Matchbox Twenty

Released: September 4, 2012

Songwriter: Rob Thomas

Producer: Matt Serletic

[Verse 1]
I, I could be anything
But for the fault that I've acquired on my way
We, we were the end of it
But now we see the sun shining in our face
We see the sun shining in our face

[Chorus]
So come on, come on we can be saved
The lives we live, the wars we wage
When everyone just tells us how to feel
We're sleeping at the wheel

[Verse 2]
And I, I would give anything
But for the grace of God, I'm here and still aware
We know the end is overrated
We've become the walls we raise
We don't believe enough but we still cared
Standing on the edge without a prayer

[Chorus]
So come on, come on it's all we got
Our hands are full, our lives are not
The loose affiliation with the real
We're sleeping at the wheel

[Bridge]
All of the time we've lost
All of the love we gave
And now these hands are tied
I can't help thinking
That I was in a daze I was losing my place
I was screaming out at everything
Waiting for the walls to come down
Before my moments starts to fade
But everything that's perfect falls away

[Chorus]
So come on, come on we can be saved
The lives we live, the wars we wage
When everyone just tells us how to feel
We're sleeping at the wheel
We're sleeping at the wheel
Just sleeping at the wheel

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.

more tracks from the album

North

From the album

North (2012)

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Sleeping at the WheelMatchbox Twenty

Matchbox Twenty

North