Pardon Me

This article is about the Incubus song. For the Weezer song, see Make Believe (Weezer album).

"Pardon Me" is a song by American rock band Incubus. Released on October 5, 1999, as the lead single from their third studio album Make Yourself, it was the band's first song to receive considerable radio airplay, reaching number three on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, number seven on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and number two on Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.^[3][4][5]

"Pardon Me"
Single by Incubus
from the album Make Yourself
B-side	"Crowded Elevator"
Released	October 5, 1999
Studio	NRG (Los Angeles)
Genre	Nu metal[1] post-grunge[2]
Length	3:44
Label	Epic Immortal
Songwriter	Incubus
Producer	Scott Litt
Incubus singles chronology
"New Skin" (1998) "Pardon Me" (1999) "Stellar" (2000)
Music video
"Pardon Me" on YouTube

Background and writing

In an interview, lead singer Brandon Boyd explained the song's origins, "I was in a bookstore, browsing through an old Life magazine, when I saw a picture of what the article called spontaneous human combustion. There were an old guy's legs and shoes, perfectly intact - then, right around his knee area, was just a pile of charred ashes. I was going through some turmoil in my life, both good and bad, and the image struck a chord, so I wrote a song about it."^[6] Boyd had recently returned from a tour to find out that his girlfriend of 7 years broke up with him, and that both his grandmother and a close friend of his had died. After seeing a picture in Life magazine of a man who had spontaneously combusted, he related the man's problems to his own.^[6]

Music video

The music video for "Pardon Me", directed by Steven Murashige,^[6] also gained considerable airplay. The video begins with Brandon Boyd and his father Charles,^[6] at opposite ends of a hallway. As the two approach each other, Charles begins to regress in age and appearance, while Boyd begins to grow more elderly, becoming increasingly alike as they advance toward each other. When they meet, they pass through each other and continue on in opposite directions. Footage of the band members in white outfits (except for Boyd, who is shirtless) in a red-colored box are also shown, as is footage of the band members in red outfits being surrounded by businessmen and businesswomen.

The video premiered on The Box the week ending on January 16, 2000.^[7]

Track listing

US single

1. "Pardon Me" (Album Version)
2. "Crowded Elevator"
3. "Pardon Me" (Acoustic)
4. "Drive" (Acoustic)

US promotional single

1. "Pardon Me" (Acoustic)

UK single

1. "Pardon Me" (Album Version)
2. "I Miss You" (Acoustic)
3. "Crowded Elevator"

Personnel

Incubus

• Brandon Boyd – vocals
• Mike Einziger – guitar
• Dirk Lance – bass
• Chris Kilmore – turntables
• José Pasillas – drums

Production

• Produced by Scott Litt

Charts

Chart performance for "Pardon Me"

Chart (2000)	Peak position
Scotland (OCC)[8]	86
UK Singles (OCC)[9]	61
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[10]	3
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[11]	7
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 (Billboard)[12]	2

Certifications

Certifications and sales for "Pardon Me"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ)[13]	Platinum	30,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Pardon Me"

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United States	October 5, 1999	Alternative radio	Epic Immortal	[14]
United Kingdom	May 8, 2000	7-inch vinyl CD	Epic	[15]