ALIEN ANT FARM: The Strange History of the Band Behind 'Smooth Criminal' (Cover)
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- čas přidán 2. 07. 2024
- the strange history of the band Alien Ant Farm who famously covered Michael Jackson's song 'Smooth Criminal'
0:00 - Early Years
4:30 - Record Deal/Major Label Debut
7:26 - Smooth Criminal
13:55 - Tour Bus Crash/Third Record
17:20 - Later Years
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Dive deep into the untold history of Alien Ant Farm, the alternative rock band that shook the music scene with their infectious energy and unforgettable tunes. From humble beginnings in Riverside, California, to topping the charts with their iconic cover of Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal," this video uncovers the highs and lows of their journey.
Discover how vocalist Dryden Mitchell and his bandmates Terry Corso, Tye Zamora, and Mike Cosgrove defied the odds to form Alien Ant Farm, blending influences from Joni Mitchell to Nirvana to create their unique sound. Despite facing rejection from major record labels, their relentless passion and electrifying live performances caught the attention of the music industry.
Explore the making of their breakout hit, "Smooth Criminal," and the unexpected challenges they faced, from the song's accidental rise to fame to the extravagant music video that caught Michael Jackson's attention. Learn about the band's struggle with being labeled as a one-hit wonder and their determination to break free from stereotypes.
Witness the triumphs and tragedies that marked their career, from headlining tours to surviving a devastating tour bus crash in Europe. Follow their journey through record label turmoil, lineup changes, and personal struggles as they continue to defy expectations and make their mark on the music world.
Experience the band's evolution through their albums, from the platinum-selling success of "Anthology" to the shelved fourth album "Up in the Attic." Learn how they persevered through setbacks, reunited after a brief hiatus, and continued to innovate with new releases like "Always and Forever" and "Mantras."
Get exclusive insights into their recent collaborations, controversies, and upcoming projects, including their latest album slated for release this April. From viral TikTok sensations to enduring classics, Alien Ant Farm's legacy continues to inspire fans worldwide.
Join us as we celebrate the enduring legacy of Alien Ant Farm, a band that defied the odds, challenged the status quo, and rocked the world with their unforgettable music. Subscribe now for more exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, and insider stories from your favorite artists. - Hudba
Controversial opinion…I think AAF cover is way better than the original
the truth. It was made for a band to perform. They nailed it
Another one ... Sprung Monkey - Don't You Forget About Me. Hard to find :-(
i agree, extremely tight rendition
I'd probably agree, but I find Michael Jackson's songs particularly unpalatable.
@@MysticalHydra I agree with you on that one
Naming your first album
“Greatest Hits” is legendary 😂
No it's not legendary it's a f****** gimmick
So a legendary gimmick.@@patrickthebutcher
@mikewood9514 they are a garbage band with mediocre musicians at best... Nothing they did was legendary, and no one in that band is a legend, They got famous for doing a fucking cover for God's sake. Legends don't need gimmicks... grow the fuck up.
@@patrickthebutcher whats the name of your first album?
“I’m bitter for no reason” 😂
@@poindextertunes you're kidding right? you think I'm actually jealous of a garage band that made a hit cover? Hell man I was actually rooting for those guys... but the first album only had the one good cover on it and their second album was a f****** joke. I'm not bitter I'm just saying that Alien Ant Farm isn't worth spending 20 minutes on
“Movies” and “These Days” are absolute bangers.
Movies is kinda mid.
That whole album is classic.
FYF clears both
And Glow
@@gabagool_ovahereYour mom's love skills are mid.
Some of the coolest dudes. At a show in Hammond, IN, the Lead singer got kicked out of a beer tent because he didn’t have a wrist band. The crowd inside the tent screamed at the security guard and he was let back in. Didn’t look for special treatment, went to the back of the line and still took a picture with me and other fans. They are class acts.
That was kool, awesome for you! ✌🏼😊
My wife is from Hammond shout out to ya 🫡🤘
Nice! Hope all is well for both of you!!
They showed up in a bar in Wolverhampton, England late one night after playing a show with POD nearby. They drank shots and just hung out and danced with everyone. Great guys.
Yea they just seem like all around cool dudes. They are authentic and almost act like just another local band. It's really wholesome@@KOTDM1988
Anthology is one of my all time favorites.
Holds up 20 some years later. First legitimate pop-NuMetal mesh with tons of technical bass and drum lines. Guitar was heavy but in line with some simplistic nuMetal guitar riffs. Great distinct backup vocals and lead vocals.
The only mystery is how they didn't blow up more.
