Heaven Is a Halfpipe

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"Heaven Is a Halfpipe"
OPM heaven is a halfpipe.jpg
Single by OPM
from the album Menace to Sobriety
B-side
  • "Space People"
  • "Group Therapy"
ReleasedJune 27, 2000 (2000-06-27)
Genre Reggae, [1] skate punk, [2] rap rock [3]
Length4:18
Label Atlantic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
OPM singles chronology
"Heaven Is a Halfpipe"
(2000)
"El Capitan"
(2001)
Music video
"Heaven Is a Halfpipe" on YouTube

"Heaven Is a Halfpipe" (also known as "Heaven Is a Halfpipe (If I Die)" [4] ) is a song by American rock band OPM. It was included on their debut studio album, Menace to Sobriety (2000), and was released on June 27, 2000, as its lead single.

Contents

The song peaked at number 18 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and was a top-40 hit in several other nations, including the United Kingdom, where it reached number four on the UK Singles Chart. It was the 33rd-best-selling single of 2001 in the UK, earning a gold certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales and streams of over 400,000. The song was re-recorded in 2012 for the Heaven Can Wait EP.

Content

"Heaven Is a Halfpipe" is about a man who loves skateboarding, [2] getting high and being free. He imagines Heaven being like a half-pipe, where he does not have to worry about the police ruining his good time ("'Cause right now on Earth I can't do jack / without the man upon my back"). The trick skills of professional skateboarders Christian Hosoi and Mike McGill are mentioned during the bridge ("Like Christian Hosoi way back in '87" / "We'll be busting Christ airs until we get to heaven" / "With all your rules, you gots to chill" / "I'm gonna twist out like Mike McGill" / "I'm gonna twist out cos I got the skills"). [3]

Music video

The music video features OPM doing skateboarding tricks on a large half-pipe and flying around. At the end of the video, they perform to a crowd. [5] One man in the audience also wears a white T-shirt that says "FREE CHRISTIAN HOSOI", in reference to Hosoi's arrest in January 2000 for attempting to transport nearly 1.5 lb of crystal methamphetamine from Los Angeles to Honolulu. [6]

Track listings

UK CD and cassette single; Australian CD single [7] [8] [9]

  1. "Heaven Is a Halfpipe" (album version) – 4:18
  2. "Space People" – 3:45
  3. "Group Therapy" – 2:21

German CD single [10]

  1. "Heaven Is a Halfpipe" (clean album version) – 4:18
  2. "Space People" – 3:45

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [27] Gold400,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)Ref.
United StatesJune 27, 2000 Alternative radio Atlantic [28]
AustraliaOctober 2000CD [29]
United KingdomJuly 2, 2001
  • CD
  • cassette
[30]

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References

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