Paint by Numbers

"Paint by Numbers" is a song by American pop rock band Self, released on July 21, 1998 as the lead single of Breakfast with Girls (1999). Distributed through Dreamworks Records and Spongebath Records, it first appeared in the soundtrack for the MTV film Dead Man on Campus (1998). The track was later nominated for Song of the Year by the Nashville Music Association Awards.

"Paint by Numbers" was written by Matt Mahaffey as commentary against bands who simplify songwriting and chase trends after becoming a one-hit wonder, particularly inspired by Smash Mouth's career after their debut single "Walkin' on the Sun". The song was included on the soundtrack of the film Dead Man on Campus (1998), which released through MTV and DreamWorks Records on July 21, 1998. Director Alan Cohn picked "Paint by Numbers" as a theme for the main character, Josh Miller (Tom Everett Scott). It was later included as the sixth track of the band's third studio album, Breakfast with Girls (1999), released through Dreamworks and Spongebath Records.

Ben Wener of The Orange County Register praised the styling of "Paint by Numbers", observing a resemblance to instrumentation prominent in Latin music. Jeremy Fleishman of The Daily Texan declared the song "destined for radio play", lauding its diverse influence and the track's inclusion of other techniques used on Breakfast with Girls. Robert Wilonsky of Dallas Observer noted that the song's commercial success was hindered by Weezer and Beck's recent success within rock music, but stated that it deserved a much larger audience. Gerald Dih of AudioPhix listed the track as one of the best surf rock songs of the 1990s, commending its succinct approach to "great guitar interplay and punchy drums". Rivers Cuomo discovered "Paint by Numbers" on Napster due to the service's prevalence of mislabeled files, with the song being listed under his band Weezer. He positively likened the track to his own style, calling Self his "new favorite band" and expressing interest in touring with them.

At the 1999 Nashville Music Association Awards, Self received a nomination in the Song of the Year category for "Paint by Numbers", ultimately losing to Faith Hill's "This Kiss".

Self

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