Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 6, 2026

Hello Time Bomb

Hello Time Bomb is a song by Canadian alternative rock group Matthew Good Band. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from their third studio album, Beautiful Midnight. The song was voted as the second best song of 1999 by readers of music magazine Chart and was nominated for Best Single at the 2000 Juno Awards. Commercially, the song peaked at number three on the Canadian RPM Rock Report and number 34 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, becoming Matthew Good's only charting hit in the United States. Between 1995 and 2016, it was the fourth-most-played song by a Canadian artist on rock radio stations in Canada.

Last revised
Jun 6, 2026
Read time
≈ 3 min
Length
626 w
Citations
11
Source
Wikipedia ↗
"Hello Time Bomb"
Single by Matthew Good Band
from the album Beautiful Midnight
Released1999
Length3:58
LabelUniversal Music Canada
SongwritersMatthew Good, Dave Genn
ProducerWarne Livesey
Matthew Good Band singles chronology
"Rico"
(1998) 		"Hello Time Bomb"
(1999) 		"Load Me Up"
(1999)
Music video
"Hello Time Bomb" on YouTube

Hello Time Bomb is a song by Canadian alternative rock group Matthew Good Band. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from their third studio album, Beautiful Midnight. The song was voted as the second best song of 1999 by readers of music magazine Chart and was nominated for Best Single at the 2000 Juno Awards.1 Commercially, the song peaked at number three on the Canadian RPM Rock Report and number 34 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, becoming Matthew Good's only charting hit in the United States. Between 1995 and 2016, it was the fourth-most-played song by a Canadian artist on rock radio stations in Canada.2

Song information

Matthew Good mentions that he wrote the song quickly on an old acoustic guitar at a friend's place.

Sometimes the unexpected happens. Years ago I had a day off during the making of Beautiful Midnight. Two friends had dropped by my place to get me, as we were going out. While sitting there, we somehow got into a discussion about writing quick songs about nothing. So I picked up this crappy old classical guitar that belonged to my ex-girlfriend and proceeded to play do-do-do-do-do…click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click…do-do-do-do-do. And then the words came – 'I found me a reason, so check me tomorrow, we'll see if I'm leaking, push and push and push till it hurts ...'


In about 45 minutes I had what would basically be Hello Time Bomb, which later that night I quickly recorded onto a cassette and we tracked the very next day.
Sometimes the unexpected happens.

Of course, never in my wildest dreams did I think that that song would go on to become one of my biggest singles. I mean let's face it, I wrote it on a dust covered classical guitar that had been sitting unused behind a large plant for years. But, in the end, that's how it happened.3

— Matthew Good

Music video

The music video for "Hello Time Bomb" reached number one on MuchMusic Countdown.4

Charts

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Canada 1999 Radio Universal Music Canada
United States December 5, 2000
Atlantic 10
Australia July 16, 2001 CD
11
References

References

  1. "CHART'S 5TH ANNUAL YEAR-END READER'S POLL RESULTS". Archived from the original on April 24, 2001. Retrieved August 17, 2025.
  2. "NIELSEN MUSIC & BILLBOARD PRESENT CANADA 150 CHARTS" (PDF). bdsradio.com. p. 28. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 2, 2020. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  3. "Writing of Hello Time Bomb". matthewgood.org. Archived from the original on January 8, 2009. Retrieved October 24, 2008.
  4. "VIDEOS : MuchMusic Top 30". Archived from the original on November 28, 1999. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  5. "Matthew Good: Canadian Digital Songs". Billboard. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  6. "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Image 8445". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  7. "Matthew Good Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  8. "Matthew Good: Active Rock". Billboard. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  9. "Canada's Top 200 Singles of 2001". Jam!. Archived from the original on July 26, 2002. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
  10. "Going for Adds". Radio & Records. No. 1379. December 1, 2000. pp. 97, 103.
  11. "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 16th July 2001" (PDF). ARIA. July 16, 2001. p. 24. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 22, 2008. Retrieved May 2, 2026.