Mess of Me
Encyclopedia
"Mess of Me" is a song written and recorded by the alternative rock
band Switchfoot
and was the lead single off their seventh studio album
, Hello Hurricane
. It was shipped to Modern Rock
/Alternative, Mainstream rock
, and Active rock
radio formats, while a music video was sent to all applicable outlets.
. It had a more funk feel and had a different sound, though the opening riff was preserved all the way until the final version of the song. This early demo version has since made its way onto the bonus disc, Building a Hurricane.
The song was first performed live at the Big Ticket Festival in Michigan
on June 18, 2009, and has since become a regular in Switchfoot's live setlist throughout the 2009 summer festival touring season and beyond.
It was first hinted that the song was going to be the single when Jon Foreman
introduced it before playing it live at Kings Fest in Virginia on July 10, 2009, saying "as far as I'm concerned," the song was to be the lead single. On July 13, it was confirmed on switchfoot.com.
Later, on August 5, Jon Foreman
and Tim Foreman
took the song to producer Rob Cavallo
, "working just a touch more" on it. The album track was mixed by Chris Lord-Alge
.
The song is a protest against society's obsession with the pharmaceutical industry, which has become the new way to "attain never-ending, everlasting, abundant life" according to Foreman.
On September 1, Switchfoot
announced that they would be hiding copies of the new single around the world. The first copy was hidden at Moonlight Beach
in San Diego, CA under a palm tree. The band asked fans to make copies of the disks they found, and hide those copies elsewhere. Fans were also encouraged to hide the single online as well. The single has since spread from coast to coast and overseas.
Later, the single was officially released and impacted to radio stations on September 29, and a purchasable digital download of the song was made available the same day on all the major digital outlets. It went on to become their highest charting song on the Billboard Modern Rock charts since "Dare You to Move
" peaked at No. 9 in 2004. The song remained on the charts for 21 weeks before falling off.
On February 16, 2010, the music video debuted at No. 2 on Fuse TV
's No. 1 Countdown
in the Viewer's Choice category and No. 8 on the Alternative countdown the next day.
on December 2, Late Night With Jimmy Fallon
on January 20, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
on March 17, 2010.
. It featured live footage taken from their summer Crazy Making Tour
. Fans were actively encouraged to promote and spread the video, and it garnered several top honors on the site.
A second music video, the official version, features some of the same clips from the first cut, but had some newer, more refined shots and was more cinematic in nature. It was released to Youtube November 3, 2009. On February 2, Fuse TV
added the video to their rotation and No. 1 Countdown voting list , with MTV2 adding it to their rotation on February 22.
.
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Switchfoot
Switchfoot
Switchfoot is an American rock band from San Diego, California. The band's members are Jon Foreman , Tim Foreman , Chad Butler , Jerome Fontamillas , and Drew Shirley .After early successes in the Christian rock scene, Switchfoot first gained mainstream...
and was the lead single off their seventh studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
, Hello Hurricane
Hello Hurricane
Hello Hurricane is the seventh studio album by American alternative rock band Switchfoot. On February 13, 2011, the album won the award for Best Rock Gospel Album at the 53rd Grammy Awards. It was co-produced by the band and Mike Elizondo, after initially self-producing their work, as well as test...
. It was shipped to Modern Rock
Modern rock
Modern rock is a rock format commonly found on commercial radio; the format consists primarily of the alternative rock genre...
/Alternative, Mainstream rock
Mainstream rock
Mainstream rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada.-Format background:...
, and Active rock
Active rock
Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:...
radio formats, while a music video was sent to all applicable outlets.
Song history
The song was initially called "I Saw Satan Fall Like Lightning," a track Switchfoot demoed during pre-production sessions for Hello Hurricane with Charlie PeacockCharlie Peacock
Charlie Peacock is an American singer-songwriter, pianist, record producer, session musician and author. While growing up in California Peacock was inspired by John Coltrane and began playing the piano. After completing his education, Peacock formed a band and began a career as a professional...
. It had a more funk feel and had a different sound, though the opening riff was preserved all the way until the final version of the song. This early demo version has since made its way onto the bonus disc, Building a Hurricane.
The song was first performed live at the Big Ticket Festival in Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
on June 18, 2009, and has since become a regular in Switchfoot's live setlist throughout the 2009 summer festival touring season and beyond.
It was first hinted that the song was going to be the single when Jon Foreman
Jon Foreman
Jonathan Mark Foreman is the lead singer, lead guitarist, main songwriter and co-founder of the alternative rock band Switchfoot. He started Switchfoot in 1996 with drummer Chad Butler and bassist Tim Foreman ....
introduced it before playing it live at Kings Fest in Virginia on July 10, 2009, saying "as far as I'm concerned," the song was to be the lead single. On July 13, it was confirmed on switchfoot.com.
Later, on August 5, Jon Foreman
Jon Foreman
Jonathan Mark Foreman is the lead singer, lead guitarist, main songwriter and co-founder of the alternative rock band Switchfoot. He started Switchfoot in 1996 with drummer Chad Butler and bassist Tim Foreman ....
and Tim Foreman
Tim Foreman
Timothy David Foreman is the bassist for the band Switchfoot. He was born in Lake Arrowhead, California but grew up in Boston, Massachusetts and Virginia Beach, Virginia...
took the song to producer Rob Cavallo
Rob Cavallo
Rob Cavallo is a record producer and A&R, most famous for signing and producing Green Day. He is currently Chairman of Warner Bros. Records.- History :...
, "working just a touch more" on it. The album track was mixed by Chris Lord-Alge
Chris Lord-Alge
Chris Lord-Alge is a mixer who has worked on various albums. He is the brother of Tom Lord-Alge, another audio engineer. Chris Lord-Alge is known for his extreme use of dynamic range compression in both hardware and software plug-in versions....
.
The song is a protest against society's obsession with the pharmaceutical industry, which has become the new way to "attain never-ending, everlasting, abundant life" according to Foreman.
Release
While "Mess of Me" was scheduled to be released to radio on September 29, the single had already made its way onto Rock radio stations throughout the country well in advance. It was first heard on Atlanta's 99X rock station.On September 1, Switchfoot
Switchfoot
Switchfoot is an American rock band from San Diego, California. The band's members are Jon Foreman , Tim Foreman , Chad Butler , Jerome Fontamillas , and Drew Shirley .After early successes in the Christian rock scene, Switchfoot first gained mainstream...
announced that they would be hiding copies of the new single around the world. The first copy was hidden at Moonlight Beach
Moonlight beach
Moonlight State Beach is a state beach in Encinitas, California. Located at the terminus of Encinitas Boulevard, it has been called the epicenter of recreation and social life in the town. It is appropriate for both children's and adults' recreation. It is popular with both tourists and residents,...
in San Diego, CA under a palm tree. The band asked fans to make copies of the disks they found, and hide those copies elsewhere. Fans were also encouraged to hide the single online as well. The single has since spread from coast to coast and overseas.
Later, the single was officially released and impacted to radio stations on September 29, and a purchasable digital download of the song was made available the same day on all the major digital outlets. It went on to become their highest charting song on the Billboard Modern Rock charts since "Dare You to Move
Dare You to Move
"Dare You to Move" is a single by the alternative rock band Switchfoot from the band's fourth studio album, The Beautiful Letdown. The song was originally called "I Dare You to Move", and was on the album Learning to Breathe, but the band decided to remix it and put it on The Beautiful Letdown...
" peaked at No. 9 in 2004. The song remained on the charts for 21 weeks before falling off.
On February 16, 2010, the music video debuted at No. 2 on Fuse TV
Fuse TV
Fuse is an American national television network dedicated exclusively to music. It features original series and specials, exclusive interviews, live concerts and video blocks....
's No. 1 Countdown
No. 1 Countdown
No. 1 Countdown is a program originated by the American television network, Fuse. The show usually comes on one or two times per day. There are 10 or 11 videos per episode.No. 1 Countdown has three different types of episodes...
in the Viewer's Choice category and No. 8 on the Alternative countdown the next day.
Versions
The album was available in several versions/mixes.- The first one, as released on the band's YoutubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
page and during the "Mess of Me" hunt, was mixed by Chris Lord-AlgeChris Lord-AlgeChris Lord-Alge is a mixer who has worked on various albums. He is the brother of Tom Lord-Alge, another audio engineer. Chris Lord-Alge is known for his extreme use of dynamic range compression in both hardware and software plug-in versions....
and features a denser, fuller mix, with noticeable echoing of vocals and instrumentation in the pre-chorus and following the chorus. This was the mix that was sent to radio stations. - The second version, as released on iTunesITunesiTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
, features more prominent vocals and more prominent drums in the pre-chorus, specifically. This would go on to be the album cut. - A third one, that comes with the iTunes preorder of Hello Hurricane, is an acoustic version of the song.
Live performances
Switchfoot performed the song several times on late night television. The band performed the song on Jimmy Kimmel Live! November 12, The Tonight Show with Conan O'BrienThe Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show that featured Conan O'Brien as host from June 1, 2009 to January 22, 2010 as part of NBC's long-running Tonight Show franchise...
on December 2, Late Night With Jimmy Fallon
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon on NBC. The show premiered on March 2, 2009, as the third incarnation of the Late Night franchise originated by David Letterman....
on January 20, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that initially aired from May 25, 1992 to May 29, 2009, and resumed production on March 1, 2010. The fourth incarnation of the Tonight Show franchise made its debut on May 25, 1992, three days following Johnny...
on March 17, 2010.
Music videos
Switchfoot released the first music video for the song on September 9, 2009 to YoutubeYouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
. It featured live footage taken from their summer Crazy Making Tour
Crazy Making Tour
The Crazy Making Tour was a 2009 summer tour which featured the alternative rock bands Switchfoot and Blue October co-headlining. The tour was first announced on Blue October's and Switchfoot's . Supporting acts for the tour were Longwave and Ours. Each band's set varied by location...
. Fans were actively encouraged to promote and spread the video, and it garnered several top honors on the site.
A second music video, the official version, features some of the same clips from the first cut, but had some newer, more refined shots and was more cinematic in nature. It was released to Youtube November 3, 2009. On February 2, Fuse TV
Fuse TV
Fuse is an American national television network dedicated exclusively to music. It features original series and specials, exclusive interviews, live concerts and video blocks....
added the video to their rotation and No. 1 Countdown voting list , with MTV2 adding it to their rotation on February 22.
Chart positions
| Chart | Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Alternative Songs | 13 |
| U.S. Billboard Rock Songs Rock Songs Rock Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks the airplay of songs on alternative, mainstream rock and triple A radio stations. The first chart was published in the issue dated June 20, 2009. "Know Your Enemy" by Green Day was the first number-one song. The Rock Songs... |
22 |
| U.S. Billboard Christian Songs | 30 |
| U.S. Billboard Christian Rock Christian rock Christian rock is a form of rock music played by individuals and bands whose members are Christians and who often focus the lyrics on matters concerned with the Christian faith. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Christian varies between bands... |
1 |
Awards
In 2010, the song was nominated for a Dove Award for Rock Recorded Song of the Year at the 41st GMA Dove Awards41st GMA Dove Awards
The 41st Annual GMA Dove Awards were held on April 21, 2010 recognizing accomplishments of musicians for the year 2009. The show was held at the The Opry Entertainment Complex in Nashville, Tennessee, and was hosted by Bart Millard....
.