Electric Relaxation: Matchbox Twenty "Back 2 Good"

You might not think this about me but I'm a huge Matchbox Twenty fan. Along with Third Eye Blind, they're my favorite alternative band and I think Rob Thomas is an amazing songwriter. They're the Bon Jovi of the 90's/00's as far as being that band you might think is cheesy yet somehow they produce hit after hit that still hold up well over time. Most are probably shocked to know that Yourself or Someone Like You is the 19th best selling album of the 90's.

I didn't become a huge fan of the band until my freshman year of college and my girlfriend at the time let me listen to the album. This song was stuck in my head as I remembered hearing it when I was younger but never paying attention to the words. It soon became the soundtrack to doing homework, reading in my room and even a few poetry sessions.

If you see me out you don't know me 
Try to turn your head, try to give me some room 
To figure out just what I'm going to do 

I remember before I broke up with that girlfriend, I wrote a poem during the last month where things were getting difficult for me. She was growing distant yet I wondered if she was hiding her emotions too well while I was being eaten up. I even entitled it "Good 2 Bad" but I was thinking how we could get back to where we were as friends let alone the relationship.

One of things I love about Thomas' songwriting is that he makes pain sound uplifting. Matchbox had some catchy pop hooks and great melodies but the song lyrics dealt with some heavy stuff. For example, "3 AM" dealt with losing his mother to cancer but from the sound of the music, you wouldn't know it was depressing. This song's about a bad relationship and just wishing it'd get better but also looking for a way out.

Everyone here, knows everyone here is thinking about 
Somebody else 
It's best if we all keep it under our heads 
I couldn't tell, if anyone here was feeling the way I do 
But I'm lonely now, and I don't know how 
To get it back to good 

But even though the song is depressing, it's relaxing. Probably why I like it so much because even though there's desperation, there's a calm throughout most of it. Then it rages as Rob feels like he's alone and realizes that he's not going to get back to where it was. Most people can relate to that.

This song helped me deal with those emotions so long ago but now that's the last of the reasons why I like it. It's just raw emotion with great songwriting and a catchy hook. Probably my 2nd favorite Matchbox Twenty song because I respect the lyrics so much and it takes me back to those days of studying.