Check My Brain Lyrics

"Check My Brain" is a song by Alice in Chains, featured on their fourth studio album Black Gives Way to Blue (2009). It was released as the second single from the album on August 17, 2009. The single topped the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks and Billboard Rock Songs charts in September 2009. This is the first time an Alice in Chains song would hit #1 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart since their 1994 single "No Excuses". "Check My Brain" received a nomination for "Best Hard Rock Performance" at the 52nd Grammy Awards. Jerry Cantrell told The Pulse of Radio that he wrote this song about his move from his home city of Seattle to Los Angeles in 2003. He explained: "There's a certain aspect of sarcasm, I guess, being a guy from Seattle who lives in L.A., ex-drug addict who lives in the belly of the beast and doesn't partake, and being totally cool with that," he said. "It's like being the bad gambler and living in Vegas. It's right there. It's just the irony of that and a little bit of sarcasm. And it's not putting this place down at all. It's just kind of like, 'Wow, you know, check my brain, wow.'" (Source Check My Brain Songfacts). On August 12, 2009, the band released a 30 second sample of the new single. On August 14, 2009, the full version of the song was released to radio stations. On August 17, 2009, "Check My Brain" was released as the second single from the album and as of October 10, 2009, it has peaked at number 92 on the Billboard Hot 100, and at number one on the Billboard rock charts — Rock Songs, Alternative Songs and Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks. In Canada, the song reached the top 70 on the Canadian Hot 100. The song was released as downloadable content for the Rock Band and Rock Band 2 music video games for the Xbox 360, Wii and PlayStation 3 consoles, as part of Alice In Chains Pack 01, which also includes older hits "Rooster", "Would?", and "No Excuses", along with "A Looking in View", also from Black Gives Way to Blue. It was added to the Xbox Live Marketplace and in-game Music Store for the Wii on September 29 and it was added to the PlayStation Network on October 1. The music video for "Check My Brain" premiered on September 14, 2009 and was directed by Alexandre Courtes. Alice in Chains debuted "Check My Brain" on August 1, 2009 in Marlay Park, Dublin, Ireland. They played it again the next day at the Sonisphere Festival in Knebworth Park, Stevenage, United Kingdom, and again two days later on August 4, 2009 at The Scala in London. The song has been a staple at shows during Alice in Chains' 2009 world tour.