Hell of a record. "Movies" is probably in my top 50 songs ever. that's saying something from me because I consume music the way I breathe air.
One of the rare "no skip" albums with the prestigious "repeat" mode.....Gah I miss mid 2000s
Such a great fucking album, back to front@@brandongrayson456
* drum fill intro of "Courage" drops, guitar riffs kick in ~ Fuck me, now I've got to listen to that whole album again, start to finish.
"Courage", "Sticks and stones", "Attitude", "Wish", "Calico"....
"Anthology" is one hell of an album!!
Courage and Wish are bangers hey!!
Yes.
An album to listen to front to back
Attitude is a great song I'm surprised you didn't mention or cover it. Very underrated band.
banger!! still listen to this song
Yeah I always liked that song but it didn’t seem to do as well as the others.
"Primus cover band" requires one hell of a bass player
I figured out all his bass lines accept tommy the cat when I was 13.
@@yahnferral9163ok
@@yahnferral9163you want a cookie?
@@yahnferral9163no you didn’t, you may have got your bass sound close but you were not playing like Les at 13
Did they cover Les Claypool's satanic hymns he sings while playing a church organ? Secret tracks on an alternative magnetic frequency on the cassette version on Pork Soda. Found out by accident because my "roommate"/landlord left his stereo's magnetic head set a certain way so it would pick up the hidden frequency on the cassette's tape that the main tracks are not on... no shit. Anyways, if you pick up a copy of Ace Of Base's cassette with that single "It's A Beautiful Life" on it, guess what? You bet! The two males of that Swedish group are singing secret satanic tracks on the original cassette's alternative frequency on the tape loop. I found that one out because my own stereo in the 90's was cheap and was slowly breaking, one night it started playing tracks that I never heard Ace Of Base play before. Yuck. Bad. Why am I writing this? Why not? Now you and others can try to find other crappy bands such as Primus and Ace Of Base and their use of alternative magnetic frequencies for stupid satanic secret tracks. I guess you have to shift the main head inside the cassette player or something. Just thought you should all know. Technology used for stupid satanic crap.😂 Do they do it for CDs? Hidden CD files? Lol
They came to a local club a few years back and my band got to open for them. They sounds great live. Definitely better than I expected.
Wow!! Man, that is so cool!!
AAF, has been a SOLID influence..(heck,my daughter's jam out to them, played them since they were little!!)
Where was this?
(Seriously, I saw you posted this 8 hours ago)
Naming your first album 'Greatest Hits' is nothing short of pure genius I I don't know much about these guys, but I like what I've heard - I'm gonna do a deeper dive
They weren't the first to do it
"The producer knew that 'Smooth Criminal' had the potential to be a hit." - what a genius
😂
To be fair, you can do a cover that is uninspired and goes nowhere. How many times has Blowin' In the Wind been done? Far more times than it has been a hit single.
And how many people can cover Micheal Jackson?
I can name them and The Weeknd
@@dsxa918 To be fair, releasing a recording of an MJ cover is a financial burden out of reach of most people. However, I've heard unofficial/unreleased covers that are amazing
"wish" by AAF was my first introduction to this band by tony hawks pro skater 3. still an absolute banger song.
Yup , banger !!!
Saw them open for 311. Underrated band with a unique sound. Their third album was their best, the DeLeo brothers are incredible songwriters and producers in their own right.
You talking about truant ?
@@sonadorazul3074 sure enough
Same. Tour of 2005, right?
I saw them at the Wiltern in LA.
I saw them open for 311 in New Orleans at the State Palace Theater in maybe 2001. Such a fun concert and venue.
@@oc7219yep. Pennsylvania for me
This band is soooooo under rated. The album with smooth criminal is so goood. If it was released today, they would be absolute superstars
Unfortunately probably not. Actual instruments being played is barely a thing these days.
Movies, Smooth Criminal, and These Days were awesome songs.
Still are
So is 'Wish'.
So is 'Attitude'.
Love this channel and all the stories posted here , awesome content
Glad you enjoy it!
That kid in the video KILLED IT. Wish I could do that!
I was even pointing that out in 2021 even though I saw the exact video 10 years prior.
Attitude is there best song imo. Very underrated.
The band "Cold" would be a cool one to do a video on in the future. Love your videos and keep up the great work!
Thanks!
Yes! Great band!!!
Loved that band! Had a night of drinking shots with Jeremy & Scooter once back in 2003. Great group of guys 🤘
13 Ways to Bleed on Stage 🤘🤘🍻
@@JB-hl1qx probably around the same time I discovered them on Reverb on HBO.
They’re back baby!!
