BREAKING: "Mess Of Me" by Switchfoot, new single from new album "Hello Hurricane", out November 10

UPDATE: Switchfoot's Youtube Manager Corey Vidal just messaged me, and said that this is our GOAL to make damage happen with this video:

"2,000 comments. 500 ratings. 25,000 views."

^Let's make it happen!

Switchfoot JUST tweeted about the brand new tour footage music video they put together for "Mess of Me," and it is one of the most epic things I've witnessed in awhile.

- wanna hear the studio version of 'mess of me'? new video featuring tour footage and the new song! please RT! http://bit.ly/1ErbIg #messofme

HERE it is.



Subsequent tweets surrounding:

- Thanks for being a part of the hunt for #messofme around the world! Send us pictures/maps of where it's been...

- For those of you who still haven't heard #messofme, here's your chance: http://is.gd/32RYs sing it out! jon

^I suppose that officially ends the #messofme treasure hunt? Boy, wasn't it fun? What we're going to need you to do now though is to help spread this single further, this time broadcasting it to as many of your friends, family, and co-workers as possible.

The ways we can do this are:

1. Watching it - This will ensure that the view count goes up. Feel free to view it as many times as possible. BUT PLEASE avoid scripts that auto-refresh the page. It may be caught by Youtube.

2. Commenting on it - The more discussion we can have for this video, the more people will chime in. The more people chime in, the higher up the charts this video will go. I know we all love to talk, so here we go!

3. Rating it - Ratings ARE UBER IMPORTANT on Youtube. We are only given one rating per day, but make sure you do take the time to give the video five stars in order to get it up the Ratings charts on Youtube as well.

4. Emailing it, posting it on Twitter, sharing it on Facebook, embedding it on your blog or website - This is where you can get creative. Put the video ANYWHERE and EVERYWHERE it can be seen. If nothing else, it floods your friends' news spaces and twitter feeds with Switchfoot and "Mess of Me." Best case scenario being that new fans will be had for the band.




THANKS for all the help! Stay tuned tomorrow for the writing debut of our newest writer, Bleah! (aka Blonde4Christ) :)

New Switchfoot Myspace and "Mess of Me" blog

Switchfoot has updated their Myspace layout to match with "Hello Hurricane!" A lot of the old information and videos are still there, but that will probably be sorted out soon. It's just exciting to see a new layout on that page after so long.



To commemorate (I suppose) the new layout, and to recap the "Mess of Me" madness, Jon Foreman posted a blog updating about it:

Hola compadres!

It's unreal how far this game of hide and seek has gone, I'm so amped that you guys are all getting to hear the song in such a unique fashion- using technology for good and not evil! ha... 

I've been amazed at the places this song has been the past few days, (from Iceland to Oz, Russia to rainforests... thank you for listening and playing hide and seek with us. 

here's a map with a few of the spots #messofme was hidden... feel free to add your own

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=102073120865749424288.000472745e767507ee97b&ll=10.197906,-86.655341&spn=172.123322,360&z=1...... ..

Be on the lookout for a YouTube version of the song featuring some footage from the summer shows

below are a few of the places this song has been the past few days, (from Iceland to Oz... thank you for listening and playing hide and seek with us. 


peace!
jon

ps. be on the lookout for a YouTube version of #messofme featuring some footage from the summer shows


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^Jon did repeat himself once in the blog post, but that's ok. That's how exciting the prospect is. A Youtube video of "Mess of Me!" Can't wait. Also, I didn't repost all the tweet locations, because it could get a bit messy to look at on this here blog. So, go here to check it all out!

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AND, The Drewcast has been updated:

Cash Cab?

"Mess of Me" storming the globe! Also, first "Hello Hurricane" review

Talk about distribution! Switchfoot's new single, "Mess of Me," is emerging all over the world! From Brazil to Canada, the UK to Russia and Iceland. It has appeared on the Golden Gate Bridge, Mall of America, at churches, in schools, campuses, in Chik Fil-A restaurants, under palm trees and on ocean piers, as well as dozens of other places you wouldn't quite imagine seeing a cd single in.

That's the genius of this whole plan by Switchfoot. The giant, world-wide hunt for "Mess of Me" has created a frenzy, and almost without any financial charge, Switchfoot has gotten their music out across the globe. That is what I call utilizing the fanbase to extreme effect. And it's only going to get crazier as more and more people start getting and hiding the song.

If you have gotten the song, make sure you make more than one cd to hide around. You are by all means allowed to hide multiple copies, and are also allowed to share it around online. BUT make sure it makes it to other people one-at-a-time. Mass-transfer of the song will ruin the game. In a few days perhaps it will be ok, but for now, respect what Switchfoot is doing and play along!

By the way, they expect us to keep the ball rolling:

Twitter:
- OK, #messofme is going too fast now! search #messofme &/or @switchfoot to find one in your area, enjoy & pass it on!

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Also, the first official "Hello Hurricane" review is in from Stereo Subversion:

Sometimes you have to simplify and do whatever the hell you want. Switchfoot had this epiphany shortly before leaving Sony Records in the summer of 2007, when they decided they just couldn’t get any traction with a company that fired people so often it was impossible for the band to build and maintain any relationships. So they fired themselves, went independent and sought to re-inject some of the life back into their band that had been lost over the previous few years.

