Bush arrived at an inhospitable moment in 1994. Cobain's death had shaken the alternative scene, Britpop momentum was building around Oasis, and the band found themselves poorly positioned—too American-sounding for British tastemakers, too late and English for grunge traditionalists. After recording their debut Sixteen Stone with accomplished British producers, the group's small label Trauma Records lost its distribution pathway when Disney executive Frank G Wells died unexpectedly, leading Hollywood Records to reject the album as lacking commercial appeal.

A chance occurrence reversed their fortunes when a Trauma founder sent an advance copy to KROQ, a Los Angeles radio station. DJ Jed the Fish championed 'Everything Zen' as his daily feature, generating enough listener response that the song received heavy rotation. This organic radio success forced major labels to reconsider, eventually leading Interscope Records to acquire and properly release the album. What the industry had deemed unmarketable climbed from position 187 to the top five, ultimately spawning five successful singles.