Their first album, Short Bus, was released in 1995. The album was commercially successful, and included the hit single "Hey Man, Nice Shot". The song was somewhat controversial, as it was seen as capitalizing on the public suicide of Budd Dwyer. Kurt Cobain's suicide was widely rumored to have inspired the song, but the band refuted this. In need of a live band to tour the album, Patrick and Liesegang recruited Geno Lenardo on guitar, Frank Cavanagh on bass, and Matt Walker on drums. They would all later be featured in the video for the album's second single, "Dose".
Between Filter's first and second albums, the band became known for their soundtrack contributions, The first of these tracks, "Thanks Bro", landed on the Songs In The Key Of X: Music From And Inspired By The X-Files album. In 1996, Filter recorded and filmed the video for the song "Jurassitol", for The Crow: City of Angels soundtrack. They also released the home video Phenomenology in 1996, which showcased some of the band's live performances and music videos, as well as an interview with Patrick and Liesegang filmed in New Mexico.
Liesegang left in 1997 shortly after recording the Filter/The Crystal Method collaboration "(Can't You) Trip Like I Do" for the Spawn movie soundtrack, due to creative differences with Patrick. In 1998, for the X-Files film soundtrack, Patrick decided to keep the Filter name and recorded a cover of Harry Nilsson's "One".
Patrick continued with 1999's Title of Record with returning members Lenardo and Cavanagh, as well as Steve Gillis on drums, filling in the gap left by Walker after he left to work with The Smashing Pumpkins. Title of Record moved away from industrial rock somewhat, and resulted in the band's biggest hit, the mellow ballad "Take a Picture", along with other lesser-heard singles "Welcome to the Fold" and "The Best Things". The song "Take a Picture" is about a dispute on an aircraft, when Richard Patrick drunkenly stripped down to his boxers, alarming the other passengers.
The song "Captain Bligh" (after Vice-Admiral William Bligh of the HMS Bounty) was written by Patrick after leaving Nine Inch Nails and was about Trent Reznor's notoriously anti-social habits. "Miss Blue" is said to have been about Smashing Pumpkins bassist D'arcy Wretzky. She can be heard on the songs "Cancer", and "Take A Picture".
2002 saw the release of The Amalgamut, featuring the singles "Where Do We Go from Here?" and "American ClichƩ". "The Only Way (Is the Wrong Way)" was also featured in the first wave of Hummer2 commercials that year and in the 2003 movie Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life. Alan Bailey was recruited for live guitar when they set off to tour the album; however, the tour ended abruptly in a matter of weeks when Richard Patrick voluntarily checked himself into rehab. He has since tattooed his date of sobriety, September 28, 2002, on his forearm.
Richard Patrick was part of the supergroup The Damning Well, which has only released one track on the Underworld movie soundtrack in 2003, despite an entire album's worth of recording. While nothing has directly surfaced, it is rumored that some of the material from these sessions have been an influence or has been reworked in Filter's 2008 release Anthems for the Damned and Black Light Burn's first album Cruel Melody, due to the fact that Wes Borland was the guitarist of both The Damning Well and Black Light Burns.
Army of Anyone, a second supergroup side-project with drummer Ray Luzier and Stone Temple Pilots members Robert and Dean DeLeo, released its debut album on November 14, 2006. Low album sales, coupled with Richard Patrick's desire to do more work with Filter, led the band's break-up around mid-2007.
As Army of Anyone wound down, Patrick began working on material for a new Filter album, to eventually be titled Anthems for the Damned. Released to the public in May 2008, it was more serious in tone than some expected and expressed more of his mixed emotions regarding the state of the world and the state of his life.
On March 7, 2008, it was announced that Frank Cavanagh had reunited with Filter and would play as a live member at the Operation MySpace concert in Kuwait. It was confirmed at Operation MySpace that he would not be joining Filter on the full tour as he would be shipping off to Iraq in April. The only song played live during the March 10 performance by Cavanagh, now a Sergeant and Paralegal in the U.S. Army Reserve, was the band's first mainstream hit, "Hey, Man, Nice Shot".
Patrick also announced a remix album to Anthems For the Damned on November 4, titled Remixes For the Damned. Remixes For the Damned was released on November 21, 2008 in the U.S. and Canada, and internationally on December 1, 2008. The lead-off single was "I Keep Flowers Around".
A greatest hits album entitled The Very Best Things (1995-2008) was released March 31, 2009. It featured tracks from all four previous studio albums and various movie soundtrack contributions, but no new content. There are 14 tracks total, with some tracks being radio edits.
