"Mess of Me" is a song written and recorded by the

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

Switchfoot Switchfoot is an American rock band from San Diego, California. The band's members are Jon Foreman (lead vocals, guitar), Tim Foreman (bass guitar, backing vocals), Chad Butler (drums, percussion), and Jerome Fontamillas (guitar, keyboards, back ...

and was the lead single from their seventh

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, ''

Hello Hurricane ''Hello Hurricane'' is the seventh studio album by American alternative rock band Switchfoot, released on November 10, 2009. It was co-produced by the band and Mike Elizondo, after initially self-producing their work, as well as test runs with pro ...

.'' It was shipped to

Modern Rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...

/Alternative,

Mainstream rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...

, and

Active rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock stations play a balance of new hard rock songs with valued classic rock favorites, normally with an emphasis on the harder edge o ...

radio formats, while a music video was sent to all applicable outlets.

Song history

The song was initially called "I Saw Satan Fall Like Lightning," a track Switchfoot demoed during pre-production sessions for ''Hello Hurricane'' with

Charlie Peacock Charles William Ashworth (born August 10, 1956), known professionally as Charlie Peacock, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, record producer, and author. His albums include ''Love Press Ex-Curio'', ''Arc of the Circle'' and ''No Man's L ...

. It had a more funk feel and had a different sound, though the opening riff was preserved all the way until the final version of the song. This early demo version has since made its way onto the bonus disc, '' Building a Hurricane.'' The song was first performed live at the Big Ticket Festival in

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

on June 18, 2009, and has since become a regular in Switchfoot's live setlist throughout the 2009 summer festival touring season and beyond. It was first hinted that the song was going to be the single when

Jon Foreman Jonathan Mark Foreman (born October 22, 1976) is an American musician, the lead singer, guitarist, main songwriter and co-founder of the alternative rock band Switchfoot. He started Switchfoot in 1996 with drummer Chad Butler and his brother Ti ...

introduced it before playing it live at Kings Fest in Virginia on July 10, 2009, saying "as far as I'm concerned," the song was to be the lead single. On July 13, it was confirmed o
switchfoot.com
Later, on August 5,

and

Tim Foreman Switchfoot is an American rock music, rock band from San Diego, California. The band's members are Jon Foreman (lead vocals, guitar), Tim Foreman (bass guitar, backing vocals), Chad Butler (drum kit, drums, percussion), and Jerome Fontamillas (g ...

took the song to producer

Rob Cavallo Robert Siers Cavallo (born March 21, 1963) is an American record producer, musician, and record industry executive. He is among the biggest-selling producers in history, and has produced or had creative involvement in albums that have sold over ...

, "working just a touch more" on it. The album track was mixed by

Chris Lord-Alge Chris Lord-Alge is an American mix engineer. He is the brother of both Tom Lord-Alge and Jeff Lord-Alge, both of whom are also audio engineers. Chris and Tom are known for their abundant use of dynamic compression for molding mixes that play wel ...

. Narrated in first person, the song describes the "mess" that imperfect people make of their lives, and a desire "spend the rest of my life alive" (as stated in the chorus). It describes how mistakes are constantly being made, and that the problems in one's life cannot be fixed by drugs or other material things but only oneself. It expresses a desire to improve and become a better person despite the shortfalls that are being made continually. It also implies a protest against society's obsession with the pharmaceutical industry, which according to Forman has become the new way to "attain never-ending, everlasting, abundant life." The song's main riff and drums bring an overall more aggressive sound, much like their earlier heavier songs from other albums. It features distorted guitar riffs and heavy drums accompanying often-distorted vocals, with its bridge featuring a drum solo. The song is in the

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

of e minor.

Release

While "Mess of Me" was scheduled to be released to radio on September 29, the single had already made its way onto rock radio stations throughout the country well in advance. It was first heard on Atlanta's 99X rock station. On September 1,

announced that they would be hiding copies of the new single around the world. The first copy was hidden at

Moonlight Beach Moonlight State Beach is a state beach in Encinitas, California. It is located one fifth of a mile beyond the point where Encinitas Boulevard turns into B Street after it crosses Highway 101.Irons 2007, online article The beach area is well ...

