Matchbox Twenty

Released: September 26, 2012

Songwriter: Kyle Cook Paul Doucette Rob Thomas

Producer: Matt Serletic

I wanna stand on the tallest mountain
I wanna scream what I cannot name
But I don't really wanna be myself today
I wanna run on an open highway
I wanna walk in the desert wind
I wanna play like I know that I can win

I wanna run run away, fast as I can
Straight to the edge, fall just a little bit
I'm so afraid, I'll never win
I need someone to help me through this

So don't tell me this could be the best thing
Don't ask me what I think about it
Hold my hand, give me guidance
Help me through this

I wanna dance like there's no one watching
I wanna walk on the razor's edge
I wanna speak until you know just what I said
I wanna start at a new beginning
I wanna live like it never ends
And if I fail I wanna do it all again

I wanna run run away, fast as I can
Straight to the edge, and fall just a little bit
I'm so afraid, I'll never win
I need someone to help me through this

So don't tell me this could be the best thing
Don't ask me what I think about it
Hold my hand, give me guidance
Help me through this

Don't break me, I'm about to lose it
Don't make me, I get so confused with
All the empty conversation
Help me through this

So don't tell me this could be the best thing
Don't ask me what I think about it
Hold my hand, give me guidance
Help me through this life
Oh, this life

Won't you help me through this life? (My love)
Come on and help me through this life
Won't you help me through this life? (This life)
Come on and help me through this, help me through this

Upon the release of their debut album, Yourself or Someone Like You, in fall 1996, Matchbox Twenty was pigeonholed as one of the legions of post-grunge guitar bands that roamed the American pop scene in the middle of that decade. As their first single, “Push,” climbed the charts, it was widely assumed (at least by cynical critics) that they were a one-hit wonder, but Yourself or Someone Like You continued to spin off singles well into 1998. By that time, the group’s blend of ‘70s arena rock and early-'90s American alt-rock – closer to Pearl Jam and maybe R.E.M. than Nirvana – had become the sound of mainstream American rock. That transition slipped underneath the radar of many pop music critics and fans. Yourself or Someone Like You sold millions of copies without ever truly dominating the charts – by 1998, it had gone platinum five times; by 2000, ten times. At no time did the record top the charts, but it was always around, a staple of modern rock, adult alternative, and Top 40 radio alike. Matchbox Twenty was omnipresent because they managed to blend the structure and sentiment of '70s arena rock with '90s hard rock, thereby winning a large audience by seeming simultaneously classicist and modern. They were a little more classicist than modern, but that’s the reason why they became America’s most popular rock band of the late '90s – even if nobody quite realized they had achieved that status.

The de facto leader of Matchbox Twenty is lead singer and songwriter Rob Thomas. An Army brat born on a military base in Germany, Thomas spent much of his childhood between his mother’s house in Florida and his grandmother’s place in South Carolina. The stress of the constant movement spilled over into his schoolwork, and he dropped out of high school at the age of 17. He spent some time wandering around the Southeast, singing in a variety of rock bands before he made Orlando, Florida his home base. There, he met bassist Brian Yale and drummer Paul Doucette, and the three spent several years drifting through local bands before Matchbox Twenty officially formed. They rounded out the lineup with Adam Gaynor (rhythm guitar, vocals), who had previously worked at the Criteria Recording Studios in Miami, and Kyle Cook (lead guitar), a former student of the Atlanta Institute of Music.

The band hooked up with Collective Soul producer Matt Serletic and recorded a batch of demos, which helped the band secure gigs throughout the U.S. Soon, the band signed to Lava, a subsidiary of Atlantic Records, and recorded its debut, Yourself or Someone Like You, also with Serletic. The album was released in October 1996 to little attention, but Matchbox Twenty continued to tour America, cultivating a fan base. They eventually landed their single “Long Day” on several influential radio stations, which paved the way for their breakthrough hit, “Push.” In spring 1997, “Push” began climbing its way to the top of the modern rock charts, as it received heavy airplay from radio and MTV. By the summer, the single was in the modern rock Top Ten, and Yourself or Someone Like You had reached the album Top 40 and gone gold.

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