“West Coast” by OneRepublic, Wednesday, March 1, 2023

Sometimes when I write about music I like, I hear the whiny voice of a younger millennial or Gen Z-er saying the band's name and, "Are they even relevant anymore?" That's what I thought about when I wrote about The Fray and other pop rock bands from when I was in high school. When I wrote about OneRepublic in early 2021, the band hadn't released an album since 2016, and momentum for the band seemed to be waning. But then in August, they released their record Human.
 
THEY GOT SUN IN L.A. AND SOME STARS SHININ'. In 2017, OneRepublic's lead singer Ryan Tedder decided to forego the typical album cycle the band had followed. The band started releasing singles that year. Two years later, the band started releasing singles for the album they would release in 2021. But shortly after Human came out, OneRepublic seemed to be almost over the album cycle. The band had released five singles from the record before its arrival starting in 2019, which is a much longer album cycle than the typical release. The band did, however, celebrate the release of Human with a live-streamed acoustic concert which would be later released as One Night in Malibu. The album included seventeen tracks, several of the new songs from Human and also some interesting arrangements of the band's greatest hits. But rather taking a year or two to promote and celebrate the band's fifth album, they announced a new record in February of 2022 with its lead single "West Coast," though fans are still waiting on a release date.

I NEED THE SUN FOR JUST A YEAR. Evoking a spirit of '50s and '60s R&B and subtle hints of The Beach Boys, "West Coast," is an ode to the American spirit that is drawn to California. The groove of the song is signature OneRepublic and the core of the song sounds in line with the pop music produced today. However, the backing vocals give the song a nostalgic golden age appeal. In the time when a song needs multiple hooks, "West Coast" has shown up in few of my Instagram reels, which attests to the catchiness of the song and of course the continued fascination with California. For me, I'm trying to remember when my dreams of California stopped. Like many kids, I had fantasies about becoming a star. I wanted to write movies and act in them. I wanted to see the world, and California felt like the key to that. In high school, I had dreams about being in a rock band, touring America. I was more LA style than Nashville. But somewhere in college, I realized that you don't get to live out your dreams if you don't put in the work. I realized that I would be a teacher, probably in public school because Adventist school was all about having the right connections. So before I committed to a life of public service, I looked into teaching abroad. And I just never came home. Thanks to teaching abroad, I have been able to go to L.A., but it was just the airport. Maybe someday.


The Today Show live performance:

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