Throwback Thursday: John Hampson discusses Nine Days "Absolutely (Story of a Girl)"

Chris DeMakes A Podcast

Chris DeMakes

Music History, Music Commentary, Music, Music Interviews

4.9 • 923 Ratings

🗓️ 13 November 2025

⏱️ 85 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week's Throwback Thursday episode revisits Episode 147 from March 20th, 2023, which features Nine Days frontman John Hampson sharing the story behind the band’s breakout 2000 hit “Absolutely (Story of a Girl).” With its unforgettable chorus and heartfelt lyrics, the song propelled the band to MTV and Top 40 radio success, becoming a defining anthem of early-2000s pop rock. Hampson reflects on the personal inspiration behind the track, the whirlwind that followed its release, and the song’s lasting cultural presence, including its clever appearance in the Oscar-winning film Everything Everywhere All At Once. Chris DeMakes A Podcast is brought to you by DistroKid, the ultimate partner for taking your music to the next level. Get 30% off your first YEAR with DistroKid by signing up at ⁠http://distrokid.com/vip/demakes For bonus episode of The After Party podcast, an extensive back catalog of past After Party episodes, early ad-free releases of new episodes of Chris DeMakes A Podcast, full video versions of episodes, and MUCH more, head to the Patreon at ⁠http://www.ChrisDeMakes.com Follow Chris DeMakes A Podcast on Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/chrisdemakesapodcast/⁠ Join the Chris DeMakes A Podcast community on Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/2643961642526928/⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode is brought to you by DistroKit.
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0:29.2	at Shopify.com slash setup.
0:33.2	Oh, she don't sit down.
0:35.6	Dust yourself off and trying. Yeah. Dust yourself off and try again.
0:39.3	Can dust it off and try again.
0:42.3	Try it.
0:43.3	Hey, everybody. It's Chris Fafalius, producer of Krista Makes a podcast.
0:47.3	I'm here to get you all ready for this week's throwback Thursday episode, which is actually one of my favorites.
0:53.3	This week, we're throwing it back to
0:56.1	March of 2023 when John Hampson of nine days sat in to discuss the writing and recording
1:01.5	of absolutely Story of a Girl. As usual, I'm going to do my best here to get you all in the
1:08.1	right state of mind for the episode, and we'll do that by transporting
1:11.6	you back in time to when story of a girl was everywhere. The song hit its hot 100 peak in the
1:18.2	U.S. in July of the year 2000, so here's what else was going on when you couldn't escape this song.
1:25.5	And here's what's weird. In all these intros that I've done,
	...

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