"Stripsearch"
Single by Faith No More
from the album Album of the Year
ReleasedJune 3, 1997
RecordedBrilliant Studios, San Francisco, California
GenreTrip hop[1]
Length4:12
LabelSlash
Songwriter(s)Jon Hudson, Mike Patton, Mike Bordin, Billy Gould
Producer(s)Roli Mosimann, Billy Gould
Faith No More singles chronology
"This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us"
(1997) 		"Stripsearch"
(1997) 		"I Started A Joke"
(1998)

"Stripsearch" is a song from Faith No More's studio album, Album of the Year, and was set for release as a single in November 1997. Promotional CDs were produced and released and the single was added to radio playlists.[2][3] However, the release was cancelled[4] as the record company London Recordings decided to release their 1995 cover of "I Started a Joke" by the Bee Gees instead.

Musical style

The song was based on a song written by guitarist Jon Hudson, composed in simple MIDI format, hence the heavy electronic sound.

The loop in the beginning made such a difference. Before we put it in, the song sounded more like Queensrÿche. But after the loop, it sounded more like Portishead or something. It gave it a darker, different slant. It didn't sound like a rock band anymore.

— Billy Gould on "Stripsearch"[5]

Music video

The video for "Stripsearch" was filmed in Berlin during 1997. It was directed by Philipp Stölzl, based on a screenplay written by Billy Gould.[6] In the video, Mike Patton walks through parts of the city. At about halfway through he arrives at a military checkpoint and stands at the back of a queue also containing the other members of the band. When he reaches the front, he hands over his passport for inspection. The man inspecting it finds something wrong with the papers and calls the guards on Patton, who tries to get away and is pinned to the floor at gunpoint and arrested. The video then shows still images set earlier in the day, highlighting previously unseen details that point to Patton being a criminal.

Reception

Tom Phalen of MTV said in 1997 that, "despite the inherent brutality of the title, [it] is almost ethereal."[7] NME wrote that the song had "smooth trip-hop rhythms" and "loose, swoozy guitar that sounds like it was recorded in the middle of Monument Valley."[8] In their review of the 2016 deluxe edition for Album of the Year, PopMatters praised the "chilled-out paranoia" of the song.[9]

Australian radio station Triple J ranked it 64th on their annual "Hottest 100" list for the year of 1997.[10]

Track list

  1. "Stripsearch"
  2. "Collision" (Live from Night Town, Rotterdam on August 27, 1997)
  3. "The Gentle Art of Making Enemies" (Live from Night Town, Rotterdam on August 27, 1997)
  4. "Ashes to Ashes" (Live at Phoenix Festival '97 on July 27, 1997)

Charts

Chart (1998) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[11] 83

Footnotes

  1. ^ Hopkins, Ben (February 7, 2014). "Faith No More: The Complete Guide". Clash. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  2. ^ "Music and Media" (PDF). Worldradiohistory.com. November 15, 1997. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
  3. ^ "Music and Media" (PDF). Worldradiohistory.com. November 29, 1997. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
  4. ^ Gould, Billy. "Question 16". Discogs.com.
  5. ^ "Faith No More Quotes". quoted from Keyboard Magazine. September 1997. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
  6. ^ Agatha Samborska (January 2003). "Faith No More Frequently Asked Questions". FNM.com. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
  7. ^ Phalen, Tom (June 1997). "Album of the Year (Slash)". MTV.
  8. ^ "Poo! What a Scorcher!". NME. June 1997.
  9. ^ "Faith No More: King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime (Reissue) / Album of the Year (Reissue)". PopMatters. October 14, 2016.
  10. ^ "The Hottest 100 of 1997: the full list". Double J. January 25, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  11. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
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