Drive (Incubus song)

According to Incubus lead singer Brandon Boyd, "The lyric is basically about fear, about being driven all your life by it and making decisions from fear. It's about imagining what life would be like if you didn't live it that way."^[4][5]

Sean Adams of Drowned in Sound gave the song an 8 out of 10 in his 2001 review. He wrote that "maybe it can be called a rock ballad, I mean it does have the odd harmony, drum smack and a guitar or two. What makes this different is the lil’ samples and scratches and the voice of Brandon." Adams also added, "by stereotypical definition Brandon Boyd is a heartthrob, but to thousands (at the moment), rather than millions and that is because for some reason Incubus haven't had the kick from the media they deserve."^[6]

In 2023, for the 35th anniversary of the Alternative Airplay chart (which was called Modern Rock Tracks at the time of the song's release), Billboard ranked "Drive" as the 15th-most successful song in the chart's history.^[7][8] That same year, "Drive" and Hoobastank's "The Reason" both experienced surges in streaming numbers after being featured on an episode of Netflix's series Beef. Billboard described the two songs as a "pair of alt-metal ballads."^[9] The publication also placed it 82nd on a 2021 list of "The 100 Greatest Car Songs of All Time".^[10] In 2024, Consequence of Sound placed it 37th on their list of the "50 best post-grunge songs", stating that "Incubus' Brandon Boyd has garnered many comparisons to Faith No More's Mike Patton, who bore his own influence on the post-grunge scene — but on 'Drive,' the band combined their smartest impulses to form their signature hit, with a sound only Incubus could boast."^[11] In 2024, the staff of Consequence included the song in their list of "50 Kick-Butt Post-Grunge Songs We Can Get Behind".^[12]

Directed by Phil Harder^[13] and based on M.C. Escher's Drawing Hands, the music video features a simple musical session intercut with a rotoscoped animation of Brandon Boyd drawing himself, which was handled by both Boyd and drummer José Pasillas. The non-animated scenes were shot in the McNamara Alumni Center at the University of Minnesota. The video was nominated for Best Group Video at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards, but lost to "Pop" by NSYNC.^{[citation needed]} In 2018, the staff of Metal Hammer included the video in the site's list of "the 13 best nu metal videos".^[14]

Credits are taken from the European CD2 liner notes.^[19]

Studios

• Recorded at NRG Recording Studios (North Hollywood, Los Angeles)
• Mastered at A&M Studios (Hollywood, California, US)