"We Used to Be Friends" is a song by American alternative rock band The Dandy Warhols. It was released as the lead single from their fourth studio album Welcome to the Monkey House on 23 April 2003.

"We Used to Be Friends"
Single by The Dandy Warhols
from the album Welcome to the Monkey House
ReleasedApril 23, 2003
GenrePower pop, alternative rock
Length3:19
LabelCapitol
Songwriter(s)
The Dandy Warhols singles chronology
""Get Off" (re-release)"
(2002)
"We Used to Be Friends"
(2003)
"You Were the Last High"
(2003)

The single did not chart in the US but peaked at number 18 in the UK.

Content

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The song bears a similar intro riff, chord progression and vocal melody to that of a Feeder song "Day In Day Out", and the band have listed Grant Nicholas as co-writer to avoid lawsuit.[1]

Reception

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NME praised the track, describing it as "a synthetic chatter of robotic handclaps and tweaky guitar fuzz, creamed off with a squeaky-clean chorus delivered in alarming falsetto".[2]

Cultural references

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The song is known for being the theme song to the TV series Veronica Mars, and was also notably featured in episodes of The O.C.[3] and Wonderfalls, as well as the FIFA Football 2004 soundtrack. It was also the theme song to Australian reality series My Restaurant Rules, and was featured as background music in the LucasArts video game Thrillville: Off the Rails.

In 2011, Chris Carrabba of Dashboard Confessional covered the song on his album Covered in the Flood. Alejandro Escovedo recorded a new acoustic version for the soundtrack of the 2014 film adaptation Veronica Mars.[3] Chrissie Hynde covered the song for season 4 of Veronica Mars.[4]

Track listing

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CD
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."We Used to Be Friends" 3:20
2."Call Me" (Blondie cover)Debbie Harry and Giorgio Moroder3:32
3."Relax" (Frankie Goes to Hollywood cover)Peter Gill, Holly Johnson, Brian Nash and Mark O'Toole3:49
7" vinyl
  1. "We Used to Be Friends"
  2. "Minnesoter (Thee Slayer Hippie Mix)"
DVD
  • "We Used to Be Friends" (video)
  • "Bohemian Like You (Boston Dave Mix)"
  • "Minnesoter (Thee Slayer Hippie Mix)"
  • An Introduction to The Dandy Warhols

Charts

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Chart (2003) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[5] 18

References

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  1. ^ Ryan, Gary (2019-09-16). "Does Rock 'N' Roll Kill Braincells?! – Grant Nicholas, Feeder". NME. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  2. ^ Louis Pattison (14 May 2003). "Dandy Warhols : We Used To Be Friends". NME. IPC Media. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  3. ^ a b Bahr, Lindsey (March 3, 2014). "'Veronica Mars' soundtrack: Listen to new take on 'We Used to Be Friends'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  4. ^ Truffaut-Wong, Olivia (2019-07-19). "The 'Veronica Mars' Season 4 Theme Song Puts A New Twist On The Early 2000s Anthem". Bustle. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  5. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
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