"Laid"
Single by James
from the album Laid
B-side
  • "Wah Wah Kits"
  • "The Lake"
  • "Seconds Away"
  • "Five-O"
Released1 November 1993 (1993-11-01)[1]
Length2:36
LabelFontana
Songwriter(s)
  • Tim Booth
  • Larry Gott
  • Jim Glennie
Producer(s)Brian Eno
James singles chronology
"Sometimes"
(1993)		 "Laid"
(1993)		 "Jam J" / "Say Something"
(1994)

"Laid" is the title track from Manchester alternative rock band James's fifth studio album, Laid (1993). Released on 1 November 1993, the song was a commercial success, charting in the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States, and has received attention as a theme song for the American Pie film series.

Composition and reception

The song includes the lyric "she only comes when she's on top". The American release of its music video replaced this lyric with "she only sings when she's on top" (although Tim Booth is seen to lip-sync the original line, and is accompanied by a subtitle reading "hums"). Today, a number of alternative rock stations, including Boston's RadioBDC, WBOS, Maryland's WRNR-FM, Chicago's WXRT, Missoula's KDTR-FM, Philadelphia's WRFF, the Florida Space Coast’s WFIT, and suburban New York City's WXPK will play "Laid" with the original controversial line.

It quickly gained popularity on American college radio and remains the group's best-known song in the United States.[2]

The song peaked at number 61 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number three on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, in part due to its cult status as a popular college song in the US. The song was more successful in the band's native UK, where it peaked at number 25, becoming the band's ninth top-40 hit.

One of the Three, the 'unofficial archive of the band James', has said this of the song:

Originally viewed by the band as a throwaway song and a possible b-side, Brian Eno soon convinced them of the potential of this track. Whilst only reaching a disappointing 22 in the UK charts, it made serious inroads for the band in the US where it lead [sic] to performances on prime-time TV shows such as Letterman, Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno.[3]

Usage in American Pie

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the song gained additional exposure and popularity when it was used as the theme song for the American Pie films starring Jason Biggs and Seann William Scott.[4] A cover by Matt Nathanson was recorded exclusively for the third film American Wedding, and was later included on the first spin-off American Pie Presents: Band Camp's soundtrack after previously only being in the first two films' trailers. When performed by Matt Nathanson live he often creates a lot of banter over the vocals after the second verse, where he encourages the audience to sing along with him. The seventh installment in the franchise, The Book of Love, contains a new cover of "Laid" by singer Aidan Hawken; as of 2012, it had yet to be released on any album or as a single. The eighth film, American Reunion, features the original version by James played during the film for the first and only time in the series' history.

Track listings

Charts

Chart (1993–1994) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[11] 40
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[12] 73
UK Singles (OCC)[13] 25
US Billboard Hot 100[14] 61
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[15] 3

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[16] Platinum 600,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Covers

"Laid" was covered by New Orleans alt-rock band Better Than Ezra on their 2005 greatest hits compilation. It has been covered by the Butch Walker-led band 1969 on a hidden track on their album Maya, and has also been covered by Thomas Ian Nicholas (an actor playing Kevin Myers in the American Pie franchise) on his Tnb EP. English band Palma Violets performed a version of the song in July 2015 for The A.V. Club's A.V. Undercover series.[17] The song has also been covered by The Pains of Being Pure at Heart.

References

  1. ↑ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 30 October 1993. p. 27. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  2. ↑ "James: A Band Who is so Much More than "Laid"". thesesubtlesounds.com. These Subtle Sounds. 17 July 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  3. ↑ "Laid". oneofthethree.com. One Of The Three. 27 September 1993. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  4. ↑ Krawczyk, Ashlee. "We Watch it for the Music | American Pie". Impact 89FM. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  5. ↑ Laid (UK CD1 liner notes). James. Fontana Records. 1993. JIMCD 14.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. ↑ Laid (European CD single liner notes). James. Fontana Records. 1993. 862 927-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. ↑ Laid (UK CD2 liner notes). James. Fontana Records. 1993. JIMCX 14.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. ↑ UK two-track formats:
    • Laid (UK 7-inch single sleeve). James. Fontana Records. 1993. JIM 14.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
    • Laid (UK cassette single sleeve). James. Fontana Records. 1993. JIMMC 14.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. ↑ Australian formats:
    • Laid (Australian CD single liner notes). James. Fontana Records. 1993. 862 926-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
    • Laid (Australian cassette single sleeve). James. Fontana Records. 1993. 862 926-4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. ↑ Laid (US cassette single cassette notes). James. Fontana Records. 1993. 858 217-4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. ↑ "James – Laid". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  12. ↑ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 48. 27 November 1993. p. 17. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  13. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  14. ↑ "James Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  15. ↑ "James Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  16. ↑ "British single certifications – James – Laid". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  17. ↑ Modell, Josh (21 July 2015). "Palma Violets cover James". The A.V. Club. Onion, Inc. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
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