SONG #16: Collective Soul - The World I Know

December 19, 2013

I know that if someone were to ever read my blog all the way through, they would start to see contradictions in my statements - "This is my favorite song", "This could be my favorite song", "My favorite band", etc. Well, it's all sorted out in my head, but I might not always be able to articulate it properly. There's also the fact that as time passes our opinions on things change. But not with this band.

Since I was 17-18, I have considered Collective Soul to be my favorite band. I could list off the order of their albums and could probably name 80-85% of the songs they've written in their career, I've also seem then in concert three times, which for me is a LOT. I can't tell you why I like them so much other than they aren't like any other band I know. They get lumped into the Grunge Rock era of the 90's, and are actually scoffed at by many critics. Musically, I can see how they'd be compared to many bands of their era, but the difference lies in the overall songwriting. Ed Roland has a writing "voice" that noone will be able to imitate. The way he puts together words and phrases is quite unique. I'm not saying that it's everyone's cup of tea, and I'm not saying he's a poet. However, let's look at one verse from their popular song December:

"Why follow me to higher ground?
Lost as you swear I am.
Don't throw away your basic needs,
Ambiance and vanity.

Ambiance and Vanity? I think as an older teenager I appreciated that the lyrics made me think and even look words up in the dictionary. Yes, sometimes I think he throws a big word in their just because he wanted to sound smart, but overall he makes songwriting look effortless.

Now to the song. "The World I Know" is from the band's second album. I loved their first hit single "Shine", but it didn't quite have the impact this song had in my life. This song came about in my angsty mid-teenage years. The song, combined with the video (I watched a lot of VH1), put off a "sad but hopeful" vibe which I could relate to in those lean "on the edge" high school years. Add in the orchestral parts - which fit the song like a glove - and it was song I just clicked with.