it’s incredibly satisfying to discover a band on your own. It’s even more satisfying when you find them ahead of the curve, before they become a sensation. This is how I came to know Switchfoot. They are my discovery; and I found them just prior to the release of their breakout album The Beautiful Letdown.
With the release of their next album, Hello Hurricane, on the books for this September, I decided to take a look at their top 10 songs, according to iTunes popularity. It was surprising how diverse they ended up being, with many falling under the umbrella of ballads, and others sitting in rock territory. As well, their wasn’t one album that came out on top (although, Learning To Breathe came out on the bottom, with not a single song in the mix).
10. This Is Your Life
I find this surprising to be on the list, actually. I enjoy this song, but there are others from The Beautiful Letdown I would place above this one. What this song does have is quintessentially Switchfoot. Their sound could be encapsulated within the idea of background noises. It’s nothing to overwhelm the song itself, but it pushes it ever forward, like the second hand of a watch, constantly filling in the gaps with sound. Unlike the watch, their noises are not meaningless or empty, but rather enhance and build upon the rest of the song. “This Is Your Life” is the perfect example. The occasional pause in the the drums is augmented by the sounds keyboardist Jerome Fontamillas puts together.
For me, this song comes back to the chorus. There is no getting away from it. When I am at crucial points in my life, or when I take a step back to look at who I have become, this chorus where lead singer Jon Foreman cries out “are you who you want to be?” fills my head. Like any catchy lyric, it reverberates in my head until I find an answer.
9. Let That Be Enough
Taken from their second album, New Way To Be Human, “Let That Be Enough” is one of those hidden gems that never made it as a radio single, but is stronger than those tracks that did. Foreman has listed Bono and Bob Dylan’s introspective song writing style as his major influence, and this song is the perfect example. Whenever I listen to this song, I hear a young kid singing it on tour, not wanting to grow up to be an adult, but knowing he already is one.
It excites me to have this song come out in the top 10. One of my favorites from New Way To Be Human, I can’t stop myself from singing along. Maybe it’s because I too sometimes “seem so helpless” and “have no plans.” Maybe I just identify with Foreman’s vulnerability. Whatever the reason, I love that this song has become so popular, even if it’s ten years after its original release.
8. You
This song also excites me by being in the top 10 iTunes downloads. Mainly because it comes from their first album, The Legend of Chin. Not much on there stood out or pointed to what was to come with Switchfoot. Their first album was released only four days after the youngest member, bassist Tim Foreman, graduated from high school. Thankfully, their sound has grown, gaining two members in Jerome Fontamillas and Andrew Shirley. Their on-stage performance has become less cheesy and more entertaining. Foreman’s lyrics have stayed just as introspective, but he’s no longer writing about whether or not to skip his Chem 1A class. Yet, “You” is one of the songs that does prelude their platinum-selling releases and national attention through television and film.
“You” is the perfect example of Foreman’s understated lyrics saying exactly what needs be said within the confines of the song. The string accompaniment fits perfectly into the niche of this song, the cadence of the chorus. This song is not only a precursor of the Switchfoot to come but more specifically the song “Only Hope.”
7. Meant To Live
There are three songs that any top 10 list concerning Switchfoot needs to contain. If they don’t make the cut, it becomes necessary to, at the very least, mention them, with a good reason why they ranked lower than 10. “Dare You To Move” and “Only Hope” are two of them; “Meant To Live” is the third. Thanks to this song from their fourth release, The Beautiful Letdown, Switchfoot was shot into the spotlight. It took them four albums, six years, and one label change, but seemingly overnight, they went from a band with just a cult following to a band who played on Leno and had music videos featured on Fuse and MTV. This single was the perfect outlet for Switchfoot’s rise, containing both crunchy guitar riffs as well as poignant lyrics inspired by the T.S. Eliot poem, “The Hollow Men.”
6. Stars
Switchfoot is often described as a thinking man’s band. With inspiration from T.S. Eliot and, with this song, Descartes, it’s no wonder. Foreman said “Stars,” the first single from Nothing Is Sound, was written from “a Descartes perspective.” The first verse’s introspection gives one perspective, the second verse’s view from heaven gives another all together.
