"Josie" is a song by American rock bandBlink-182, released on November 17, 1998 as the fourth single from the group's second studio album, Dude Ranch. "Josie" was primarily written by drummer Scott Raynor about an idealized girlfriend, and the song includes references to the bands Unwritten Law and Dance Hall Crashers, bands the trio toured with between 1995 and 1996. The single, which was remixed by Tom Lord-Alge, reached number 31 in Australia. The single remix of "Josie" was later featured on the band's Greatest Hits. The music video for "Josie" stars Alyssa Milano as the object of Hoppus' affection in a high school setting. The original video was to depict the band performing on a sinking cruise liner, but the video was scrapped after filming. It is the band's last single to feature drummer Scott Raynor.
Background
"Josie" was named after the dog of Elyse Rogers, vocalist for Dance Hall Crashers, and the girl in the song is fictional. "It is about a common feeling that everyone can understand, which is being stoked on a girl," Hoppus told Billboard in 1998. The lyrics describe an ideal girlfriend who tolerates the narrator's flaws and shares his taste in music. The line "Yeah my girlfriend, likes UL and DHC" is a reference to the bands Unwritten Law and Dance Hall Crashers. The line "She brings me Mexican Food from Sombreros just because" is a reference to the Sombrero Mexican Food restaurant located in San Diego. The song is composed in the key of B major and is set in time signature of common time with a very fast tempo of 200 beats per minute. Hoppus's vocal range spans from G#3 to F#4. In Australia, the song spent eight weeks in the top 50 and 24 weeks in the top 100, where it peaked at number 31 on July 6.
Music video
For the group's third music video, the band attempted to take a more serious route and turned to director Jason Matzner and his collaborator Brendan Lambe. Hoppus' original idea was that the band would be playing on the deck of an old cruise liner as it sank. The band would play in real time as everything around them exploded in slow motion. Gradually, the ship would reach catastrophe before the ship sinks into the dark waters as the songs ends with the line "everything's gonna be fine." As that video would have cost the band's label, MCA, millions of dollars, an alternative was settled on: the band is performing in a basement when one musician hits a pipe with his guitar, causing the room to flood. The video was shot in the backlot of Universal Studios and was director Matzner's first video. "Filming the first 'Josie' video was awful," Hoppus remembered in 2000. "We had to bring old equipment that we were willing to ruin." The trio were unhappy with the shockingly cold water, and DeLonge cut his head open on shrapnel that was floating around in water. When the band received the first edit, the band members decided to scrap it and start over. The band returned to director Darren Doane, who also shot the videos for "M+M's" and "Dammit". Shot at Westlake High School, in Thousand Oaks, California, the video stars Alyssa Milano as the girl of Hoppus' affection. "I felt really bad for her because she showed up on the set and it was just her and a bunch of perverted dudes who did nothing but stare at her breasts. They couldn't even help themselves," Hoppus recalled in 2001. The food fight scene was completed in one take by necessity, as the cafeteria was destroyed afterward. "All those kids had to sit around all day outside in the summer and, at the end of the day, they were rewarded by letting them nail us with tons of food," said Hoppus. Although "Josie" did not receive extensive MTV play, it was regardless viewed as an incredible success for the upstart band. A snippet of the original "Josie" video surfaced online in 2011.
Format and track listing
;US CD
"Josie" – 3:06
"Wasting Time" – 2:44
"Carousel" – 3:12
"I Won't Be Home for Christmas" – 3:17
;Australian CD
"Josie" – 3:23
"Untitled" – 3:05
"Dammit" – 2:58
"Does My Breath Smell?" – 2:25
"Wasting Time" – 4:06
The versions of "Josie" released for radio were remixed by Tom Lord-Alge; the Australian CD features the full version while the US CD contains the shorter radio edit. The live tracks on the Australian CD single were recorded at dates on Warped Tour 1997.
