“I Celebrate the Day” by Relient K, Monday, December 12, 2022

In 2003, Relient K released their first Christmas album titled Deck the Halls, Bruise Your Hand. The record is no longer available for sale or on streaming platforms because the band replaced the ten-track record with 2007's Let It Snow Baby . . . Let It Reindeer. The 2007 version added seven tracks to Deck the Halls. The two versions of Relient K's Christmas record spans two eras of the band. Deck the Halls was released as a bonus disc with the band's third record, Two Lefts Don't Make a Right... But Three Do, and Let It Snow was released between Five Score and Seven Years Ago and The Birds and the B Sides. 

HOW MUCH YOU'VE TOUCHED MY LIFE. Last month when I was researching Relient K, I found out that there's a fan podcast titled Sadie Hawkins Pod in which two Relient K fans dig into the band's history, discography, and fandom, delivering their insights to their listeners. I'm not sure if their facts check out because one of the insights they had was that Relient K's slower tracks came on the re-released record and the punk rock tracks were on the original record. Today's song, "I Celebrate the Day," though was included on Deck the Halls along with the melancholy "I Hate Christmas Parties," though that track is credited to the group Matt Thiessen and the Earthquakes, a side project Thiessen started to express more than just the punk rock sound of Relient K before Relient K became an alternative band in the later releases. What is interesting that the podcast brought up is that every Christmas season Relient K's Spotify numbers spike, and their Christmas songs begin taking up their top 5 most played songs along with "Be My Escape." These Christmas songs were not only a staple in youth group culture but also could be heard in stories like Abercrombie and Fitch and Hollister around the Christmas season along with other punk rock Christmas tracks. 

WE'RE LESS THAN HALF AS CLOSE AS I WANT TO BE. Speaking of the two eras of Relient K, the band started to incorporate an introspective sound by their third record, Two Lefts Don't Make a Right. . . But Three Do on songs like "Am I Understood?" and "Getting Into You." Both tracks slow the band down with an acoustic guitar on an otherwise punk rock record. Matt Theissen sings in earnest about his spiritual thoughts and fears, much like he does on today's song, "I Celebrate the Day." Relient K would take that confessional song to another level on their seminal record MMHMM on tracks like "Who I Am Hates Who I've Been" and "Be My Escape" and would continue this kind of song throughout the rest of their career. Relient K's early albums followed a formula: goofy, energetic, pop culture reference-heavy lyrics and maudlin tracks about not being a good enough Christian. Today's song is the latter, only it's a Christmas song. Following Relient K's career as an example of a band that has mostly strayed from their original sound and even message, listeners can still hear the regret songs on their latest record Air for Free but the regret is more existential than related to Christian spirituality. While the message of today's song is about regret about not being in a deep enough relationship with Jesus this time of year, something only specific to Christians, I still think that the spirit of the song translates to everyone who has regret. The years are slipping by, and I'm asking myself "Am I any closer to my goal than I was on New Year's Eve last year?" It's time to start making your New Year's Resolutions.















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