My Happiness (Powderfinger song)

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"My Happiness"
Single by Powderfinger
from the album Odyssey Number Five
B-side
Released21 August 2000 (2000-08-21)
StudioSing Sing (Melbourne, Australia)
GenreAlternative rock
Length4:36
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Nick DiDia
Powderfinger singles chronology
"My Kind of Scene"
(2000) 		"My Happiness"
(2000) 		"Like a Dog"
(2001)
Music video
"My Happiness" on
YouTube

"My Happiness" is a song by Australian rock band Powderfinger. It was released via record label Universal Music Australia on 21 August 2000 as the first single from the band's fourth album, Odyssey Number Five. Powderfinger frontman Bernard Fanning wrote the lyrics for "My Happiness" as a reflection on the time the band spent touring to promote their work, and the loneliness that came as a result. It was inspired by his love of gospel and soul music. The rest of the band are co-credited with Fanning for composing the track. Despite its melancholy mood, "My Happiness" is considered by many to be a love song, a suggestion Fanning regards as mystifying.[1]

The single is Powderfinger's most successful; it peaked at number four on the Australian

APRA Award and topped the Triple J Hottest 100 in 2000 as well as coming 27th in the Triple J Hottest 100 of All Time in 2009. "My Happiness" was highly praised by critics, with even negative reviews of Odyssey Number Five noting it as a highlight, especially for its catchy chorus. One of the highlights of Powderfinger's United States tour with Coldplay was a performance of "My Happiness" on the Late Show with David Letterman
; they were only the fourth Australian act to appear on the show.

In January 2018, as part of Triple M's "Ozzest 100", the 'most Australian' songs of all time, "My Happiness" was ranked number 31.[2]

Production and content

If you can't cop a bit of emotional stuff then you should go and get the lamp shade extracted from your arse. If you don't think there is enough rock in your life then let me know and I will personally come around to your house and chuck stones at you.

Bernard Fanning, in response to "My Happiness" being described by fans as "like Lauryn Hill, bland and boring Top 40 bullshit".[3]

The lyrics for "My Happiness" were written by

Sain's Pennie Dennison said it described "the pining feeling you experience when you spend time away from the one you love".[5] Fanning called it "a sad story of touring and the absence loneliness that comes with it".[1] The extensive time spent touring took its toll on the band, and it was on the back of this that Fanning wrote "My Happiness".[6] Thus, he expressed confusion at its being considered a romantic song.[1]

"My Happiness" was attacked by some fans as being "like Lauryn Hill, bland and boring Top 40 bullshit"; guitarist Ian Haug rebutted by pointing out that the song was an example of the new emotional level on which Powderfinger made music, while Fanning was more aggressive in his defence of the song.[3] In response to being dubbed "Mr Miserable" by The Sun-Herald's Peter Holmes for the lyrics of "My Happiness" and "These Days", Fanning pointed out that the songs could be construed either as melancholy, or as part of "the most hopeful record ... in a long time".[7]

Much of Fanning's writing is inspired by non-rock music, and "My Happiness" is no exception.

The Metre", and "Up & Down & Back Again" were more "complete" because of the band's efforts.[8] The lighter elements of "My Happiness" in comparison to some of the band's earlier work saw Fanning reveal his passion for several other musicians such as James Taylor—something that "five years ago ... would have been an embarrassing thing to say".[9]

Touring and promotion

"My Happiness" was put on heavy rotation by Los Angeles radio station KROQ-FM two months prior to its United States release,[10] and Powderfinger signed a contract with United States label Republic as a result of the song's early success.[11] Beat journalist Jayson Argall joked the song had received "a bit" of airplay.[12] Although "My Happiness" was subsequently dropped from KROQ's roster, other radio stations continued to give the song high priority.[13]

"My Happiness" peaked at number 23 on the

The Hobart Mercury that this was one of the reasons Powderfinger decided to focus on the offshore market.[15]

Powderfinger performed "My Happiness" live on the Late Show with David Letterman while touring North America with British rock group Coldplay.[6] They were the fourth Australian act (after The Living End, Silverchair, and Nick Cave) to play on the show.[16] The band also did free promotional shows leading up to the release of the single.[17] In Europe, "My Happiness" received approximately four weeks of airplay on German music video program Viva II, and the band sold out for three nights in a row in London, partly due to the success of the single.[18]