Filter started work working on a fifth album shortly after the release of the remix and greatest hits albums, with Bob Marlette as a producer. The album, said Richard Patrick, would be a lot heavier than Anthems for the Damned and was to have a song written for The Amalgamut on it. He also stated he would be moving away from the political lyrical content present in Anthems for the Damned.
When asked about the direction of his upcoming music style in an interview with Suicide Girls on September 13, 2008, Patrick said, "Actually the stuff Iām writing right now for a record that Iām going to release sometime next year is actually way more heavy industrial, more electronic. Thereās probably not going to be that many live drums on it." It's important to note that he originally saw this album releasing in 2009, while it has now obviously slipped into 2010.
Richard Patrick has stated on the Filter website that he has been recording songs for movies recently. Filter covered the song "Happy Together" by The Turtles for the soundtrack to the movie The Stepfather (2009). The song features ambient sound with alternative metal.
Filter also contributed a new song "Fades Like a Photograph" for the soundtrack of the movie 2012 (2009). The song has a similar lyrical mood to "Take a Picture" and saw Patrick reuniting with former Filter co-conspirator, Brian Liesegang, who co-produced the track.
Through the end of 2009 and into 2010, Filter released a series of fourteen studio updates chronicling the progress made on the album. Each update touched on a certain part of the album process, such as "recording guitar parts" or "mixing the album". The last studio updates confirmed that the album recording had been completed. In their last studio video update, Richard Patrick showcased two clips from final mixed songs on iTunes that listed track listing and track lengths. While the video was legitimate, it was not the actual final track list, it was only a collection of new Filter songs on a playlist.
The album has been recorded, mixed and mastered, and band is currently signed with the label Rocket Science Ventures. Filter released a new single, "The Inevitable Relapse", as their first single on May 26th. The song is available on the band's official website as a free digital download. The Trouble with Angels will be released in August 17, 2010, with touring starting in the summer. The second track on the album, titled "Drug Boy," was released on the band's website on August 3rd.
So Cool
Filter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You got a bad old habit of making people dead
Did you think you were cool
I don't really understand it
Did you think you were cool?
I don't even understand it
So cool
Hey makes it alright
You killer of mine
Look at yourself
Just look what you've done
Just take a look
Did have some fun?
Did you think you were cool?
I don't even understand it
Did you think you were cool?
I don't really understand it
So cool
The lyrics to Filterās song So Cool describe a person with a habit of causing harm or even death to others, yet the person seems to consider themselves ācoolā for doing so, leading the singer to express confusion and disbelief at their behavior. The repetition of the line āDid you think you were cool?ā highlights the singerās frustration with this toxic mindset. The phrase āYou killer of mineā suggests a personal connection between the singer and the person being addressed, adding to the emotional weight of the lyrics.
The chorus āSo coolā, which can be interpreted as both sarcastic and sincere, adds a layer of complexity to the song. On one hand, the sarcastic tone implies that the singer does not actually believe that the personās behavior is cool, but rather foolish and harmful. However, the repetition of āSo coolā also serves to emphasize the absurdity and danger of glamorizing violent or harmful behavior.
Overall, the lyrics of So Cool condemn individuals who harm others and promote a toxic ācoolnessā that equates hurting others with power and status. The song can be seen as a commentary on the dangers of toxic masculinity and the glamorization of violence in popular culture.
Line by Line Meaning
You gotta a bad old habit of making people sad
You repeatedly hurt the feelings of others, it's become a bad habit for you
You got a bad old habit of making people dead
You not only hurt them emotionally, but you harm them physically to the point of death
Did you think you were cool
Did you believe that your actions made you impressive or respected?
I don't really understand it
I cannot comprehend how your behavior is attractive or admirable
Did you think you were cool?
Did you truly believe that your actions and attitude were respected and admired?
I don't even understand it
I can't even begin to comprehend how anyone could think that behavior is admirable
So cool
Sarcastically stating that your behavior is not cool at all
Hey makes it alright
Exclaiming that your cool attitude somehow justifies your harmful behavior
You keep on taking your chances
You continue doing hurtful things, even though you know it's a risk
You killer of mine
You have caused harm and death to people I care about
Look at yourself
Reflect on your own behavior and actions
Just look what you've done
Take a moment to consider the damage you've caused through your behavior
Just take a look
Observing and analyzing your own actions and their impact on others
Did have some fun?
Questioning if you took pleasure in the destruction and pain you caused
Did you think you were cool?
Repeating the earlier question, emphasizing the disbelief that anyone could see that behavior as admirable
I don't really understand it
Reiterating the confusion and disbelief that anyone could think that behavior is acceptable
So cool
Again, sarcastically stating that your behavior is not cool at all
Lyrics Ā© Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: RICHARD MICHAEL PATRICK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind