Just posted on the Switchfoot message boards, "hot off the press"
Hey all, here's the real details, hot off the press:
Switchfoot - the best yet
release date (tent): Nov 4, 2008
1. Dare You To Move
2. Meant To Live
3. Stars
4. Oh! Gravity
5. This is Home (full band version, not soundtrack version)
6. Learning to Breathe
7. Awakening
8. This Is Your Life
9. On Fire
10. Only Hope
11. Dirty Second Hands
12. Love is the Movement
13. Company Car
14. Lonely Nation
15. The Shadow Proves The Sunshine
16. Concrete Girl
17. Twenty-Four
18. Beautiful Letdown
What is it?
It's a 'best of' CD that Sony is releasing this fall, a typical move for a major label when one of their artists parts ways. Our first 6 albums were recorded with RE:think/EMI (the first 3) and Sony (albums 4-6), so they are working together on this.
Do we like it?
Ha, well first of all, it doesn't really matter as far as the business is concerned. Sony and EMI own the masters to these albums, so they don't need to ask us. Record companies do this sort of thing all the time (Radiohead's greatest hits album for example). It's the music business, and this is how they make money. This isn't good or bad, it just is.
However, we don't hate it at all, and here's why. We chose the songs. These are songs that we would like to play for someone who has never heard of switchfoot. After-all, isn't that the whole purpose of a 'best of' cd? It's not for the die-hard fan, it's for the guy that missed the boat the first time, but wants to still get on. I've been that guy before, so I'm not anti. If these songs are able to reach a few more pairs of ears, cool. It's definitely not something that was a part of our plan for this year as a band, but in the grand scheme of things, I think it's pretty minor. If it sounds cool to you, get it. If not, don't.
Are we proud of it?
These are some of the songs that we are most proud of, for various reasons. Of course, there's lots of others that we are also really proud of, but they might not be songs we would pick for a first listening experience. 18 songs is already a lot of songs all at once. There is quite a wide musical journey expressed in that list, and we're very proud of that part of our history as a band. We also were able to talk Sony into letting our very-own Andy Barron do all the artwork, and we're really proud of him. Go Andy! Beyond that, we've been digging into the vault to find rare video content for the deluxe edition, so that the hard-core fan that does decide to buy it won't be disappointed.
I guess I'm saying all of this because I know that these songs mean just as much to many of you as they do to us, and that's really important to us. It means a lot to us that so many of you care so much about these songs, and the way that they are presented. That's precisely why we have chosen to be an independent band moving forward, and why we're so excited about releasing a brand new record next year, and the future after that. I also know that times are tough, and you work really hard for your money, which is why we've always tried to keep our costs down at shows and stuff. And I guess I just don't want anyone within our family to feel like a major label is squeezing them dry. You're in charge here. If you don't think it's worth it, then please pass, save your hard-earned money for a 1/4 tank of gas. Or, if it sounds exciting to you, then get it for that reason, and not because you're the victim of some well-crafted corporate scheme. Be empowered and be free to make your own choice. We love you guys, and we've been trying to navigate this final farewell from Sony very carefully, so that no one is taken advantage of, and we're happy with how it has played out so far. More importantly, we're excited to put this behind us and finish making what we already believe to be our best record yet. Hope to see you all on the road this fall,
love, tim
my personal thoughts later... but have a great day everyone. Thanks to Tim for clearing it all up for us. Apparently the previously released info is slightly off...
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