They finally dropped some new songs!
Seen these guys live in Pittsburgh in the 90s they asked the audience if they wanted to hear Smooth criminal ....or Smooth operator...they played both! Was one of the tightest live bands I heard back then
I had a convo with the lead singer Dryden, he is very kind, i cANT wait for their new music, i love their whole catalogue. One of the most underrated bands of all time 👽🐜👨🌾
Never knew so much about this band... I knew after Smooth Criminal they had the song 'Movies'... I always labelled the band as a pop-punk band than a Nu-Metal band... weird label but granted never checked out their other material
Movies came out first
Thank you for the post! 🤘🏻✌🏼😊
ANThology is such a solid album.
truANT is one of my all time favorite albums, I've always loved these guys and it's a bummer they didn't get bigger.
Great timing on this vid! I play them for my kids (6y and 4y)in the car everyday. They always walk around the house singing “you should try not to be so courageous” I’ve always thought this band were better than they got credit for. Great musicians. All of them.
So here i am, listening to this video at the gym, when i randomly look over at the video @9:00 and see my stock footage haha. Thank you for using my stock footage in the video! 9 min in, and i’m hooked. You got a sub ❤
I remember seeing them on Warped Tour in Atlanta back in 2001, they were the highlight of the show for me.... the energy in their set was amazing and I'd love to see them again
Always been an AAF fan since first hearing Criminal and then getting Antology. The rest of their albums are really good and absolutely worth a listen. An incredibly underrated band.
Dude, no one is talking about Always and Forever. There may be some songs that are pretty cheesy on it, but the rest are really good. I like Dirty Bomb in particular
@@bazumafoo886always & forever?
Odd this was posted and then they drop a new music video lol
Great timing on the release of this video as the band is back from hiatus and sound as great as ever
These guys were definitely under rated
Are*.... they just released some new songs and an album to come hopefully
@@jackoff1826 until an album and a tour happens. Were**
@@rikevans3348 they've been doing shows all these years and new album comes out at the end of April, with about 3 of those songs on it released already. So, I say Are*
Dude, this is so awesome! My cousin is Tye!!! I learned so much more about the band! Definitely sending him this video
His brothers actually had a band called The Color Red. You should check them out. They were awesome too
Theyre still dropping amazing tracks
ANThology is an album that you can listen to from start to finish without skipping a track. Highly recommended!
I have long maintained that the Smooth Criminal cover is their worst song. Not that its a bad cover, because honestly its a great cover. But that just goes to show how good this band is. Totally underrated.
My favorite band ever.
Criminally underrated band. Great tunes
These guys were awesome! I'm still waiting/hoping to see them make another album.
Two new song releases just happened and new album should be out in a month or two
Saw them live last year. Amazing show
Alien Ant Farm is underrated. TruANT is a great album. Also, Anthology had so many better songs than Smooth Criminal. I’m glad I got a chance to see them live with the Anthology tour. Amazing live and they played “Smooth Operator” by Sade!
AAF is a band that I like to bring up whenever I can when a conversation comes up about "one hit wonders" with a way better catalogue of music.
"Movies" and the video are so great!!!
Up in the attic is one of the greatest albums ever. Soo underrated.
For a period of time, dryden was looking for new bands to work with. I worked with him during this time. Hes verrrry out there. Weird guy. Difficult to work with. Apparently this was the way he became after the bus accident. However he was one of the best vocalists i ever worked with music wise. Hes really talented. This was before they went back in the studio and ended hiatus.
Traumatic brain injury can make people have personality changes or act weird. Suppose a lot of creative geniuses are to begin with as well. I’m sure it was a valuable experience. I was too young to remember much being in the studio with my dad lol
AAF had an incredible few albums, still listen to them today. Really takes me back to an amazing time.
I genuinely only don’t like 2 or 3 songs from all of their albums, they are so fucking good!
Lost my mind hearing their new single So Cold. Anthology was my jam when it came out, love seeing them back!
Wow! I didn’t know they were still active. It’s great to hear they are still performing
Rock the mountains festival this summer featuring alien ant farm❤
Amazing that two months after this video, Alien Ant Farm released a new song
I didn't know they started a whole genre. Definitely one that I like the sound of.
this is a great video... thank you
Thanks again, Rock-'n'-roll feller
You bet!
Movies is one of the best songs i heard in my entire life, no joke
Dude you must be like 10 then 😂
@@gabagool_ovahere😂
one of the most underrated bands of all time
They had some great songs, I picked up truANT when it came out, loved it.
They just put out a new song..
