“The Wind Blows” by The All-American Rejects, Monday, April 26, 2021

 

When I first heard of The All-American Rejects and their single "Swing, Swing," I thought they would just be one of the many garage bands that would continue to make cheap videos on Fuse for a few albums before quitting the music industry. I was wrong. The band’s sophomore album Move Along blew up, hitting the Top 40. The band’s major label follow-up to Move Along, When the World Comes Down, had their biggest hit “Gives You Hell,” and the other two singles “I Wanna” and today’s choice “The Wind Blows” were moderately successful, but the band’s fourth record was mostly overlooked. While the TV show appearances (Smallville Season 6) and the tours with Taking Back Sunday and Anberlin may be over, the band's legacy tells of a time when power pop, punk rock, and pop rock impacted the Top 40.

I'LL LEAVE WHEN THE WIND BLOWS. Originally written for Gwen Stefani, "The Wind Blows" is one of The Rejects' most poppy songs. The production is interesting, sounding almost effervescent as Tyson Ritter's voice lingers somewhere between your left and right headphones. Ritter's voice isn't particularly strong in this song, and the guitar could overwhelm, but the guitar is airy, only strummed for emphasis during the verse. The drums carry the verse until the guitar is given more permission to challenge Ritter's voice in the chorus. Looking back, the band clearly wanted this song to make them the next Maroon 5. The video sees Tyson Ritter acting as the cool and laidback frontman of a successful band. The band is playing in the water, somewhat reminiscent of the Augustana video for "Boston" or The Starting Line's video for "Island" (Float Away). 

YOU'RE SO IMPOSSIBLE THAT I SHOULD SIGN A WAIVER. Several years ago, my students told me that there is a term in Korean for people who live with the wind, 바람 사람 (Wind person), if I recall correctly. This is kind of an insult towards a person who leaves when things get serious, however, the image it strikes in my mind is a person who is unobtainable. You want to know this person more, but they are too busy for you. This could be because this person has willfully made themself scarce or it could be because you look up to this person and they don't realize it. You may have a crush on a person who gives you a little attention. You just get a glimpse of that person. The wind touches your face and then he's gone. You might find yourself trying to make that person stay. You ask a question, but they're always a little too busy. It's not best to try to grasp "wind people." If you catch that person, he'll probably dematerialize. Instead, let the breeze blow and guide you in your journey. Someone will stick around.

Read “The Wind Blows” by The All-American Rejects on Genius