Welcome back to this month's music article! This time around the theme was glitter, or really anything that sparkles and such. Since stars sparkle... I decided to go with the very known song 'All Star' by Smash Mouth, one that most of you probably know! Published on the 4th of May in 1999 on the album Astro Lounge, the song charted all around the world. We'll start off with a bit of the chorus, and possibly one of the most known pieces of lyrics too.
Hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play
Hey now, you're a rock star, get the show on, get paid
And all that glitters is gold
Only shooting stars break the mould
All-Stars was inspired by the fan mail the band was getting after their prior hit 'Walking on the Sun'. Many of these pieces of mail were from fans who were being bullied, or teased about liking the things they like, the way they dressed, or whatever else. Basically getting negative comments about being themselves and enjoying their own things. This is when the band went "We should write a song for fans", which is this one.
It's an uplifting song, the words of ot like a daily affirmation. It's designed to be uplifting, and self-confidence building song. This comes through in the melody and sound of the song too - it's very happy and cheerful. The writer of the song mentions one specific example, a youtube channel dedicated to singing the song over a lot of other famous songs with completely different melodies and lyrics, and it somehow works. From an interview, he had with Songfacts "He's this big, overweight guy who sits in front of his computer and does stuff like this all day long. The song was written for people like him, who may be a little bit of an outcast or not accepted socially because of their appearance. And he's just going for it. He gets it, completely. He is the person that that song was written for."
There are multiple pieces of lyrics based on RL experiences, for example:
She was looking kind of dumb with her finger and her thumb
In the shape of an "L" on her forehead
Greg Camp, the former songwriter and guitarist of Smash Mouth, was in a relationship while playing in bands and earning money through it. His partner however had to go to work in the mornings, and outed her jealousy in a very negative way - by stating he was a loser, and stating this career would one day come to an end and he'd have to grow up and get an actual job. This is something quite commonly said to celebrities and influencers, even though both are very real jobs that can pay incredibly well.