“Dare You to Move” by Switchfoot, Wednesday, July 5, 2023

Twenty years ago, Switchfoot released their seminal, breakthrough album, The Beautiful Letdown. The Christian Rock band had recorded three records on veteran CCM singer-songwriter Charlie Peakcock's re:think records. Like Steve Taylor had planned for the likes of Chevelle and Sixpence None the Richer, Peacock had hoped to market the band outside of the Christian market. But just before Switchfoot released The Legend of Chin, their debut album, re:think was bought by one of the largest Christian labels of the time, Sparrow Records. Re:think still released Switchfoot's records, but distribution was almost exclusively in Christian retailers.

I DARE YOU TO LIFT YOURSELF OFF THE FLOOR. While The Beautiful Letdown is Switchfoot's biggest record, the band's sophomore record New Way to Be Human, and third record, Learning to Breathe, laid the groundwork for their success. The "noise pop" punk-pop adjacent sounds gained television spots on WB shows back when tons of nameless songs were blared during emotionally charged moments in young adult dramas. But the band's true success came in the least rock 'n' roll way possible, being featured on the soundtrack to the film adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel, A Walk to Remember. The agent of the film's star, pop teen idol Mandy Moore, Jon Leshay, who also produced the film's soundtrack, heard Switchfoot and became bent on the band's inclusion in the film. Switchfoot had four songs on the soundtrack, including a duet with Moore, "Someday We'll Know." Moore also covered Switchfoot's "Only Hope." The 2002 film brought Switchfoot into pop stardom, and with Leshay as the band's new manager, they were set with the release of The Beautiful Letdown in 2003. Except success for their fourth album wasn't immediate.

SALVATION IS HERE. Switchfoot's fourth record, The Beautiful Letdown was an immediate hit in the Christian market, spawning singles in the Christian Hit Radio (CHR) and Christian Rock formats. The first single "More Than Fine" was marketed to Christian Pop (CHR) and "Meant to Live" was marketed to Christian Rock and later mainstream Active and Alternative radio. Other Christian singles followed, topping the charts, but "Meant to Live" slowly rose up the various radio formats even after Christian radio had moved on. This made the song inescapable for youth group kids. In fact, The Beautiful Letdown, thanks to "Meant to Live" and the follow-up Alternative Rock and Top 40 single, "Dare You to Move," today's song, was the second highest-selling Christian Rock album of the '00s after P.O.D.'s Satellite. "Dare You to Move" first opened the band's third record Learning to Breathe. That version was featured in A Walk to Remember. The version on The Beautiful Letdown was much more refined version with an acoustic guitar slowly building into lead singer Jon Foreman's anthemic chorus. But with "Meant to Live" reaching the band's career heights, none of the tracks matched the post-grunge new direction of the band or the philosophical themes raised in "Meant to Live." So rather than releasing a heavier song from the record or a song that would sound vastly different from "Meant to Live," Switchfoot released an alternative version with a heavier guitar intro. "Dare You to Move" was a big song for Switchfoot. It may have taken the boyfriends a while to come around to Switchfoot after suffering through the weepy A Walk to Remember to see Switchfoot as a rock band. But once "Meant to Live" did the work of piercing the charts, "Dare You to Move" replicated the lead single's success. And this is strange because lyrically, I don't know of any other pop song that has a lyric about redemption or salvation for that matter. While Switchfoot has had some charting alternative songs since, they remain solidly in Christian Rock, and will always be a staple of youth group culture.