“Good Life” by OneRepublic, Saturday, December 9, 2023

 

OneRepublic had finished recording their second album, Waking Up, but had two more days with the studio. But the band’s bassist/cellist Brent Kutzle told lead singer Ryan Tedder that he wanted to stay in the studio to flesh out an idea he had. That night, Kutzle wrote the band’s biggest hit from the album, “Good Life.” Waking Up’s singles paled in the shadow of OneRepublic’s first hit “Apologize,” which reached number 2 on Billboard’s Hot 100. “Good Life,” the album’s third U.S. single, reached number 8 on the Hot 100. The album’s first two singles, “All the Right Moves” and “Secrets” failed to reach the top 10.  Besides radio play, “Good Life” was played in many television shows and commercials. This upbeat song has optimistic, sincere lyrics, making it refreshing among often negative or trite optimism in pop music.

SOMETIMES THERE’S BULLSHIT THAT DON’T WORK NOW. I remember a time in the early ‘00s when so many bands and artists on the radio were Christian or Christian-adjacent. There was a practical reason for this: young musicians could easily get in their 10,000 hours playing in churches. However, this permeation of pop culture created a dilemma for Christian radio stations. Christian radio could capitalize on bands like Lifehouse and P.O.D. The former crossed over to Christian radio, one of the first groups to do this. In 2003, Christian radio was shaken when Evanescence pulled their single “Bring Me to Life” from Christian Rock radio and their album Fallen from Christian retailers. Then in 2005, Christian radio started playing The Fray’s “How to Save a Life,” after the song became an overnight sensation due to its placement on Grey’s Anatomy. The next year, Christian radio played Daughtry’s “Home.” Despite both artists including mild profanity— hell and damn—, which was unheard of in the Christian Adult Contemporary genre before, the artists’ testimony of being raised in the church and on CCM seemed to give them an entry. But by the time OneRepublic debuted in 2007, the age of Christian crossover seemed to be over, despite the members of the band talking about their CCM influence and personal faith. Then in 2009, the band released their first explicit track, “Good Life.” This song perhaps put more separation between the band and their Christian fans. “I guess Ryan Tedder’s no longer Christian” some speculated. This was before the time of progressive Christianity and deconstruction podcasts taking the mainstream of Christianity. OneRepublic, like U2 had done in the ‘90s, made the discussion of what could be Christian music a bit murky. 

WOKE UP IN LONDON YESTERDAY. Listening to Ryan Tedder talk about the whirlwind at the beginning of his career on the And the Writer Is podcast and how he balances his life between his different businesses and family is inspiring to me. This year has been all about building a routine in which I can balance work, exercise, writing, my personal life, and my relationship. It’s been one of the busiest years, but I’m proud of how much I was able to fit in 24 hours. But unlike Tedder’s routine, “Good Life” talks about a time when routine doesn’t work—at least routine as we tend to understand it. The song talks about touring, waking up in different cities, and meeting new people. The speaker also talks about the friends who are left behind due to the band being on the road. Tedder built his career in Los Angeles but decided to move back to Colorado to focus on his family life (pun not intended) when he wasn’t touring or writing/ producing pop stars. “Good Life” is an anthem for the busy. Even when things don’t work out, we can still say it’s going to be a good life. 

Read the lyrics on Genius.