Worthy to Say
2000 single by Nickelback From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Worthy to Say" is a single by the Canadian rock band Nickelback.[3] The song was released as a single in Canada in December of 2000, as the fourth and final single from their second studio album titled The State along with an accompanying music video directed by Ulf Buddensiec, who also directed the music video for the band's single "Leader of Men" in March of 2000.[4] "Worthy to Say" emerged as a lesser-known promotional single, specifically targeted for the Canadian market.[5][6][7]
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| "Worthy to Say" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Nickelback | ||||
| from the album The State | ||||
| Released | December 5, 2000 | |||
| Recorded | 1998 | |||
| Studio | Greenhouse Studios[1] | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 4:06 | |||
| Label | EMI Music Canada | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
| |||
| Producer(s) | Chad Kroeger
| |||
| Nickelback singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
History
Summarize
Perspective
Originally released in 1998 as a track on their second independent studio album The State, which was later re-released twice,[8] the first time on September 4, 1999 after a distribution deal with EMI Records and for the second time on March 7, 2000 by Roadrunner Records[9] after the band was signed to their label.[10][11]
The song is a part of Nickelback's early work, initially being recorded in January 1998 at Greenhouse Studios in Burnaby, British Columbia.[12]
On November 24, 2000, Nickelback announced "Worthy to Say" as their "next single for Canada" via their official website.[13] The announcement detailed the band's plans to shoot a music video for the song in Toronto on November 27 and 28, 2000.[14] This Canadian-focused release was part of EMI Music Canada's ongoing promotion of The State which who had begun promoting the album when the band signed a distribution deal with them in 1999, before the group officially signed a record deal with Roadrunner Records, who re-released a new version of The State on March 4, 2000 and heavily promoted the singles: "Leader of Men", "Old Enough", and "Breathe".[15][16]
EMI Canada officially released "Worthy to Say" as a single in December 2000 which would be the fourth and final single from the album.[17] The EMI Canada release issued promotional CD singles for "Worthy to Say" and was distributed by EMI Music Canada to various different Canadian radio stations, bearing the catalog number DPRO2046[18] and stamped with "For Promotional Use Only Not For Resale", with a listed release year of 2000.[19]
Despite its initial promotion, "Worthy to Say" quickly faded from the spotlight and failed to match the success of the album's previous singles, mostly due to the fact that in early 2001, the band had already began recording their third album, Silver Side Up, with producer Rick Parashar.[20] Once the lead single for the new album, "How You Remind Me",[21] was released in 2001 and became a global phenomenon,[22] reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100,[23] and Roadrunner Records prioritized the new material over continuing promotion for The State and its singles effectively resulting in abandoning "Worthy to Say"'s marketing campaign and no further official releases or acknowledgment from the band or their new label.[24][25][26] The video has since become a rarity, surviving primarily through fan-recorded VHS tapes of its MTV Canada broadcasts, later uploaded to platforms like YouTube. Although "Worthy to Say" did not receive significant radio airplay or chart placements in the United States its enduring appeal lies in its representation of their early work that contributed to their rise to fame. The State was the band's breakthrough album.[27][28]
Chart performance
Worthy to Say did not achieve mainstream chart success as the three prior singles from The State,[29] however, it holds a unique place in the band's history due to the lack of promotion, effectively making it the only Nickelback song to date that was officially released as a single but never appeared on any of the major music charts.[30]
Music video
Summarize
Perspective
The music video for "Worthy to Say" was directed by Ulf Buddensiec and premiered on MTV Canada in December 2000, with airings continuing into early 2001. The video's debut aligned with a promotional campaign aimed at leveraging Canadian Content (CanCon) regulations,[31] which required entertainment media outlets to play a percentage of Canadian music.[32][33]
