"100%" is a song by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band Sonic Youth from their seventh studio album ''

Dirty Dirt is an unclean matter, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty. Common types of dirt include: * Debris: scattered pieces of waste or remains * Dust: a genera ...

'' (1992). It was released as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from the album in July 1992, by DGC. Written by Sonic Youth, the song discusses the murder of Joe Cole, a friend of the band who was killed in an armed robbery on December 19, 1991.

Recording

The song was recorded and produced in early 1992 at Magic Shop in New York City by

Butch Vig Bryan David "Butch" Vig (born August 2, 1955) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the drummer and co-producer of the alternative rock band Garbage and the producer of the diamond-selling Nirvana album ''Neve ...

and Sonic Youth. Vig also engineered the song, with assistance from Edward Douglas.

Critical reception

Greg Kot Greg Kot (born March 3, 1957) is an American music journalist and author. From 1990 until 2020, Kot was the rock music critic at the ''Chicago Tribune'', where he covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and busines ...

of the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'' praised the song's "garage-rock power chords", in addition to designating it as "a great single". Dele Fadele of ''

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'' said the song "sets the tone perfectly for ''Dirtys loving seedy, political and romantic take on classic rock n roll - an ''

Exile On Main Street ''Exile on Main St.'' is the 10th British and 12th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 12 May 1972 by Rolling Stones Records. Recording began in 1969 in England during sessions for '' Sticky Fingers'' ...

'' for the '90s". Scott Hreha of ''

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'' spoke positively of the confrontational lyrical content of "100%", describing the song, alongside "JC", as "elegiac tributes to murdered friends". ''

Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...

'' praised the radio-friendly nature of the song, referring to it as "contagious grunge-pop".

Chart performance

In the United States, "100%” debuted at number 22 on the

Alternative Airplay Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

chart for the issue dated July 18, 1992. Within five weeks, the song reached its peak position of number four, becoming Sonic Youth's highest charting song on the chart. The song spent a total of 13 weeks on the chart.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

for "100%" was directed by

Tamra Davis Tamra Davis (born January 22, 1962) is an American film, television and music video director. Early life Davis was born the second out of four children in Studio City, California. She was exposed to the media industry at an early age by her gran ...

and Spike Jonze, and shot in

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. Much of the video footage was shot by Jonze while riding on a skateboard, following others in the streets (including then-skateboarder, now-actor

Jason Lee Jason Lee may refer to: Entertainment *Jason Lee (actor) (born 1970), American film and TV actor and former professional skateboarder *Jason Scott Lee (born 1966), Asian American film actor * Jaxon Lee (Jason Christopher Lee, born 1968), American v ...

). The video also alluded to the shooting death of Cole, but is not specifically about him, and more about friendship between two skateboarders. Sonic Youth is shown playing a house party throughout the film.

Kim Gordon Kim Althea Gordon (born April 28, 1953) is an American musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the bassist, guitarist, and vocalist of alternative rock band Sonic Youth. Born in Rochester, New York, she was raised in Los Angeles, Califor ...

plays a yellow Fender

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, which she borrowed from actor Keanu Reeves.

Ban

In the music video,

dons a counterfeit

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

T-shirt with the phrase “Eat me” written across the front. This phrase was deemed as too obscene for MTV, resulting in the video being banned from the network. Gordon responded to the banning: “It's a bootleg Rolling Stones shirt —

the big mouth ''The Big Mouth'' is a 1967 American comedy film produced, directed, co-written, and starring Jerry Lewis. It was filmed in San Diego and features Frank De Vol as an onscreen narrator. Plot Gerald Clamson is a bank examiner who loves fishing on ...

— and it said 'Eat me' on it. At the time, I just took it, like, ‘Well, that's confusing’, because they've obviously got, like, mostly naked women in their videos”.

Live performances

On September 4, 1992, Sonic Youth performed the song on '' Late Night with David Letterman''.

Cover versions

“100%” was covered by Mantar on their fourth studio album, ''Grungetown Hooligans II'' (2020). Matthis Van Der Meulen directed an accompanying music video, which acts as an homage to the original music video released by Sonic Youth.

Track listings and formats

* 12" and 10" vinyl, cassette, and CD single # "100%" (LP version) – 2:28 # "Crème Brûlée" (LP version) – 2:33 # "Genetic" – 3:34 # "Hendrix Necro" – 2:49 * 7" vinyl # "100%" (LP Version) – 2:28 # "Crème Brûlée" (LP version) – 2:33

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:100 (Sonic Youth song) Sonic Youth songs 1992 singles Music videos directed by Spike Jonze Music videos directed by Tamra Davis Song recordings produced by Butch Vig 1992 songs