Seether (song)
"Seether" is a 1994 single by American alternative rock band Veruca Salt.
Background
The song was written by Veruca Salt singer-guitarist Nina Gordon. "Seether" was more pop-sounding compared to the rest of the band's material. In a 1994 interview with MuchMusic, an interviewer suggested that "Seether" could either be about female "animalistic instincts" or bouts of rage. Gordon agreed that her songs' meanings often changed during and after the writing process. "You write a song, think it's about one thing for five minutes....and discover that it's about many different things and working on many different levels." In Veruca Salt's 1997 hit single "Volcano Girls," the seether was identified as "Louise," which presumably refers to Veruca Salt singer-guitarist Louise Post.Release
Veruca Salt recorded the song in early 1994, with production by Brad Wood. They then released "Seether"/"All Hail Me" as their debut single on the independent label Minty Fresh. "Seether" quickly became popular on college and alternative radio stations. Its success led the band to record and release their debut album American Thighs, which included "Seether", later that year. Shortly thereafter, the band signed with the major label Geffen Records, which re-released the album. "Seether" peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, became a hit on MTV, and launched the band into fame.Legacy and reception
In 1994, the song was number 3 in British Radio One DJ John Peel's Festive Fifty. In a 2014 retrospective, music magazine Paste listed "Seether" at number 10 on their list of the 50 greatest grunge songs of all time.Pitchfork called it, "bubblegrunge at its finest, all guitar fuzz and pop stickiness and crackling angst animating a personification of anger that just can't be leashed. 'I try to cram her back in my mouth,' co-frontwoman Nina Gordon sings in the verse, but she didn’t really try that hard."