad has changed his songwriting.

Leslie West of Mountain

Leslie West of MountainSongwriter Interviews

From the cowbell on "Mississippi Queen" to recording with The Who when they got the wrong Felix, stories from one of rock's master craftsmen.

Dar Williams

Dar WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

A popular contemporary folk singer, Williams still remembers the sticky note that changed her life in college.

U2

U2Fact or Fiction

How did The Edge get his name? Did they name a song after a Tolkien book? And who is "Angel of Harlem" about?

Harold Brown of War

Harold Brown of WarSongwriter Interviews

A founding member of the band War, Harold gives a first-person account of one of the most important periods in music history.