The Outsider is a song from A Perfect Circle‘s second album, Thirteenth Step. It was the album’s second single, following Weak and Powerless, and charted on the Billboard‘s Hot 100, Mainstream Rock, and Modern Rock charts in 2003. It was released as single album on March 5, 2004. Two remixes of The Outsider were made for AMOTION. James Iha made the Frosted Yogurt mix, which uses a much more toned-down, quiet, synthesized sound than the original. Danny Lohner‘s Apocalypse Mix is a darker, heavier version that starts as an ambient doomscape and ends in a way that resembles a music playback program crashing. The latter version was included in the soundtrack to the movie Resident Evil: Apocalypse under the title Resident Renholder Mix and also in the Prison Break soundtrack under the title Apocalypse mix. The Resident Renholder Mix of the song was featured in the premiere trailer for Resident Evil: Afterlife. It is also featured in the film during the Alice vs. Albert Wesker battle and the ending credits. Additionally, the song is in the video game Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock and the trailer for the movie Safe.
The lyrics to The Outsider at face value, are in judgment of a potentially self-destructive or suicidal individual, though Maynard clarified that the song’s message was meant to be a criticism of people who do not understand the struggles of people dealing with depression, saying:
“In the case of “The Outsider”, it’s sung from the perspective of a person who doesn’t understand at all what their friend is going through, what their loved one is going through, and they think that it’s more like a sprained ankle; they can just kind of walk it off.”
Tracklist:
- The Outsider
The Outsider
Song by A Perfect Circle Lyrics
Help me if you can
It’s just that this
Is not the way I’m wired, so
Could you please
Help me understand why
You’ve given in to all these
Reckless dark desires, you’re
Lying to yourself again
Suicidal imbecile
Think about it, you’re pounding on a fault line
What’ll it take to get it through to you precious
I’m over this, why do you wanna throw it away like this?
Such a mess, why would I want to watch you?
Disconnect and self destruct one bullet at a time
What’s your rush now?
Everyone will have his day to die
Medicated, drama queen
Picture perfect, numb belligerence
Narcissistic drama queen
Craving fame and all its decadence
Lying through your teeth again
Suicidal imbecile
Think about it, you’re pounding on a fault line
What’ll it take to get it through to you, precious?
Go with this, why do you wanna throw it away like this?
Such a mess, why would I wanna watch you
Disconnect and self destruct one bullet at a time
What’s your rush now
Everyone will have his day to die
They were right about you
They were right about you
Lying to my face again
Suicidal imbecile
Think about it, you’re pounding on the fault line
What’ll it take to get it through to you, precious?
I’m over this, why do you wanna throw it away like this
Such a mess
Over this, over this
Disconnect and self destruct, one bullet at a time
What’s your hurry, everyone will have his day to die
If you choose to pull the trigger, should your drama prove sincere
Do it somewhere far away from here
Songwriters: Billy Howerdel, Maynard James Keenan
The original statement of the song The Outsider describes the expiration of a human being from the perspective of an uninvolved and disinterested person. This message was not considered in the video at all. For The Outsider, the famous Bikini Bandits, whose clips regularly mess with the urban society of the United States and its consumer behavior, were engaged. Mark Kohr and Bandits creator Steven Grasse directed the video so the girls would be allowed to do whatever they wanted (or just stand around and look hot). Fans of the band may be interested in the fact that singer Maynard James Keenan has a guest appearance as a convenience store clerk. The regular version was compared to the director’s cut. Both editions can be found on the AMOTION compilation DVD. The first time index belongs to the regular version, the second to the Director’s Cut.
The director’s cut begins with the Fuck Hollywood Productions logo and the Feature Penetration intro. What follows is a hilarious sales show from APC’s home shopping channels featuring products like the Whimsical Gnome, the Realistic Deer or the A Perfect Anus CD. After the moderator ends the program with the words Take it away, children! an animated sequence is shown with a fast car spinning around. The album A Perfect Circle Thirteenth Step is being inserted into the car’s CD player. This is when the regular version of the video begins.
A Perfect Circle
Maynard James Keenan: lead vocals, executive producer, artwork direction
Billy Howerdel: guitar, backing vocals, production, engineering
Josh Freese: drums
Twiggy Ramirez: bass
