Wasting My Time Explained

For other uses see Wasting My Time (disambiguation).

"Wasting My Time" is a song by Canadian rock band Default for their debut studio album, The Fallout (2001). It was released as their debut single on August 28, 2001. The song was written by the members of the band and produced by Chad Kroeger and Rick Parashar. "Wasting My Time" is Default's most commercially successful song, having reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on June 8, 2002, and numbers two and three, respectively, on the US Mainstream Rock and Modern Rock airplay charts, just behind Puddle of Mudd's "Blurry" on the former chart. It was also their first of three singles to top the Canadian rock airplay chart.^[1]

Composition

"Wasting My Time" was written by Default (Dallas Smith, Jeremy Hora, Dave Benedict, and Danny Craig) and was produced by Chad Kroeger and Rick Parashar. The song is a power ballad that draws on influences of various rock genres and runs 4:29. According to the sheet music published by EMI Music Publishing, it is set in common time to a "moderate rock" tempo of 120 BPM.^[2] "Wasting My Time" was originally composed in the key of D major and follows a chord progression of D–G in the verses and G–B–G–A in the chorus.^[2] Smith's vocal range on the track spans one full octave, from A to A.^[2]

Musically, the song features melodic verses of singing and clean, bright guitar picking. This moves into a hard-hitting, wailing chorus and a distorted guitar solo as the interlude. Eric Aiese of Billboard described the song as having an "early-90s grunge sound" while also noting the influence of alternative rock in its production.^[3] The song's lyrics find the narrator contemplating if he is wasting his time investing in a dead-end relationship.^[4]

Music video

A music video was filmed for the song and centers around a woman waiting for her companion. They finally meet at the end and embrace. Band performance fills the majority of the video and takes place in the woman's wrist watch, with the top part showing the city show through glass with the watch hands rotating around the band. The video contains scenes shot in downtown Toronto, Ontario outside the Westin Harbour Castle. It was directed by Noble Jones and premiered on August 7, 2001. The video has a guest appearance by Chad Kroeger in a scene where one man was fighting or struggling against three others.^{[5] [6]}

Usage in media

"Wasting My Time" was featured on the soundtrack to Is It College Yet?, a movie-length installment of the MTV animated series, Daria.^[7]

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for "Wasting My Time"! Chart (2002–2003)! Peak
position

Canada Rock Airplay (Nielsen SoundScan)[8]	1
US Billboard Hot 100[9]	13
US Adult Top 40 Tracks (Billboard)[10]	14
US Mainstream Rock Tracks (Billboard)[11]	2
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[12]	11
US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)[13]	3
US Top 40 Tracks (Billboard)[14]	13

Year end charts

Year-end chart performance for "Wasting My Time"! Chart (2001)! Position

Canada Radio (Nielsen BDS)[15]	79
US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)[16]	83

Chart (2002)	Position
Canada Radio (Nielsen BDS)[17]	24
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[18]	29
US Billboard Hot 100[19]	26
US Mainstream Rock Tracks (Billboard)	4
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[20]	37
US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)	8

Release history

Region! scope="col"

Date	Format(s)	Label(s)
United States	August 28, 2001		TVT	[21]
United Kingdom	January 27, 2003	CD	Island	[22]

Notes and References

1. News: Shaw. Ted. Singer Dallas Smith, country by default. September 22, 2015. The Windsor Star. Postmedia Network. November 6, 2013. October 30, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141030060326/http://blogs.windsorstar.com/entertainment/singer-dallas-smith-country-by-default. dead.
2. Web site: Default "Wasting My Time" Sheet Music in D Major (transposable). Musicnotes.com. October 20, 2008 . EMI Music Publishing. October 28, 2016.
3. Book: Billboard. October 13, 2001. Prometheus Global Media. 24. 113. October 28, 2016.
4. News: Dangelo. Joe. Default Aren't Wasting Their Time, Thanks To Nickelback. https://web.archive.org/web/20161029044316/http://www.mtv.com/news/1451444/default-arent-wasting-their-time-thanks-to-nickelback/. dead. October 29, 2016. October 28, 2016. MTV. Viacom. December 12, 2001.
5. Web site: Wasting My Time - Default. Vevo. October 28, 2016.
6. Web site: "Wasting My Time" on Apple Music. Apple Music. Apple Inc. October 28, 2016.
7. Web site: Default - IMDb. IMDb. October 28, 2016.
8. News: Pilling. Dean. Gone Country: My list of rock stars who have made the leap into country music. October 27, 2016. Calgary Sun. Postmedia Network. August 26, 2016.
9. Billboard Hot 100. Billboard. June 8, 2002. March 1, 2023.
10. Adult Pop Airplay. Billboard. June 15, 2002. subscription. June 26, 2023.
11. Mainstream Rock Airplay. Billboard. February 23, 2002. subscription. June 26, 2023.
12. Pop Airplay. Billboard. May 25, 2002. subscription. June 26, 2023.
13. Alternative Airplay. Billboard. March 2, 2002. subscription. June 26, 2023.
14. Top 40 Tracks. Billboard. 114. 23. 77. June 8, 2002.
15. Web site: BDS CHART : Top 100 of 2001. Jam!. https://web.archive.org/web/20020726115818/http://jamshowbiz.com/JamMusicCharts/100page2_2001.html. July 26, 2002. March 26, 2022.
16. Most-Played Modern Rock Songs of 2001. Airplay Monitor. 9. 51. 40. December 21, 2001.
17. Web site: Top 100 top played radio tracks in Canada in 2002. Jam!. https://web.archive.org/web/20040812022009/http://www.jamshowbiz.com/JamMusicCharts/100_2002.html. August 12, 2004. March 21, 2022.
18. Most-Played Adult Top 40 Songs of 2002. Airplay Monitor. 10. 51. 16. December 20, 2002.
19. The Year in Music 2002. Billboard. 114. 52. YE-38, YE-87. December 28, 2002. October 27, 2016.
20. Most-Played Mainstream Top 40 Songs of 2002. Airplay Monitor. 10. 51. 12. December 20, 2002.
21. Going for Adds. Radio & Records. 1416. 97, 102, 170. August 24, 2001. June 5, 2021.
22. New Releases – For Week Starting 27 January 2003: Singles. Music Week. 33. January 25, 2003. September 2, 2021.