Stupid Kid
Encyclopedia
"Stupid Kid" is a song by the Chicago
-based punk rock
band Alkaline Trio
, released as the first single
from their 2001 album From Here to Infirmary
. Two different versions of the single were released in the United Kingdom
, where it became the band's first charting song by reaching #53 on the UK Singles Chart
The song's music video
was directed by Matthew Barry and Maureen Egan
. It depicts the band performing the song outside of a middle school
. Inside the school, a boy becomes infatuated
with his female teacher and makes attempts to impress her. When the teacher writes "you scare me" in the boy's yearbook
, he is humiliated in front of the class and the other children laugh at him. He stands outside the classroom window and removes his tuque
, revealing a pair of devil
-like horn
s as the teacher is consumed by smoke.
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
-based punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band Alkaline Trio
Alkaline Trio
Alkaline Trio is an American punk rock band that formed in McHenry, Illinois, in 1996. The band's line-up consists of Matt Skiba , Dan Andriano , and Derek Grant...
, released as the first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
from their 2001 album From Here to Infirmary
From Here to Infirmary
From Here to Infirmary is the third album by the Chicago-based punk rock band Alkaline Trio, released April 3, 2001 through Vagrant Records. It was their first album for Vagrant and their only album with drummer Mike Felumlee, who replaced previous drummer Glenn Porter. It was also their first...
. Two different versions of the single were released in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, where it became the band's first charting song by reaching #53 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
The song's music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
was directed by Matthew Barry and Maureen Egan
Maureen Egan
Maureen Egan is a writer/director who has directed several music videos, including the MTV2 Award-winning "Screaming Infidelities" for Dashboard Confessional.Her parents were the late actors Richard Egan and Patricia Hardy.-References:...
. It depicts the band performing the song outside of a middle school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
. Inside the school, a boy becomes infatuated
Limerence
Limerence is a term coined c. 1977 by the psychologist Dorothy Tennov to describe an involuntary state of mind which seems to result from a romantic attraction to another person combined with an overwhelming, obsessive need to have one's feelings reciprocated...
with his female teacher and makes attempts to impress her. When the teacher writes "you scare me" in the boy's yearbook
Yearbook
A yearbook, also known as an annual, is a book to record, highlight, and commemorate the past year of a school or a book published annually. Virtually all American, Australian and Canadian high schools, most colleges and many elementary and middle schools publish yearbooks...
, he is humiliated in front of the class and the other children laugh at him. He stands outside the classroom window and removes his tuque
Tuque
A – variously known as a knit hat or stocking cap among other names – is a knitted cap, originally of wool though now often of synthetic fibers, that is designed to provide warmth in winter...
, revealing a pair of devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
-like horn
Horn (anatomy)
A horn is a pointed projection of the skin on the head of various animals, consisting of a covering of horn surrounding a core of living bone. True horns are found mainly among the ruminant artiodactyls, in the families Antilocapridae and Bovidae...
s as the teacher is consumed by smoke.
Track listing
Band
- Matt SkibaMatt SkibaMatthew Thomas Skiba is the lead singer and guitarist of Alkaline Trio.-Early life and family:...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Dan AndrianoDan AndrianoDaniel Michael Andriano is the bassist and co-vocalist of the punk rock band Alkaline Trio.-Education and early bands:...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, vocals - Mike FelumleeMike FelumleeMike Felumlee, a native of Crystal Lake, Illinois , is chiefly known as the former drummer for the influential rock band The Alkaline Trio...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
on "Stupid Kid", "The Metro", and "Private Eye" - Glenn PorterGlenn PorterGlenn Porter is an American drummer from Chicago, Illinois most famous for forming Alkaline Trio with fellow bike messenger Matt Skiba and Rob Doran, which he later left in 2000 after recording two albums with them. He is also a former 88 Fingers Louie member...
– drums on "She Took Him to the Lake" and "You've Got so Far to Go"
Production
- Matt Allison – producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
- Neil Weir – assistant producer on "Stupid Kid", "The Metro", and "Private Eye"
- Jerry FinnJerry FinnJerry Finn was an American record producer. He was perhaps best known for his work with Blink-182, as well as Morrissey, AFI, Bad Religion, Alkaline Trio, MxPx, Rancid, Green Day, Sum 41 and The Offspring.-Death:...
– mix engineerMix engineerA mix engineer, also referred to as "mixing engineer", is a person who, once all instruments, voices, and sounds, etc., have been recorded, creates what is called the final version of a song, hence the term "mix engineer"...
on "Stupid Kid", "The Metro", and "Private Eye" - John Golden – mastering engineerMastering engineerA mastering engineer is one skilled in the practice of taking audio that has been previously mixed in either the analog or digital domain as mono, stereo, or multichannel formats and preparing it for use in distribution, whether by physical media such as a CD, vinyl record, or as some method of...
on "She Took Him to the Lake" and "You've Got so Far to Go"