"Attitude" is a song by the American

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band Misfits. Written by frontman and vocalist Glenn Danzig, the song was recorded and first released in 1978 on the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

of the band's single "

Bullet A bullet is a kinetic projectile, a component of firearm ammunition that is shot from a gun barrel. They are made of a variety of materials, such as copper, lead, steel, polymer, rubber and even wax; and are made in various shapes and constru ...

". It was also included on the Misfits' 1980 EP '' Beware'', as well as on the 1995

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

'' Collection II''. "Attitude" was originally intended to be included on the band's proposed debut album '' Static Age'', and it remained included when the album was eventually released in its entirety in 1996.

Recording and release

"Attitude" was originally recorded by the Misfits in January–February 1978 for their proposed debut album '' Static Age'', which would not be released in its entirety until 1996. The song was recorded in C.I. Studios in New York City. It was first released as part of the band's single "

" in 1978, and would later be included on their 1980 EP '' Beware'', which combined tracks from the previously released "Bullet" and "

Horror Business "Horror Business" is the third single released by the American horror punk band Misfits (band), Misfits. It was released on June 26, 1979 through vocalist Glenn Danzig's own label, Plan 9 Records, and is commonly said to have been inspired by the ...

" singles. It also appears on the 1995

'' Collection II''. In 1996, ''Static Age'' was officially released for the first time, as part of the boxed set '' The Misfits''. "Attitude" was included among the ''Static Age'' tracks in the boxed set, and it would also be included on the 1997 standalone release of ''Static Age''.

Critical reception

Eduardo Rivadavia of

Ultimate Classic Rock Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...

ranked the song No. 1 on his list of the 10 best Misfits songs, calling it "astonishing". Dan Ozzi of Diffuser.fm ranked the song No. 8 on his list of the 10 best Misfits songs, writing that "Like most Misfits songs, 'Attitude' doesn't even top two minutes, and really, there's not much to it. Danzig's message is pretty simple: Keep acting like an a—hole, and I'm gonna knock you out." Rob Kemp of '' Time Out'' has noted a reputation of "Attitude", among other Misfits songs, as being " antiestablishment" in nature. In his book ''This Music Leaves Stains: The Complete Story of the Misfits'', author James Greene, Jr., in speaking of

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...

' cover of "Attitude" from their 1993 album ''

"The Spaghetti Incident?" ''"The Spaghetti Incident?"'' is the fifth studio album by the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses. The album is composed of covers of older songs mostly in the punk rock and hard rock genres. ''"The Spaghetti Incident?"'' is the only stud ...

'', called "Attitude" a song that, "more than any other Danzig work, seemed to provide the blueprint for both GNR's adrenaline-heavy sound and

Axl Rose W. Axl Rose ( ; born William Bruce Rose Jr., February 6, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist and lyricist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, and has been the band's sole constant member since its inception in ...

's temperamental stage persona".

Personnel

The Misfits * Glenn Danzig – vocals *

Jerry Only Gerald Caiafa Jr. (born April 21, 1959), better known by his stage name Jerry Only, is an American musician, best known as the bassist for the Misfits and later the vocalist as well. He is the only member to appear in every Misfits lineup exce ...

– bass * Franché Coma – guitar * Mr. Jim – drums Production * Dave Achelis –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

* Tom Bejgrowicz – producer

Cover versions

In 1993,

covered "Attitude" for their album ''

'', with bassist

Duff McKagan Michael Andrew "Duff" McKagan (born February 5, 1964) is an American musician. He was the bassist of hard rock band Guns N' Roses for twelve years, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. McKagan rejoined the b ...

on vocals. "I couldn't say the Misfits were one of my all-around favourite bands," admitted GNR guitarist

Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash th ...

. "But they did have a couple of great songs – like 'Attitude'." The song has also been covered by the Crimson Ghosts, Endpoint, the Slackers, the Slow Break,

Sum 41 Sum 41 was a Canadian rock band formed in Ajax, Ontario, in 1996. The band's final lineup consisted of Deryck Whibley (lead vocals, guitars, keyboards), Dave Baksh (lead guitar, backing vocals), Jason McCaslin (bass, backing vocals), Tom T ...

, and

Winds of Plague Winds of Plague is an American deathcore band from Upland, California. Formed in 2002, the band is known for being the first of several deathcore bands to incorporate symphonic elements into their music. The band's name is derived from a sect ...

. Additionally, the Nutley Brass recorded an

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

lounge Lounge may refer to: Architecture * Lounge, the living room of a dwelling * Lounge, a public waiting area in a hotel's lobby * Lounge, a style of commercial alcohol- bar * Airport lounge or train lounge (e.g., Amtrak's Acela Lounge), a premium ...

cover of the song, which was included on their 2005 Misfits

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century a ...

'' Fiend Club Lounge''. Dutch band Skroetbalg recorded a

Dutch Low Saxon Dutch Low Saxon ( or ''Nederlaands Nedersaksies''; ) are Low Saxon dialects from the Low German language that are spoken in the northeastern Netherlands and are mostly, but not exclusively, written with local, unstandardised orthographies base ...

cover of the song, which was included on their 2021 demo.

Recording and release

Critical reception

Personnel

Cover versions

See also

References

Further reading