"Hate Me" is a song by American alternative rock group Blue October. The song peaked at number two on Billboards Alternative Songs chart and number 31 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. In 2007, the video for the song was nominated for a MuchMusic Video Award for best international video. The video is featured in the 2007 karaokevideo game for PlayStation 2, Singstar Pop. The song won an ASCAP award in 2007. On July 13, 2012, the song was certified platinum for sales of one million in the United States. The song was initially released on the 2006 album Foiled, and several versions have been released since. A studio acoustic version was released to fans who pre-ordered Foiled. A live acoustic version was also released on the EPFoiled Again. A live acoustic version, which was recorded on the band's radio promotional tour prior to Foiled's release, was released on 97X Green Room 2, a 2006 radio stationcompilation album. Other live versions of the song appear on the iTunes exclusive EP Live at Lollapalooza 2006, as well as the live albumTeach Your Baby Well Live, and the live album/concert film Things We DoAt Night - Live From Texas. A solo acoustic version was released on lead singer Justin Furstenfeld's 2014 album Songs from an Open Book.
Content
Furstenfeld wrote "Hate Me" as a response to the way his drug addiction and depression damaged his relationships with his girlfriend Maime, for whom he wrote the song "Calling You". An authentic voicemail Furstenfeld received from his mother in which she expresses concern for whether he is doing well and taking his medication is featured at the beginning of the song.
Video
The music video for "Hate Me," directed by Kevin Kerslake, begins with Furstenfeld sitting on his bed holding an answering machine and playing the tape of his mother which can be heard at the beginning of the song. After the message stops playing, Furstenfeld begins to walk through the house, seeing memories of him and his mother - her talking to him as a young boy, taking Prom pictures, and finally attempting to wake him from a blackout - replay in different rooms. These scenes alternate with footage of Blue October singing the song in the house's attic. At the end of the video, Furstenfeld takes the answering machine to a cemetery and lays it on his mother's grave. The video led many fans to believe that Jeremy and Justin's mother had died. She is in fact alive, and she plays herself in the video. The fictional narrative about her dying was conceived by the music video director.