And it’s better than there original shit
New album out, and its great
ANThology is such a good album. Stranded and Sticks and Stones are some great deep cuts.
Hung out with them after their set in Nashville a few weeks ago. Great guys!
Saw them last week. Still rocking out
Very well done, thank you! I just saw AAF a few days ago in Riverside. They sounded great.
I was in love with this band in high school so creative a little dark snd humorous. my daughter has some of their songs now❣️
On a radio station I listen to, Radio X, here in the UK, they play Movies quite a lot!
Well researched, informative, engaging video. Thank you
I saw these guys live with PP Roach,this was before there cover tune came out and I’d never heard them,they blew PPRoach off the stage that night,they were the best band I had heard live up until that point,i bought there first album and it was amazing,every single song on that album was and still are amazing songs🤟🏻
Greatest Hits and Anthology are in my playlist for daily listening
Saw them at Sick New World 2023, and they were amazing.
Another great video. Thank you sir.
You’re welcome!
Thanks for this video. I feel kinda bad and guilty, I was a HUGE fan of this band at the time and bought their first two albums when they came out. If you like 90s and 2000s rock, Alien Ant Farm deserves to be listened too and shout not be forgotten. Talented musicians, and talented song writers. Good band, keep playing!
Well, they're back.
This song regularly goes around around in my head
Ha!! I was about 20 feet from the stage at that show @3:34. That was Vans Warped Tour 2001 in Tinley Park. I didn’t think anyone ever filmed that!
It was a weird era. Like Sum 41 and AAF were almost Blink 182 style that the corps knew would only be short lived bands.
Movies is an underrated jam.
They were in Atlanta a few weeks ago and they were incredible.
I think they are one of the coolest bands ever which such a great body of work under their belts and for those who got into their catalogue past the first few single releases will probably agree with me
Great content always 💯
Haven’t watched the band but the band is very active and it is highly underrated. They have great music!
We went to the vans warped tour in 2001 in Houston . I remember they didn’t head line , they actually preformed in a wrestling ring during the day time . I was in high school . Now imma bout to be 40 🤓
Up in the Attic was a great album, the song Consti2tion is unique and awesome.
The song Homage on the Always And Forever album is heartwarming.
Glow, She's Only Evil, Dirty Bomb, and Sleepwalker are some personal songs I love along with the obvious Movies and These Days.
Will be awesome to hear the new album
Just saw them at Welcome To Rockville in Daytona this May... they were awesome 😊
Played some shows with these guys a lot back at the Barn in UC Riverside. They always had huge crowds but the shows were usually supported by either punk/ska punk/nu metal or something and AAF were sort of neither of that. Huge energy and great shows though. Everybody seemed to want them to be Korn-lite or Hed (PE) or Deftones which they weren't but sort of looked like they were. Good times.
Saw these guys at Warped Tour, great show!
Always and Forever is fantastic album, idk why it didnt have bigger success, totally underrated album. One of my favourite rock albums.
It is so awesome!
Just released a new song like 3 days ago and it’s awesome
My band Dime Store Riot is opening for them in Tulsa soon. It's cool to get their history before playing with them.
While the "Smooth Criminal" remake was decent, I really love Alien Ant Farm's "Movies".
It's one of the hidden gems of the 2000s that should've been a hit or should've been a cult classic.
AAF was one of the first CDs I was ever given as a Christmas gift. I still play some of their songs on guitar when I'm trying to relax and practice. I feel so bad for them; they could've been big. Studios dont know everything; they messed up.
Smooth Criminal is one of the best videos ever, and done perfectly. You can tell how great of musicians they are by covering it. Movies is another one of my favs. Both songs i listen to currently.
Love the song and video too
Bro was clearly blazed AF at his day job, respect.
Seen them on the Sno Core tour, incredible show!
Anthology is an amazing album, and still very much in my regular playlists!
❤
Thanks for this info. I was in high school when AAF was out.
Anthology was an amazing album, every song is great. Saw them live in Jan 2002, the bassist pulled down his pants and played the bass with his fat ass, the singer kept jumping off stage and getting amongst the crowd, really great show. Underrated band.
My small time band played at a local former venue about 15 years ago at the time of his post. That's when I realized they were truly on the bottom of the roster. Still payed to see them. This was roughly 2007 or 8ish in Washington state. Played the same venue about three years later.
yeah, these guys were awesome. Even songs like Glow are great. These Days is hysterical. Such a funny group, they were just dorky as hell and relatable. Love Papa Roach, great group.
got to see them live last year at the gathering of the juggalos. it was awesome
Great band. Always stood out 🤘🏻