Synopsis

The video follows Johnny Rzeznik and a young woman through dim, timeworn interiors and downtown Los Angeles streets, mixing moments of flirtation, intimacy, and tension with performances by the Goo Goo Dolls. Its loose narrative suggests a couple caught between attraction and uncertainty, while the band's energetic playing provides a bright contrast to the worn surroundings. Grainy textures, quick cuts, and vintage-looking imagery give the clip a restless, almost dreamlike atmosphere that matches the song's deceptively upbeat surface.

Factoids & Trivia

• "Slide" was released in 1998 as the second single from *Dizzy Up the Girl*. The music video was filmed partly at the El Dorado Hotel on South Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles.

• The song's cheerful, jangly arrangement disguises a much heavier story. John Rzeznik has explained that it concerns a teenage couple dealing with an unplanned pregnancy, religious pressure, and the choice between marriage, abortion, or running away.

• Rzeznik later recalled that the actress playing opposite him unexpectedly slapped him during one take after the cameras stopped. He said he had not said anything offensive and was simply surprised by the reaction.

• The video's aged, grainy visual style helped distinguish it from a conventional performance clip and reinforced the sense of a relationship unfolding in a worn-out, emotionally charged environment.

• "Slide" became one of the Goo Goo Dolls' defining late-1990s videos and helped extend the momentum created by the band's breakthrough hit "Iris."