It's Not Your Fault
Encyclopedia
"It's Not Your Fault" is a song written by American rock band New Found Glory
, and released as a promo single from their fifth studio album Coming Home
(2006). The track was first announced in July 2006, before the music video
debuted on Total Request Live
on August 1. The song was later released to Modern Rock Radio in September, before the album was released shortly afterward on the 19th.
The single marked a musical departure for the band and was seen by critics as a step away from their usual pop punk
sound with the addition of prominent piano
instrumentation. According to internet radio
website Last.fm
, "It's Not Your Fault" is the most played song from Coming Home, with 122,602 current listeners.
key and has a "moderate tempo" of 129 beats per minute. The band's primary composer and guitarist Chad Gilbert
, notes that the song has "big, full guitars and a piano
line that goes throughout. It's pretty anthemic, and Jordan's voice has never sounded better." Gilbert further explained that, "This one shows how we've changed. We're a band who have done different styles of songs every record. There's some really metal
riffs on Catalyst that aren't on Coming Home, and then this had some pianos. We're music fans, so we want every record to sound different". Lyrically, the song is about dealing with time apart in a relationship. The band's lead vocalist
Jordan Pundik has noted, "I want people to think it's about whatever they want, but for me, it's about when you're in love with someone and you're away from them and you have an argument or a fight and it's over the phone, so you can't console them."
it was noted that, "Coming Home is similar, in spirit, to the 1990s crooning of Chicago's brilliant Smoking Popes
. Jordan Pundik's vocal delivery curls into sweetness, rather than a snarl. Wrapped around journal-entry cute lines on the earnestly protective pleadings of "It's Not Your Fault." Rae Alexandra of Kerrang!
magazine, was of the opinion that "It's Not Your Fault" displays "more maturity - and piano - than ever before. It's not fast, it's not forced, but - in an entirely new way - it sours." Jack Foley of Indie London was also favorable of the track and noted "the chiming piano chords that open "It’s Not Your Fault" give way into an effortlessly inspiring song about young love that unfolds into a majestic chorus."
for the single was shot by long term music video director
Brett Simon
(Sugarcult
, Queens of the Stoneage, The Killers). The shoot was completed in one afternoon and features the actor
Teddy Van Deusen and actress Heide Lindgren from the American reality
show 8th & Ocean
as the primary characters. The concept itself was inspired by a German mobile phone
commercial
. The video depicts the band performing the song live on several occasions (see screenshot), in between a story being revealed in reverse chronological order
. The story portrays a man and woman (played by Van Deusen and Lindgren), who wake up in bed naked together, and proceed to retrace their steps and retain their several items of clothing along the way. At the climax of the video, they end up where the first met in a record store and go their separate ways. Chad Gilbert told Kerrang!
magazine that, "It starts backwards, with a guy and a girl in bed naked, and then they put on their clothes, finding them strewn as they walk, until they get to their first meeting at the end. We just took the idea and went with it."
.
Video
New Found Glory
New Found Glory is an American rock band from Coral Springs, Florida. Formed in the summer of 1997, founding members were lead vocalist Jordan Pundik, guitarists Chad Gilbert and Steve Klein, bassist Ian Grushka and drummer Joe Marino...
, and released as a promo single from their fifth studio album Coming Home
Coming Home (New Found Glory album)
Coming Home is the fifth studio album by American rock band New Found Glory. It was produced by Thom Panunzio and released on September 19, 2006 through Geffen Records. Written and demoed at the Morning View Mansion in Malibu during 2005, Coming Home is a concept album unified by a lyrical theme of...
(2006). The track was first announced in July 2006, before the music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
debuted on Total Request Live
Total Request Live
Total Request Live is a television series on MTV that featured popular music videos. TRL was MTV's prime outlet for music videos as the network continues to concentrate on reality-based programming. In addition to music videos, TRL featured daily guests...
on August 1. The song was later released to Modern Rock Radio in September, before the album was released shortly afterward on the 19th.