The video begins flipping back and forth between the band (Chad Kroeger, Ryan Peake, Mike Kroeger, and Ryan Vikedal) performing the song in a run-down apartment or garage, with a 2000s era grunge-style setting and storyline that revolves around a man "(Character 1)" who is first seen smoking a cigarette outside of his apartment complex on a fire escape, overlooking a parking lot below. After flipping back from a scene of the band performing, the man "(Character 1)" is then seen getting inside of a car, placing small packages wrapped in black-plastic baggies into the car's passenger seat (implied to be drugs, aligning with the song's lyrics "They usually come around about ten o'clock-you can tell them by the way they knock," which suggest secretive dealings) interspersed with scenes of the band performing in the same run-down location seen at the beginning of the video. At the conclusion of the first chorus, the video featured a brief moment where (Kroeger) is shown trimming marijuana plants in the background, adding context to the song's lyrics "They're growing dope everywhere around the block."[34]
The story progresses with the next scene showing Character 1 pulling up in the car, approaching the young man with the skateboard Character 2 dropping off the drugs in the black-plastic baggies for Character 2 to sell them in a drug deal as a drug mule ending the scene with Character 1 quickly driving off and Character 2 flees on his skateboard. Later, Character 2 is seen selling the drugs to multiple others at a amateur-made skatepark in a abandon parking lot until a police raid disrupts the scene. When police officers arrive the group scatters which results in Character 2 fleeing police on his skateboard to evade arrest, leading officers on a chase through run-down alleyways and side streets.[35][36]
The pursuit ends with Character 2 falling off his skateboard and being arrested. During interrogation, the police press him to reveal where he got the drugs, or else he will be in a lot more trouble than he already is, echoing the song's lyrics "So you better have something damn worthy to say."[37]
The next verse starts a scene with Character 2 shown under intense questioning by the law enforcement which leads to Character 2 ratting out Character 1 in exchange for leniency, justifying the song's line that goes "Gonna make me turn against all of my friends."[38][39] The authorities are then seen conducting a police raid on Character 1's apartment, entering via the fire escape stairs shown at the start of the video, tackling him to the ground to arrest him while drugs are seen flying everywhere in the struggle as Character 1 resisted arrest.[40]
In the final scenes, Character 1, now handcuffed, is led to a police car and spots Character 2 in the back of a separate police car, realizing the betrayal. Character 1 then attempts to lunge towards Character 2 but is quickly restrained, underscoring the lyrics "Somebody said revenge was served sweeter cold." The video concludes with a return to the band performing, featuring Chad Kroeger trimming marijuana plants again, followed by an aerial view of the parking lot as police cars depart and the screen fades to black.[41]
Legacy
Although the song did not achieve mainstream chart success, it holds a unique place in the band's history and among their fanbase. "Worthy to Say" holds a unique place in Nickelback's discography as a rare promotional single released exclusively in Canada in 2000, reflecting the band's early regional focus before their global breakthrough.[42] The CD single, was issued as a promotional release only, and not for resale. It's exceptionally scarce due to its limited pressing of only a few hundred copies and distributed to Canadian radio stations, making surviving copies highly sought after by collectors. Similarly, the music video, shot in November 2000 and aired briefly on MTV Canada in December 2000/early 2001, remains largely unavailable today due to being overshadowed by the band's mainstream success.[43]
Track listing
The song was written entirely by Chad Kroeger, Mike Kroeger, and Ryan Peake. At the time of the song's recording, Mitch Guindon was the drummer. However, he did not receive songwriting credits for the song and was not featured in the single's artwork or music video before leaving the band in 1998 and was replaced by Ryan Vikedal.[44]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Worthy to Say" | 4:06 |
| 2. | "Worthy to Say (Acoustic)" | 4:02 |
| Total length: | 4:06 | |
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of The State.[45]
- Chad Kroeger – lead vocals, guitar, co-producer[46]
- Ryan Peake – lead guitar, backing vocals, production[47]
- Mike Kroeger – bass guitar, production[48]
- Ryan Vikedal – drums[49]
- Dale Penner – producer, recording engineer[50]
- Garth "GGGarth" Richardson – mixing[51]
- Brett Zilahi – mastering engineer[52]
- Neil Zlozower – photography[53]
- Ken Grant - assistant engineer[54]
References
External links
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