Pass It Along

. Album version The original album version of "Pass It Along" is performed in the time signature of 4/4, with a tempo of 90 beats per minute. They recorded the single edit of the song at "Shabbey Road Studios" in May 2000. In the liner notes for WYSIWYG, they elaborated on their inspiration for the song, lamenting the lack of public spaces. In keeping with their criticisms of Microsoft and Bill Gates, the group originally sought to have the cover of the song's parent album, WYSIWYG, feature a photo of Gates being hit in the face by a pie; the label ultimately overruled them. The MP3 Mix includes references to and samples from Noam Chomsky, Jello Biafra, Madonna's "Justify My Love", Metallica's "Enter Sandman", and Eminem's "The Real Slim Shady". On 25 October 2000, a spokesperson for the band told NME that they had not yet received any notice of legal action from the sampled artists. In Europe, EMI Group released the song in 2000 as a three-track CD single with the single version, in addition to the "Jeep Reference Version" and an acoustic edit. ==Media use==

Initial offer . In January 2002, General Motors expressed interest in using "Pass It Along" for its latest advertising campaign for its Pontiac line of cars, specifically the Vibe; the campaign's slogan was "Pass It On." The company offered the group a sum of money that has been reported as $70,000, $100,000, and £70,000 for the rights to the song. Chumbawamba had previously rejected some requests for the rights to their music, having previously turned down offers of $700,000 and $1 million from General Electric and Nike, respectively, for the use of their music in commercials for an X-ray machine and the 1998 World Cup; the group had, however, consented to license their music for use in the motion picture Home Alone 3, a video game, and a dancing gorilla toy. Following their conversation with the activists, Chumbawamaba agreed to General Motors's offer, and then donated the proceeds to the two charities. A Philadelphia activist with Indymedia told Salon that the organization was initially reluctant to accept the money, given that it had been indirectly provided by a company whose practices they opposed, but they ultimately decided to accept the donation, viewing it as "coming not from GM but from Chumbawamba." Their donation of the money was also compared to that of electronic musician Moby, who in 1996 had donated money to an environmental advocacy group after being paid for the use of his music in a car commercial; he had said in an interview that "There's something perversely satisfying about taking money from a car company and then giving it to organizations which work to protect the environment". ==Track listings==

• European CD single • Pass It Along (Single Version) — 3:29 • Pass It Along (Jeep Reference Version) — 3:14 • Pass It Along (Acoustic) — 2:10 • US CD single • Pass It Along — 3:24 ==Personnel==

Adapted from WYSIWYG and CD single liner notes. • Lou Watts — vocals, keyboards • Harry Hamer — drums, vocals, programming • Danbert Nobacon — vocals, banjo • Dunstan Bruce — vocals • Jude Abbot — trumpet, flugelhorn, vocals • Boff Whalley — guitar, vocals • Alice Nutter — vocals • Neil Ferguson — bass, keyboards • Baader-Meinhof — sleeve design ==References==