San Diego, CA San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

under a palm tree. The band asked fans to make copies of the disks they found, and hide those copies elsewhere. Fans were also encouraged to hide the single online as well. The single has since spread from coast to coast and overseas. Later, the single was officially released and impacted to radio stations on September 29, and a purchasable digital download of the song was made available the same day on all the major digital outlets. It went on to become their highest-charting song on the Billboard

charts since "

Dare You to Move "Dare You to Move" is a single by American alternative rock band Switchfoot from their fourth studio album, ''The Beautiful Letdown'' (2003). The song was originally called "I Dare You to Move", and was on the album '' Learning to Breathe'', but ...

" peaked at No. 9 in 2004. The song remained on the charts for 21 weeks before falling off. On February 16, 2010, the music video debuted at No. 2 on

Fuse TV Fuse is an American pay television channel launched in 1994 which was originally dedicated to music. After merging with the Hispanic and Latino Americans, Latino-oriented NuvoTV in 2015, Fuse shifted its focus to general entertainment and lifestyl ...

's No. 1 Countdown in the Viewer's Choice category and No. 8 on the Alternative countdown the next day.

Versions

The album was available in several versions/mixes. *The first one, as released on the band's

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

page and during the "Mess of Me" hunt, was mixed by

and features a denser, fuller mix, with noticeable echoing of vocals and instrumentation in the pre-chorus and following the chorus. This was the mix that was sent to radio stations. *The second version, as released on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

, features more prominent vocals and more prominent drums in the pre-chorus, specifically. This would go on to be the album cut. *A third one, that comes with the iTunes preorder of ''Hello Hurricane'', is an acoustic version of the song.

Live performances

Switchfoot performed the song several times on late night television. The band performed the song on ''

Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The nightly hour-long show debuted on January 26, 2003, at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, Los ...

'' November 12, ''

The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien ''The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien'' is an American late-night talk show that featured Conan O'Brien as host from June 1, 2009, to January 22, 2010, as part of NBC's ''Tonight Show'' franchise. O'Brien had previously hosted NBC's ''Late Ni ...

'' on December 2, ''

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by comedian Jimmy Fallon. About pag ...

'' on January 20, and ''

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014. The fourth incarnation of the ...

'' on March 17, 2010.

Music videos

Switchfoot released the first music video for the song on September 9, 2009 to

. It featured live footage taken from their summer Crazy Making Tour. Fans were actively encouraged to promote and spread the video, and it garnered several top honors on the site. A second music video, the official version, features some of the same clips from the first cut, but had some newer, more refined shots and was more cinematic in nature. It was released to YouTube November 3, 2009. On February 2,

added the video to their rotation and No. 1 Countdown voting list, with MTV2 adding it to their rotation on February 22.

Charts

Awards

In 2010, the song was nominated for a

Dove Award A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually. Formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee, the Dove Awards ...

for Rock Recorded Song of the Year at the

41st GMA Dove Awards The 41st Annual GMA Dove Awards presentation was held on April 21, 2010 recognizing accomplishments of musicians for the year 2009. The show was held at The Opry Entertainment Complex in Nashville, Tennessee, and was hosted by Bart Millard. Nomin ...

.41st Annual GMA Dove Awards nominees announced
on

The Tennessean ''The Tennessean'' (known until 1972 as ''The Nashville Tennessean'') is a daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in Middle Tennessee and eight counties in southern Kentucky. It is owned by Gannett, ...

(February 18, 2010)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mess Of Me 2009 singles Switchfoot songs Songs written by Jon Foreman Songs written by Tim Foreman 2009 songs Song recordings produced by Mike Elizondo Song recordings produced by Rob Cavallo Atlantic Records singles