"Readyfuels" by Anberlin, Monday, July 19, 2021

There were a number of Christian extreme sports shows that featured harder Christian Rock. These shows might be featured late nights on cable tv or on Christian channels. In 2003, Anberlin released their first radio hit to Christian Rock radio, "Change the World (Lost Ones)." However, around that time "Readyfuels" was included in one of those sports shows. The sport: luge racing. "Readyfuels" was the band's first promoted single by the record label. "Change the World" was sent to Christian radio. But "Readyfuels" wasn't a Christian Rock song, in the traditional sense. It's a song that mostly glorifies the carnal nights of youth--a prelude to an out-of-wedlock pregnancy. "Readyfuels" would go on to chart on even Air1, a Contemporary Christian pop radio station. Anberlin's intention was never to be a Christian band, but unlike other Tooth & Nail staples that moved away from the Christian market, Anberlin has made a career out of being the edgy group that can say what you don't expect in a Christian song. 

GIRLS AND THE BOYS CHASE DOWN RUNNING HOT TONIGHT. While seeing luge racing to Anberlin was pretty cool, what wasn't so cool was seeing the awful music video for "Readyfuels." In a time when Tooth & Nail was pumping money into Kutless, Jeremy Camp, and Falling Up, Anberlin had yet to film a music video. So I wrote an email to someone at Tooth & Nail, demanding that Anberlin get a music video for "Readyfuels." "Why does Kutless have three videos from the same album and Anberlin doesn't have any?" I don't remember if T&N wrote me back, but sure enough, Anberlin released a music video. Last year in an interview with RadioU, Stephen Christian talked about the video.  He says that he thought that the record label had played a joke. "No really, where's the real one?" he asked. Needless to say, every music video was better for Anberlin after "Readyfuels." But let's forget about that mistake. Instead, let's go back to the summer of 2003, between freshman and sophomore year of high school. Re-listening to Blueprints for the Black Market shows you how far this band developed sonically and lyrically. On Blueprints, the lyrics are second to the music in most cases. By Never Take Friendship Personal and Cities, the lyrics become central and the music becomes harder. Blueprints reminded me of some of my dad's classic rock albums I listen to. But there was an Aaron Sprinkle intensity in the production that challenged my stereo in ways that few albums did before it.

HELP ME TO WAIT ON YOU, HESITATE IT TOO, 'CAUSE I'M ALONE. Just whenever things started to normalize for Allan, it was time to change schools. Starting a new school in 10th grade was certainly better than joining in 11th grade, but he was joining a small school in which most of the students had known each other since kindergarten. And how does one fit in at a Christian school? Who did he want to be? His social life had fizzled at his last school, especially when his sister started dating his friend. Soon his friends started hanging out with his sister, and Allan had turned to a solitary life of playing The Sims and guitar. This could happen again at a new school. What was worse is being Seventh-day Adventist had many disadvantages on a social life. Being a good Seventh-day Adventist meant Allan couldn't participate in school events on the weekend. He couldn't play sports, not that he was any good. He couldn't go out with friends on Friday night or Saturday. And on Sunday, most of the students went to church. So like so many other kids, Allan turned to music. In his case, the Tooth & Nail roster of artists--his favorite, Anberlin and their debut album Blueprints for the Black Market. It was Christian, but you wouldn't know it at first. But the kids at school had their own taste in everything. There was some overlap. There were some moments of connection, too, but mostly, sophomore year would be like freshman year: weekends at home. Few friends. Lots of guitar time.


The mentioned music video. Watch at your own risk of hating the song:


Studio recording:



Lockdown Livestream We Are the Lost Ones recording:



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