Origins and Theme
The instrumentals in the song are heavily driven by guitar riffs, mandolin, violins, and cellos, with a steady drum beat beneath. The acoustic guitar in the song gives a distinctive sound as it is in an odd tuning, with 5 of the 6 strings tuned to D. This gives a ringing effect similar to a twelve-string guitar.
John Rzeznik was approached to write a song for the City of Angels soundtrack, and the end product was "Iris". This song propelled the band to stardom, as it stayed on top of Billboard Hot 100 Airplay charts for a record-breaking 18 weeks, and was nominated for three Grammys that year. According to several interviews with Rzeznik, he was experiencing serious bouts of writer's block when he was approached, and was on the verge of quitting the band days before he wrote the song that would launch the band to worldwide fame. Iris is set to re-enter the UK charts at number 1, following performances by two X Factor finalists, which has helped to put the band back into the consciousness of the British public.
The song was named "Iris" by guitarist/vocalist John Rzeznik for ]]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}} Rzeznik found an article about her written by Daniel Levitin while flipping through an issue of Billboard, and thought she had a nice name, and thus chose it for the song title. Despite the title, the word 'Iris' is not heard in the lyrics.
Read more about this topic: Iris (Goo Goo Dolls Song)
Famous quotes containing the words origins and, origins and/or theme:
“Lucretius
Sings his great theory of natural origins and of wise conduct; Plato
smiling carves dreams, bright cells
Of incorruptible wax to hive the Greek honey.”
—Robinson Jeffers (1887–1962)
“The origins of clothing are not practical. They are mystical and erotic. The primitive man in the wolf-pelt was not keeping dry; he was saying: “Look what I killed. Aren’t I the best?””
—Katharine Hamnett (b. 1948)
“It seems to me that upbringings have themes. The parents set the theme, either explicitly or implicitly, and the children pick it up, sometimes accurately and sometimes not so accurately.... The theme may be “Our family has a distinguished heritage that you must live up to” or “No matter what happens, we are fortunate to be together in this lovely corner of the earth” or “We have worked hard so that you can have the opportunities we didn’t have.””
—Calvin Trillin (20th century)