Pavement’s ‘Harness Your Hopes’ goes viral on TikTok again
Pavement‘s song ‘Harness Your Hopes’ has gone viral on TikTok once again.
The track was originally released as a B-side on the CD edition of the band’s ‘Spit On A Stranger’ EP in 1999. It became an unexpected hit on Spotify in 2017, and is now Pavement’s most-streamed song of all time.
‘Harness Your Hopes’ first went viral on TikTok in 2020. Now, it is taking over the social media platform again – and is currently earning 97million views per day. It is being shared as part of the website’s Utah Fit Check trend.
This week, frontman Stephen Malkmus and his bandmates have been getting involved by sharing their own videos soundtracked by the song.
Elsewhere, TikTok’s second biggest user Charli D’Amelio posted a ‘Harness Your Hopes’ clip for her 152.9million followers on the site. The upload has so far been watched 9.5million times.
You can see those videos and more below.
@pavementofficial
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@pavementofficial #utahfitcheck #harnessyourhopes #ootd #fitcheck #pavement #westiecanspin #westiecandrum #westiecannotdrum #wheresbob #wheresmark #wheresrebecca
@pavementofficial #utahfitcheck #harnessyourhopes #ootd #fitcheck #pavement #iboldunleashed #internetibold #socks #feet #bass #bassman #sonicyouth #matadorrecords
@charlidamelio
@grannyandgrandpa123 Utah boy fitcheck #fyp #utahcheck #fitcheck
@kaylyn.reene
‘Harness Your Hopes’ has been used on 227.6K TikTok videos in total, at the time of writing.
Speaking to NME in 2022, guitarist Scott Kannberg said that the song going viral in 2020 had “breathed new life into Pavement”.
Malkmus explained: “It was a weird event of where your music goes; this can happen.” Kannberg added: “Yeah, it took it in another direction which is amazing.”
Malkmus continued: “It was a weird cultural thing, but by putting yourself out there, you have the opportunity for that to happen, even if you’re insecure or think your music is crap. You go ahead and do it, and then the world sees you. That’s a pretty fun part of doing any art, but specifically ours.”
He told NME: “It made me feel bad that I didn’t put it on the album. Like, nobody said, ‘That’s a great song’ or something.” Kannberg responded: “I’m sure I did!”
Pavement embarked on a huge reunion tour in 2022, including shows in the UK, Ireland and Europe. They kicked off their first run of gigs in 12 years by headlining Primavera Sound Barcelona and Porto.
The group continued to tour until last September, and will head to South America next month.
Malkmus told NME in 2022 that “it’d be total cringe” if the band were to release any new music. “No way,” he said. “These songs are good, they exist in this present.”
He went on: “I understand the impetus to put out a new record; it makes it seem like the band’s more legit or something and not just like a cash-in deal. But it doesn’t have to be that way if you just own your songs.
“And people can see if you’re geezers on a cash-in reunion tour or if they’re doing it because they’re having a blast.” You can revisit the video interview above.
Pavement’s second studio album, ‘Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain’, marked its 30th anniversary this year.
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Tom Skinner
NME