The single marked a musical departure for the band and was seen by critics as a step away from their usual pop punk
Pop punk
Pop punk is a fusion music genre that combines elements of punk rock with pop music, to varying degrees. Allmusic describes the genre as a strand of alternative rock, which typically merges pop melodies with speedy punk tempos, chord changes and loud guitars...
sound with the addition of prominent piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
instrumentation. According to internet radio
Internet radio
Internet radio is an audio service transmitted via the Internet...
website Last.fm
Last.fm
Last.fm is a music website, founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. It has claimed 30 million active users in March 2009. On 30 May 2007, CBS Interactive acquired Last.fm for UK£140m ....
, "It's Not Your Fault" is the most played song from Coming Home, with 122,602 current listeners.
Composition
"It's Not Your Fault" is a rock song at a length of three minutes and thirty seven seconds, written by the five members of New Found Glory, all of whom share credits for the music composition and the lyrics. The song is composed in the A MajorA major
A major is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps.Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor...
key and has a "moderate tempo" of 129 beats per minute. The band's primary composer and guitarist Chad Gilbert
Chad Gilbert
Chad Everett Gilbert is an American musician and record producer. He is a founding member of the rock band New Found Glory, for whom he plays lead guitar, composes music and provides backing vocals...
, notes that the song has "big, full guitars and a piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
line that goes throughout. It's pretty anthemic, and Jordan's voice has never sounded better." Gilbert further explained that, "This one shows how we've changed. We're a band who have done different styles of songs every record. There's some really metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
riffs on Catalyst that aren't on Coming Home, and then this had some pianos. We're music fans, so we want every record to sound different". Lyrically, the song is about dealing with time apart in a relationship. The band's lead vocalist
Lead vocalist
The lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
Jordan Pundik has noted, "I want people to think it's about whatever they want, but for me, it's about when you're in love with someone and you're away from them and you have an argument or a fight and it's over the phone, so you can't console them."
Critical reception
As with Coming Home, "It's Not Your Fault" was warmly received by music critics. In a review for The Palm Beach PostThe Palm Beach Post
The Palm Beach Post is a major daily newspaper in Florida, serving Palm Beach County in South Florida, and the Treasure Coast area. It is the 72nd largest daily newspaper in the United States and the sixth largest in Florida.-History:...
it was noted that, "Coming Home is similar, in spirit, to the 1990s crooning of Chicago's brilliant Smoking Popes
Smoking Popes
The Smoking Popes are an American pop punk from the northwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, formed in 1991. They play punk-influenced pop music with crooning vocals...
. Jordan Pundik's vocal delivery curls into sweetness, rather than a snarl. Wrapped around journal-entry cute lines on the earnestly protective pleadings of "It's Not Your Fault." Rae Alexandra of Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
magazine, was of the opinion that "It's Not Your Fault" displays "more maturity - and piano - than ever before. It's not fast, it's not forced, but - in an entirely new way - it sours." Jack Foley of Indie London was also favorable of the track and noted "the chiming piano chords that open "It’s Not Your Fault" give way into an effortlessly inspiring song about young love that unfolds into a majestic chorus."
Music video
The music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for the single was shot by long term music video director
Music video director
A music video director is driven by a given music track. These are called music videos and are then used as promotional tools for popular music singles...
Brett Simon
Brett Simon
Brett Simon is an American commercial, music video and film director.-Career:Simon graduated from Princeton University summa cum laude in 1997 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Comparative Literature and Creative Writing, and later graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 2002 with...
(Sugarcult
Sugarcult
Sugarcult is an American rock band from Santa Barbara, California formed in 1998. The band currently consists of Tim Pagnotta , Airin Older , Marko DeSantis , and Kenny Livingston .-Formation :Tim Pagnotta met ex-drummer Ben Davis during a cigarette break at school...
, Queens of the Stoneage, The Killers). The shoot was completed in one afternoon and features the actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
Teddy Van Deusen and actress Heide Lindgren from the American reality
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
show 8th & Ocean
8th & Ocean
8th & Ocean is an American reality series about a group of models living in Miami, Florida that premiered on MTV on March 7, 2006. The series aired for ten episodes, ending its run on May 9, 2006. The creators of 8th & Ocean are also responsible for Laguna Beach, a show also airing on MTV...
as the primary characters. The concept itself was inspired by a German mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
commercial
Television advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...
