Songfacts®:

• Many of the tracks on Gutterflower, such as "What A Scene," were inspired by lead singer Johnny Rzeznik's culture shock upon moving to Los Angeles. "Smash," however, was inspired by bassist Robby Takac's experience visiting the band's hometown of Buffalo, New York, and encountering a troubled old friend. He recalled to Billboard: "I ran into a friend of mine in Buffalo who had been getting the s--t get kicked out of her for as long as I'd known her. She'd had a baby, and even though her life seemed absolutely f--ked still, the second she talked about that, it was like everything else went away."
• This also features Takac on lead vocals. Takac gave up his original role as lead singer to Rzeznik early on in the band's career, but a handful of cuts one each album feature him on lead - including Gutterflower's "You Never Know," "Up, Up, Up" and "Tucked Away."
• Gutterflower is the band's highest-charting album in the US, peaking at #4. But with 700,000 copies sold, it isn't their best-selling release; that honor goes to their previous album, Dizzy Up The Girl, which sold 4 million copies.