“Over My Head” (Cable Car) by The Fray, Friday, November 8, 2024
Working with family can be difficult. Starting a band is like starting a business. You need to have the right people to work with to do the best at their jobs. Chemistry, mastery of an instrument, and stage presence is also important for band members. Family members as bandmates makes sense for young bands. Tim and Jonathan Foreman in Switchfoot are an example of a brotherhood creating a lasting band. There are other bands like Kings of Leon and NEEDTOBREATHE in which family is a source of strife. There are many examples of when family members don’t work out in the band, sometimes it’s clear from the early days like when the Hype’s second guitarist Dik Evans—brother of David “The Edge” Evans—was dropped by the group that became U2 and the bass player of The Fray, Caleb “Cable Car” Slade—brother of former lead singer Isaac Slade—was kicked out of the band.
I NEVER KNEW THAT EVERYTHING WAS FALLING THROUGH. The Fray’s debut single, “Over My Head” (Cable Car), gained radio play after their song “How to Save a Life” appeared in the second season of Grey’s Anatomy. “Cable Car,” as the song was originally titled before the record label insisted on giving the song a repeated line from the chorus, peaked at number 8 on Billboard’s Hot 100. Lead singer Isaac Slade wrote the song about his soured relationship with his brother Caleb after the band felt that he wasn’t a good fit for the lineup. Isaac’s songwriting turned a specific situation about band and family conflict into a hit song that could apply to anyone’s situation. With musical vestiges of the ‘90s piano ballads and singer, songwriter storytelling songs, the song weaves together elements of Slade’s personal life and the geography of the band’s hometown of Denver, Colorado, into a song about division between family members. Isaac writes of his brother, “I wish you were a stranger I could disengage / To say that we agree and then never change.” While a song like “Over My Head” would have a hard time charting in 2024 due to the song’s musical structure, the theme of reconciliation after a time of division is as relevant as ever.
EVERYONE KNOWS I’M OVER MY HEAD. The Fray released three albums after their debut, How to Save a Life, before going on hiatus in 2019 after their 2016 album Helios. The band’s second self-titled album initially sold well and produced the hit “You Found Me,” which was the band’s last top 10 Billboard Hot 100 single. Style changes in the 2010s made The Fray’s sound not commercially viable. In 2022, the band’s lead singer, Isaac Slade announced that he had left the band. On July 25th this year, the band released The Fray Is Back, an EP featuring guitarist Joe King on lead vocals. While The Fray may have not fared well in the 2010s, the band has songwriting credit on one of the biggest hits of 2016. Call it nostalgic or derivative, The Chainsmokers duet with Halsey “Closer” had an immediate familiarity. Whether it was the storytelling, the sense of place of Tuscan, Arizona, and Boulder, Colorado, or the mention of an unnamed “blink-182 song,” the simple song was about vibes and feelings in the mid-‘10s. But there was actually something else about the song that felt familiar. The Chainsmokers took inspiration from the emo band Taking Back Sunday and blink-182’s “I Miss You.” Listeners and critics noticed that “Closer” sounded like The Fray’s 2006 hit “Over My Head” (Cable Car). Rather than denying the song’s similarity, The Chainsmokers added Isaac Slade and Joe King to the songwriters. The part in question has to do with the chorus of “Closer” which is followed by an instrumental break musically identical to the chorus. The EDM hit and the piano-rock ballad share a similar sound, perhaps spiritual cousins. Whether or not “Closer” was a knock off of “Over My Head,” The Chainsmokers’ song was able to bring a ten-year-old song back into the spotlight. Time will tell when the next moment will be The Fray’s whether it's because of their new music or a new interpolation.
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