Hello Hurricane, their first release of new material on their own label, lowercase people records, is a jarring experience. From the punchy, crunchy guitar rock of “Mess of Me” to the soaring vocals in the ballad “Sing It Out,” Hurricane covers such a broad spectrum of sounds and feelings that it’s not immediately apparent what kind of album this is, and the themes aren’t blatantly obvious either. But listen to this one a few times and a clearer picture begins to form.

One of the central themes present is the two-fold notion of discontent and choosing to do something about it instead of allowing yourself to wallow in it. “Mess of Me” talks about reclaiming the rest of yourself from the wreckage of bad decisions and choosing to live each day with new purpose, while “This is the Sound” is the heavy, raucous song that love uses to put a beatdown on the pain and numbness in life that try to squelch it. Similarly, the title track stands in calm, happy defiance against the trials this life, knowing that they can’t beat this man down.

Lead vocalist/songwriter Jon Foreman has long been known for wearing his emotions on his sleeve (not to mention being so prolific that he has to be a cyborg) whether doing his solo work, tunes for Switchfoot, or his recent collaboration (Fiction Family) with Nickel Creek’s Sean Watkins. Hello Hurricane is no different. At times his vocals soar melodiously into the heavens (“Needle and Haystack Life”), at others they scream cacophonously to whoever will listen (“Mess of Me”). They match the tenderness of a song (“Always”) or the soul’s desire to burst forth into action (“Bullet Soul”). As always, there’s no question that Foreman is a passionate singer.

In a way this album is like a meeting of A Beautiful Letdown and Nothing is Sound, with touches of modern jangly powerpop rock thrown in for good measure. There are moments when Foreman and Co. seek to propel you forward into new, exciting facets of this life, while at others there is a struggling, melancholic introspection of the frailness of the human condition (a detail that is explored most fully in the dark tune “Free”). The lightness of Oh! Gravity is non-existent, and with each successive album the band further distances themselves from the whimsical, clever, self-aware content and themes of their earliest work.

Hello Hurricane isn’t so different that you won’t recognize it as a Switchfoot album, but it has added enough new colors to its palette that it might take a couple listens for the album to really grow on you. The deeper messages of the soul’s longing for more in this life than the everyday are still intact, and the energy vibrates through both halves of the album’s odd structure (the first seven tracks are almost completely rock ‘n roll, while the final five tracks are mostly ballads and subdued numbers), but the way these elements are presented are unfamiliar enough to make you do a double take.

Hello Hurricane is a solid entry in the Switchfoot discography. While lacking the “change your life forever” appeal of A Beautiful Letdown, the cathartic soundscapes and lyrics of Nothing is Sound, or even a catchy and clever single a la “New Way to Be Human,” it nonetheless stands as a testament to their faith in the power of life over merely existing, and the hope that this fact will always be enough to withstand any and all hurricanes that come their way.

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^That review sounded fairly favorable. Judging by the tone of the writer, the album seemed to make a solid impression on him, but not a lasting one. That's why he only gave it 6.5 stars.

Also, when he says that it lacks the "catchy and clever single," I would disagree highly. Every song I've heard from the record so far has latched its way into my head for long periods of time. But perhaps, it's all a matter of opinion.

So far, from the two reviewers we've heard from, "Hello Hurricane" hasn't been INCREDIBLE, and still falls to "The Beautiful Letdown," (for them). Of course, any work by Switchfoot is going to indefinitely be compared to Letdown, so we shall see…. I'm just hoping "Hello Hurricane" can help bring Switchfoot from under the shadow of "The Beautiful Letdown." But that's just my opinion.

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The "Mess of Me" Hunt

Congrats to our friend, Kelsey, for finding our exclusive We're Awakening! digital copy of the "Mess of Me" single. For those of you catching up: yesterday, Switchfoot announced that they were hiding physical copies of the single around the world. The point is for the finders of these copies to start spreading the song around, one at a time.

Well, we were given the honor of hiding a digital copy of the single, and it was hidden somewhere on this site, but Kelsey found it! Thanks to everyone who participated in trying to find it; however the link is no longer active, so no use in trying to find it here. BUT, there will be plenty more opportunities to snag a copy, and since I have the file, CD's may be floating around near you. ;) Also, you can check Switchfoot's Twitter feed to hear where you can find cd's!

So, LOBH has given us a detailed, streamlined way of managing this Hunt for "Mess of Me," thanks to Switchfoot's management.

So let's set the scene... say you find a copy of Mess of Me.
Here's what you do:
1) Burn a copy
2) Hide said copy in a nearby location
3) E-mail friendsofthefoot@gmail.com with the address/description of the hiding place.
4) Enjoy the free tune!

Also, here is a detailed map that will feature all the locations a physical CD can be found.


View Mess Of Me - Find The CD in a larger map

HAPPY HUNTING! Also, there will be digital copies floating around the inter-web. Should you find one, make sure you follow the steps above. BUT PLEASE don't mass-share it around. It will ruin the game. :)

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Here are some of the new tweets from Switchfoot:

- CD placed in Cape Town, South Africa: 301 Sanderiana, Bougain Villas, Century Boulevard, Century City

- CD will be at Kroger Grocery Store in Allen, TX from 2pm - 10pm CST today. find guy wearing black vest working near the registers

- los angeles! mess of me single will be available in the next hour or two. get ready to find it near hollywood.

- if you twittered us recently check your direct messages, you might have a link to burn #messofme and hide a copy yourself!

- just sent out a few more links for #messofme , check your direct messages. happy hide and seek, amigos! -jon

^This is going to snowball very, very quickly.