Release and commercial success

"My Happiness" was released as a

ARIA Albums Chart, 95 weeks after entering.[21][22] The single featured B-side "My Kind of Scene", which had already received strong airplay due to its appearance on the Mission: Impossible 2 soundtrack.[23] "My Happiness" appeared on a Triple M compilation entitled Triple M's New Stuff,[24] and on a Kerrang! compilation, Kerrang!2 The Album.[25]

"My Happiness" entered the

Modern Rock Tracks chart.[14]

The song won the "Single of the Year" award at the

APRA Award.[30] Furthermore, "My Happiness" topped the Triple J Hottest 100 chart in 2000,[31] and appeared on that year's CD release.[32] Rolling Stone Australia named "My Happiness" "Song of the Year" in a reader poll.[11] "My Happiness" was the eighth most-played song on Australian radio in 2001.[33]

Critical reception

"My Happiness"
While Chad Watson of
The Newcastle Herald described a "restrained yet warmly infectious chorus",[34] Richard Jinman of The Sydney Morning Herald argued the hook was not as "hummable" as some of Powderfinger's other work.[35]
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"My Happiness" was critically acclaimed. Cameron Adams of the

The Evening Mail agreed; it argued the "rock-lite" song, while sounding lush, failed to "make you really sit up and take notice".[38]

Despite being highly critical of Odyssey Number Five,

Sain's Christie Eliszer approved of the "acoustic strumalong",[40] but The Advertiser's Michael Duffy said the song was "a familiar piece of yearning guitar indie that is polished but pedestrian"; he reserved his praise for "My Kind of Scene", which he described as akin to the best of Internationalist.[41] Darren Bunting wrote in the Hull Daily Mail that "My Happiness" was the best song on Odyssey Number Five, praising "soaring vocals, heartfelt lyrics and chiming guitar".[42] Entertainment Weekly's Marc Weingarten said that on "My Happiness", "Fanning's heavy heart is tattered by scratching and clawing guitars".[43]

Music video

A frame from the "My Happiness" music video showing a sentient slinky dancing as Powderfinger perform the song in the background

The

café
in which Powderfinger are performing the song. It rests on the bar and the band finishes playing, while the background music continues. As Powderfinger leaves, the slinky is picked up by Haug. He gets into a car and places the slinky on the car's dashboard, but it falls out the window as the car turns a tight corner. It lands outside the gate of a house and is picked up by a woman, who brings it to inside. It turns out the house belongs to the boy from the beginning, and his mother brings it to him.

The video was created by Fifty Fifty Films, who created numerous other Powderfinger music videos.

The Courier Mail reported that following the music video's release, slinky sales increased dramatically.[45]

Awards and accolades

Awards and accolades for "My Happiness"
Year Organisation Ceremony Award Result
2000 Triple J Hottest 100 — No. 1[31]
2001
APRA
 APRA Awards Song of the Year Won[30]
ARIA ARIA Music Awards Single of the Year Won[29]
Highest Selling Single Nominated

Track listings

Australian CD single[25]

  1. "My Happiness" – 4:36
  2. "My Kind of Scene" – 4:37
  3. "Nature Boy" – 3:12
  4. "Odyssey #1" (demo) – 4:09

European CD single[46]

  1. "My Happiness" (edit) – 4:11
  2. "Nature Boy" – 3:38

Personnel

Powderfinger

Production

  • Nick DiDia – Producer, engineer and mixer[47]
  • Matt Voigt – Assistant engineer
  • Anton Hagop – Assistant engineer
  • Alex Pertout – Percussion
  • Stewart Whitmore – Digital editing
  • Stephen Marcussen – Mastering
  • Anton Hagop – Assistant producer
  • Kevin Wilkins –
    Art direction and photography

