According to Aimee Mann in a 1985 interview with music video station V66, director D.J. Webster obtained the establishing shot of Carnegie Hall "illegally".
The song's lyrics, written by the band's front-woman Aimee Mann, portray a lover in an affair, and were originally written and sung as if to a woman, but changed due to Epic Records' pressure.
The accompanying music video, directed by D.J. Webster, received wide exposure on MTV, positive reactions from critics, was nominated for numerous awards, and is thought to be the reason behind the song's success.
Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times praised Mann's acting, saying that she appears "marvelously charismatic" in it.
At the 1985 MTV Video Music Awards, the band won the award for Best New Artist in a video.