31 DAYS OF FAITH NO MORE “THE WORLD IS YOURS”
Spurred by a lazy crossword clue in The Onion (36 down, four letters: “Faith No More’s only hit”), MetalSucks contributor Anso DF dedicates every single day in August to celebration and exploration of the San Francisco alt-metal greats. Here we prove that history’s greatest band landed more than one commercial hit (crossword answer: “Epic” natch), we revel in FNM’s embarrassing wealth of winning album tracks (themselves often fit for chart topping), and we dip into the staggering best of the b-sides (ditto). Along the way, we survey the context of FNM’s big break (amid similarly seminal acts Jane’s Addiction, Nine Inch Nails, and Ween) to the post-Nevermind, panic-based music commerce in which the brilliantly versatile, fearless powerhouse band operated until their 1998 demise. It’s a dirty job, but someone’s gotta do it.
Song “The World Is Yours”
Written by Patton (L); Faith No More (M). Again, detail-knowers please internet me @AnsoDF? Cheerz!
Released 1998
Appears on the Who Cares A Lot? bonus disc and the recent UK collection.
Produced by Matt Wallace
Guitars by Jim Martin
Key lyric ”Faces on top of more faces/This bullet in your chest/The world is yours.”
Single? No. Outtake from Angel Dust sessions.
The climate Along with “RV” and “Caffeine,” this deliberate, explosive jam was played in concert a few times before Angel Dust‘s 1992 release. But “World” didn’t end up on the album and holy shit six years passed before I finally heard it. That’s a long time for an AD outtake to be out of reach, so when FNM’s Who Cares A Lot collection arrived at my old office in 1998, it was tucked under my left arm so I could do a Heisman all the way back to my desk. I was like a train’s cowcatcher, vibing “The fuck out my waaay!” After a few listens — during which an earthquake would’ve gone unnoticed — I was struck by “World”‘s awesomeness and by doubt that Angel Dust had a suitable slot for it. Though FNM had displayed intent to put “World” on the album (and have since chalked up its disclusion to sample clearance issues), I still can’t picture its placement among the other AD tracks. After “Midlife Crisis”? Replacing “Kindergarten”? It couldn’t precede “Smaller And Smaller” or “Jizzlobber” right? On Side A, it would push back “A Small Victory” too far; on side B its unhurried pace might sap momentum. So … huh. Anybody?
Awesome song elevated to supra-awesomeness by the impactful second occurrence of its “Each word/You suck it through a straw…” lines right before coda (see 5:10). “Smaller And Smaller” does the same thing with that “Shovel the last few drops…” line. So memorable. In fact, next time we meet, MetalSucks reader, just assume that I’ll be mentally listening to one/both of those parts. And mentally-undressing you. So wear something hot.
Didja know? Those tense voices heard before Patton re-enters at the bridge (starting at 3:11) come from a recording of the R. Budd Dwyer incident, in which a Pennsylvania politician claimed his innocence of corruption charges by fatally shooting himself at a public press conference. This FNM reference to it came about three years before Filter’s “Hey Man Nice Shot.” But again, had “World” appeared on Angel Dust, this sample would transform listeners into rubberneckers at sad reality, when the rest of the album places us at the feet of a frothing, mentally unreliable belletrist.
–ADF
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METALSUCKS’ 31 DAYS OF FAITH NO MORE
19 “The World Is Yours”
18 “Absolute Zero” (read)
17 “Collision” (read)
Intermission “Das Schutzenfest” (read)
16 “The Last To Know” (read)
15 “The Real Thing” (read)
14 “Malpractice” (read)
13 ”Ugly In The Morning” (read)
12 “The Cowboy Song” (read)
11 “Helpless” (read)
10 “Smaller And Smaller” (read)
9 “Digging The Grave” (read)
8 “From Out Of Nowhere” (read)
7 “Last Cup Of Sorrow” (read)
6 “The Gentle Art Of Making Enemies” (read)
5 “Caffeine” (read)
4 “Falling To Pieces” (read)
3 “Stripsearch” (read)
2 ”Ricochet” (read)
1 ”Land Of Sunshine” (read)
