“Feel Good Drag (Anberlin Cover)” by Jonathan Slack, Tuesday, March 23, 2021
It was Superbowl Sunday of 2005 when I bought Anberlin’s Never Take Friendship Personal. It was the perfect album for high school. The band’s style took a turn on their sophomore album from a classic or '90s rock sound to a more emotional, mid-2000s sound. The band would redefine themselves with this album, becoming a lesser-known emo staple. Stephen Christian’s vocals meeting Joseph Milligan’s riffs, Deon Rexroat’s heavy bass, and Nathan Young’s reliance on the cymbals make this one of the band’s heaviest records. The band released two recordings of this song on two different albums and many fans debate which one is better. The original feels grungier and Stephen’s scream was perfectly aligned with the musical trends of the day. The New Surrender version beefs up the guitar intro and the solo has a bend that is quite satisfying.
THIS WAS OVER BEFORE IT EVER BEGAN. However, having already chosen an Anberlin song this month, and without cheating, I’m choosing a cover I found on YouTube several years ago when I was searching for Anberlin covers. With only 68 YouTube subscribers and the last video uploaded 3 years ago, this is my most obscure pick yet. From a five-minute research trip of his other social media profiles, the ones linked in his YouTube account, However, Slacks' vocals and empty bedroom recording is the best acoustic rendition of this song I’ve heard including several released by Anberlin. Unfortunately, the Apple Music Playlist won’t include this version. I can post it on my YouTube playlist. So, I will I have to cheat with the Apple Music playlist and post the Anberlin acoustic version.
LIKE THE DEVIL'S GOT YOUR HAND. It’s no secret that Anberlin is my favorite group, and "Feel Good Drag" was their biggest hit, reaching #1 on the Alternative Rock chart for one week. On the surface, it's a song about how cheating dooms the future relationship. However, in interviews with Stephen Christian, right after Anberlin's hiatus, he talks about it being his failure with premarital sex. That makes Christian's lyrics, particularly in the second verse, seem condescending. In this sense, this rock hit is a time capsule of Evangelical purity culture. In its original iteration, this song was in the middle of the album I would listen to driving back and forth to Christian High School every day with my sister. We would gossip about people--the relationships that had gone too far, the hypocrites. When it became a radio hit in 2009-2010, I was in Adventist College, doubling down on my conservative values. However, as my mind opened up in Korea (I promise I will get to this story), and I started reevaluating the values that had been instilled in me, I subscribed to The BadChristian Podcast after hearing the interview with Stephen Christian, who started to double down on his conservatism, becoming a music minister in New Mexico and releasing a worship record. At that time, I felt like I was outgrowing Anberlin. I was starting to see God more broadly, and Christian was focusing on the straight and narrow of following the rules. Today I consider "Feel Good Drag" as one of Anberlin's best songs, but of their catalog, it wouldn't have been the hit I would have chosen. The band had a much better message--fighting injustice, the complexity of human relationships, dealing with complications in faith and doubt. Why did a simple song about cheating on your significant other become how they're most remembered?
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