. The video depicts the band performing the song live on several occasions (see screenshot), in between a story being revealed in reverse chronological order
Reverse chronology
Reverse chronology is a method of story-telling whereby the plot is revealed in reverse order.In a story employing this technique, the first scene shown is actually the conclusion to the plot...
. The story portrays a man and woman (played by Van Deusen and Lindgren), who wake up in bed naked together, and proceed to retrace their steps and retain their several items of clothing along the way. At the climax of the video, they end up where the first met in a record store and go their separate ways. Chad Gilbert told Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
magazine that, "It starts backwards, with a guy and a girl in bed naked, and then they put on their clothes, finding them strewn as they walk, until they get to their first meeting at the end. We just took the idea and went with it."
Track listing
All songs written, composed and performed by New Found GloryNew Found Glory
New Found Glory is an American rock band from Coral Springs, Florida. Formed in the summer of 1997, founding members were lead vocalist Jordan Pundik, guitarists Chad Gilbert and Steve Klein, bassist Ian Grushka and drummer Joe Marino...
.
Personnel
Single- Jordan PundikJordan PundikJordan Izaak Pundik is an American musician and songwriter.Pundik is a founding member and the frontman of rock band New Found Glory, for whom he sings lead vocals and contributes lyrics...
— lead vocals, lyricsLyricsLyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of... - Chad GilbertChad GilbertChad Everett Gilbert is an American musician and record producer. He is a founding member of the rock band New Found Glory, for whom he plays lead guitar, composes music and provides backing vocals...
— lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, composer, lyrics - Steve KleinSteve Klein (musician)Stephen Lee "Steve" Klein is an American musician. Klein is a founding member of rock band New Found Glory, for whom he is the primary lyricist and plays rhythm guitar....
— rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, lyrics - Ian Grushka — bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Cyrus Bolooki — drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration... - Benmont TenchBenmont TenchBenjamin Montmorency Tench, III is an American keyboardist best known as a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.-Early years:...
— pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Thom PanunzioThom PanunzioThom Panunzio grew up in River Edge, New Jersey not too far from Manhattan. He began his career as an audio engineer originally working at Record Plant Studios in New York. There he met, Jimmy Iovine, and started his career working with John Lennon...
- producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Paul MinerPaul MinerPaul Miner is the bassist for Death by Stereo, who left the band early 2005 , to produce, engineer, master, and mix music full time...
— engineeringAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including... - Tom Lord-AlgeTom Lord-AlgeTom Lord-Alge is a four-time Grammy Award–winning record producer and mixer. He is the youngest of Vivian Lord's five children, Mark Lord-Alge, Lisa Lord-Alge, Chris Lord-Alge, Jeff Lord-Alge and Tom Lord-Alge...
— mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may... - Ted JensenTed JensenTed Jensen is an American recording engineer. Jensen is the chief mastering engineer at Sterling Sound. He started his career as a mastering engineer in 1976 and is currently the most active Mastering Engineer in the industry...
— masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced... - Autumn de WildeAutumn de WildeAutumn de Wilde is an American photographer best known for her portraiture and commercial work photography of musicians.-Early life:...
— photographyPhotographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
Video
- Jordan Pundik — himself, band member
- Chad Gilbert — himself, band member
- Steve Klein — himself, band member
- Ian Grushka — himself, band member
- Cyrus Bolooki — himself, band member
- Teddy Van Deusen — boy
- Heide Lindgren — girl
- Brett SimonBrett SimonBrett Simon is an American commercial, music video and film director.-Career:Simon graduated from Princeton University summa cum laude in 1997 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Comparative Literature and Creative Writing, and later graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 2002 with...
— directorMusic video directorA music video director is driven by a given music track. These are called music videos and are then used as promotional tools for popular music singles...