Charts

Certifications

Certifications and sales for "My Happiness"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[51] 7× Platinum 490,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^
    Fingerprints: The Best of Powderfinger, 1994-2000 companion booklet. Universal Music Australia
    . p. 1.
  2. ^ "Here Are The Songs That Made Triple M's 'Ozzest 100'". Musicfeeds. 27 January 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  3. ^ a b Wooldridge, Simon (September 2000). "This Sporting Life". Juice.
  4. Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS). Archived from the original
    on 8 March 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  5. ^
    Sain
    .
  6. ^ a b Sawford, Gavin (12 July 2001). "Powder to the People". RM Rave.
  7. ^ Holmes, Peter (19 August 2001). "Powderfinger Lickin' Good". The Sun-Herald.
  8. ^ Yates, Rod (September 2000). "Trusty Old Jackets". Massive.
  9. ^ Maestri, Cathy (8 June 2001). "Putting the emphasis on songwriting". The Press-Enterprise. p. 13.
  10. ^ McCabe, Kathy (4 February 2001). "Top band shunned – Triple M rejects single". The Sunday Telegraph. p. 21.
  11. ^ a b Apter, Jeff (April 2001). "Powderfinger – Band of the Year". Rolling Stone.
  12. ^ Argall, Jayson (August 2001). "Bowling Maidens Over". Beat.
  13. ^
    Billboard.com
    . Accessed 22 August 2008.
  14. ^ a b c "Powderfinger Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  15. The Hobart Mercury
    . p. 27.
  16. ^ Munro, Kelsey (November 2001). "Internationalists". Juice.
  17. ^ Sharp, Annette (23 July 2000). "The Diary". The Sun-Herald. p. 28.
  18. The Courier Mail
    .
  19. ^ Scatena, Dino (27 July 2000). "DINO, the truth, the whole truth & nothing but the truth". The Daily Telegraph.
  20. ^ Scatena, Dino (3 August 2000). "DINO, the truth, the whole truth & nothing but the truth". The Daily Telegraph.
  21. ^ McCabe, Kathy (6 August 2000). "Powderfinger on road". The Sunday Telegraph. p. 95.
  22. ^ ARIA Albums Chart 27/08/2000. australian-charts.com. Accessed 22 August 2008.
  23. ^ McCabe, Kathy (16 July 2000). "Making a killing for kids' charity". The Sunday Telegraph. p. 138.
  24. Allmusic
    . Accessed 22 August 2008.
  25. ^ a b c d "Powderfinger – My Happiness". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  26. ^ Yorke, Ritche (27 August 2000). "Bold 'Finger". The Sunday Mail. p. 74.
  27. ^ a b "Powderfinger – My Happiness". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  28. ^ "Alternative: Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1388. 9 February 2002. p. 130. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  29. ^ a b "History: Winners by Artist: Powderfinger". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 31 December 2007. Accessed 22 August 2008.
  30. ^
    Australasian Performing Right Association. Archived from the original
    on 23 July 2008. Accessed 22 August 2008.
  31. ^ a b "Hottest 100 History 2000". Triple J. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2008. Accessed 22 August 2008.
  32. ^ "Hottest 100 CD 2000". Triple J. Archived from the original on 21 June 2008. Accessed 22 August 2008.
  33. ^ "Savage crashes but fans' passion burns". The Sunday Times. 30 December 2001. p. 20.
  34. ^
    The Newcastle Herald
    . p. 46.
  35. ^ a b Jinman, Richard (18 August 2000). "Other New Singles". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 25.
  36. ^ a b Adams, Cameron (10 August 2000). "The singles". Herald Sun. p. 56.
  37. ^ Powers, Devon. "Powderfinger: Odyssey No. 5 review". PopMatters. Accessed 22 August 2008.
  38. The Evening Mail
    . 7 September 2001. p. 48.
  39. Allmusic
    . Accessed 22 August 2008.
  40. ^ Eliszer, Christie (September 2000). "Five Easy Pieces". Sain.
  41. ^ Duffy, Michael (24 August 2000). "Music Review". The Advertiser. p. 52.
  42. ^ Bunting, Darren (7 September 2001). "Summer sound of Powderfinger". Hull Daily Mail.
  43. ^ Weingarten, Marc (30 March 2001). "Odyssey Number Five | Music Review". Entertainment Weekly. Accessed 22 August 2008.
  44. ^ "www.fiftyfifty.tv". Fifty Fifty Films.[permanent dead link] Accessed 22 August 2008.
  45. ^ Adams, Cameron (26 January 2001). "Powder to the people". The Courier Mail.
  46. ^ My Happiness (European CD single liner notes). Powderfinger. Polydor Records, Universal Music Australia. 2001. 015 060-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  47. ^
    Allmusic
    . Accessed 22 August 2008.
  48. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Singles for 2000". ARIA. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  49. ^ "End of Year Charts 2001". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  50. Airplay Monitor
    . Vol. 9, no. 51. 21 December 2001. p. 40.
  51. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2022 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
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