Switchfoot - The Beautiful Letdown

Switchfoot’s The Beautiful Letdown has one single that has been played on MTV and KROQ. This single is not by any means the best song on the album.

I was once under the terribly wrong impression that the singles that were aired on the radio by a band were the best songs of the album. It was not until I bought CDs, listened to them, and compared them to the radio songs that I noticed something awry. Many times the songs played on the radio by band ‘A’ were nowhere near the best song on the album. Quite frankly, I was never sure of the motivation. Now, I am somewhat convinced that radio stations and music labels conspire together to release “not the best” music so your ears may be assaulted. Ok, not assaulted but perhaps teased. Aw yes, teased. I am sure many of you have experienced that in one form or another, unless you are lucky and happen to have relationships with only manwhores and sluts. So they hope you will wonder what the other songs on the album sound like because this song is half way decent. If it becomes common knowledge that the radio plays the songs that are not the best on the album, then perhaps the listener will be motivated to check out the entire offering. Being that downloading songs is “illegal” and “amoral” and “just like stealing from a record store”, the listener is persuaded into buying the whole damn album in hope that there will be better songs (more so than the decent radio song) on the album.

My initial point: Switchfoot’s The Beautiful Letdown has one single that has been played on MTV and KROQ. This single is not by any means the best song on the album.

I had not heard of this band prior to this release so I was somewhat interested in whether the album would take a turn for the worst or the better after hearing the single, “Meant to Live” on the radio. As I had suspected, it got better. There is a Third Eye Blind feel to this album. You remember them don’t ya? If not, don’t worry because this pop is just as good. Well, I mean it is obviously somewhat different than Third Eye Blind but this album or band carries a sound that one can use as an analogy of sorts: Shutters are to blinds as Third Eye Blind is to Switchfoot. They both do the same thing, but one is out of fashion. I should write the SATs. Surprisingly the title track was the best of the lot. Of course, this is just my opinion but really, I am right. This album is definitely pop-rock meant for radio and TRL. Still, I am not sure if either radio and/or TRL will see that it is the best song on the album. Or perhaps the conspiracy continues and both media outlets refuse to play “The Beautiful Letdown” because they cannot play the best song or else years of conspiring would have been for shit. I mean because the radio and TRL play their songs constantly and mercilessly, so if they play the only song you want to hear all the time eventually you will get more than enough of it. Then what is the point of buying the album? These tricky little bastards think they are soo smart. Ah, but I have them figured out.

(Columbia Records)