The intro to “Stars” is one of my favorites by Switchfoot. It takes 45 seconds and three shifts in tempo from the drums to get to the first verse. Their longest intro so far, it mirrors the growth of the song. Just as the lyrics move from personal and small to the stars themselves and the more universal questions, so the drums grow from a simple snare, to the addition of a bass drum, and finally the full kit. The growth musically is matched lyrically.
5. Dare You To Move
The only song released on more than one studio album, and the first song Switchfoot has released more than one music video for, “Dare You To Move” is unarguably one of their most popular songs to date. The message of getting up off the floor to continue moving forward is a strong one that seems to resonate with people. The first release of “Dare” was under the album Learning To Breathe, their third studio release. On that album, the song was more pop infused; on The Beautiful Letdown, the band re-recorded it with more harder instrumentation and vocals and less electronic noise, giving the song a stronger anthem feel.
4. This Is Home
I don’t get excited about soundtracks. But when I heard that Switchfoot was writing a song for The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspiansoundtrack, I got excited. I don’t get homesick. It just doesn’t happen to me. However, when I went on a trip during the summer, last year, I was incredibly homesick. I just wanted to leave and go home. The chorus from this song stuck with me. Those lines that cry out “this is home, now I’m finally where I belong,” those were wha kept me sane during the rough moments.
I find it particularly interesting to see how Foreman has matured as a lyricist. On their first album, he wrote a song called “Home” that is just as telling as much of his other early writings. The lyrics leave him yearning for home, wanting to find security and contentment away from home, but only able to do that through the struggle. Now, Foreman no longer seeks out home; he finds it where he is now. That makes for great encouragement and a great song.
3. Awakening
If this was my list, instead of one compiled from iTunes, I would place this song two slots higher. My favorite song by them, I have rocked out in my car many times to it since first hearing the album. What I still can’t figure out is if the chorus’s call that “we’re awakening” is a confirmed truth or a deluded hope. Listening to the verses, it feels true. Yet listening to Oh! Gravity, which reminds me I am surrounded by materialism, false stars and deadlines, I can’t help but question my own sincerity, Am I awakening? Probably why I like the song so much. Songs that continue to top my playlists are always the songs that challenge me.
2. Only Hope
With how much attention Switchfoot gathered after being prominent contributors to the A Walk To Remember soundtrack, it’s no wonder this song made it so high on the list. Not only did Mandy Moore sing it, but Switchfoot put their own version on there as well. This is still one of the most requested songs at their concerts, and for many fans, whether they play this song or not determines how good of a concert it was. Originally, this song appeared on their second album, New Way To Be Human.
This song is another one of their ballad-like songs. I would say it is a ballad, except that it’s not a love song. That’s how it’s generally received, but really “Only Hope” is a song written to God. Why else would the song speak of “your galaxy dancing and laughing” if it was the typical love song? Even as a religious song, the lyrics don’t feel cheesy and churchy. Foreman’s honesty when he sings of “giving [his] apathy” gives us a glimpse into his struggles. That sort of forthcoming honesty in songwriting is what draws me so strongly to their lyrics.
1. Oh! Gravity
I have to be honest. That this song is the top downloaded song on iTunes blows me away. I didn’t think it got that much attention when it was released in late October of 2006. Whatever the reason for its success, it happens to be the shortest song to make the list. Like the tracks on Nothing Is Sound, there is a discontent in the lyrics: “why this tragedy, why can’t we seem to keep it together?” Even the music has a discordant moment during the first verse. It is a song of questions without answers.
Even still, the questions are hopeful. They are the hard sort you ask when you are frustrated with the status quo and want to see something different. Why can’t we get along with the sons of our enemies? Why must everything always fall apart? How can we change the present to make a better future? This is the constant struggle with Switchfoot. They continually try to point out what doesn’t make sense about our society, but end up pointing the finger at themselves. And we join them, pointing at ourselves as well.
Sources:
Wikipedia.com
Switchfoot.com
