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"Spiderwebs" is a ska punk song written by Gwen Stefani and Tony Kanal for No Doubt's third studio album Tragic Kingdom (1995). It was released as the album's second single in 1995 (see 1995 in music). When "Spiderwebs" reached the radio airwaves in the U.S, it began a revival of the ska genre. The song is a combination of ska and pop. With its ubiquitous airplay for months, more ska-flavored singles became prevalent in later years such as The Mighty Mighty Bosstones' "The Impression That I Get", Save Ferris' "Come On Eileen", and The Specials' "A Little Bit You, A Little Bit Me".

The song debuted at number 10 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart and peaked at number 5 after three weeks of its release. The song's lyrics are about a man who had been calling Gwen at all hours to recite bad poetry to her. Musically, the song uses a drum for the beat and various brass instruments, such as a trombone to build up the crescendos in the chorus.

Music video

Two different music videos were produced for "Spiderwebs". In the first version, the music video showed clips of the band playing. MTV thought that the exploding telephones were inappropriate for younger viewers so they added more footage of the band. These included lead singer Gwen Stefani walking around being covered in "spiderwebs" made of strings sprayed out of aerosol cans and Gwen being tangled in various telephone cords. In the second version, the music video featured the band playing in a Japanese restaurant entertaining the patrons. As the band plays, various Japanese-language sentences are displayed on the screen.

The subtitles displayed in the Japanese music video during the wedding reception scene translate to: "Excellent party", "I really like cake a lot", "What is your name?", "This is excellent champagne", "What is this? Crazy kids", "It's making me sick".

Cover versions

Massachussetts pop punk band Four Year Strong covered the song on their 90's cover-album Explains It All in 2009.

Appeareances in other media

The song is featured as a playable song in both Guitar Hero: On Tour and Guitar Hero World Tour. It is also a downloadable song for the Rock Band series, revealing a guitar solo extending the song roughly to five minutes (the master recording ends with a fade-out instead).

Track listing

Australian single

1. "Spiderwebs" (LP version) – 4:28
2. "Spiderwebs" (live from KROQ) – 4:05
3. "Sailin' On" (from MOM: Music for Our Mother Ocean) – 3:37
4. "Just a Girl" (video - enhanced version)

British single 1

1. "Spiderwebs" (LP version) – 4:28
2. "The Climb" (live) 7:56
3. "Doghouse" – 4:30
4. "Spiderwebs" (video) – 4:08

British single 2

1. "Spiderwebs" (LP version) – 4:28
2. "D.J.'s" (live) – 4:06
3. "Let's Get Back" (LP version) – 4:14
4. "Excuse Me Mr." (video) – 3:37

Promotional US CD Single

1. "Spiderwebs" (Radio Edit) – 3:50
2. "Spiderwebs" (Album Version) – 4:28

Swedish single

1. "Spiderwebs" (LP version) – 4:28
2. "Sailin' On" (from MOM: Music for Our Mother Ocean) – 3:37

Spanish single

1. "Spiderwebs" (LP version) – 4:28
2. "The Climb" (live) 7:56
3. "Doghouse" – 4:30
4. "Oi to the World" - 2:42
5. "Spiderwebs" (video) – 4:08

Official Versions

• Spiderwebs (Album Version) / (LP Version) - 4:28
• Spiderwebs (Radio Edit) - 3:50
• Spiderwebs (live from KROQ) – 4:05

Chart performance

Chart (1996)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks	5
U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream	11
U.S. Billboard Adult Top 40	29
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Airplay	18
Chart (1996)	Peak position
Swedish Top 60	23
New Zealand Singles Chart	30

References

1. "Spiderwebs". Montoya, Paris and Lanham, Tom. 2003. The Singles 1992-2003 (liner notes). Retrieved December 5, 2006.
2. "Tragic Kingdom". Allmusic. Retrieved January 8, 2007.
3. "No Doubt - Spiderwebs (Song)". SwedishCharts.com. Retrieved January 9, 2007.

External links

• "Spiderwebs" music video on YouTube
• No Doubt's official site
  • "Spiderwebs" lyrics and guitar tabulature