Friday Song: “Unwell”
Dealing with evolving personal social discomfort, this song lets others connect
The six-string banjo is what initally stood out when Matchbox Twenty released “Unwell” in 2002 as part of their third album, More Than You Think You Are.
As lead singer Rob Thomas said, “It was kind of awesome, because at the time, everything was either Ludacris and Nelly or boy bands. And then we were hanging in there with a song with a banjo in the intro. That felt like a little win for us.”
In fact, adding the banjo slowed the song down, making it more poignant than the initial demo. It was played by the band’s multi-instrumentalist Paul Doucette.
Thomas wrote the song after realizing that he was evolving as he aged, his former techniques for coping with crowds shifting and requiring different approaches so he could find a path while embracing the insecurity he was feeling:
Once I started to get older, once I started to grow up, the fabrication that I’d made of how comfortable I was and how secure I was in myself started to go away. I was left with the reality I need to deal with how uncomfortable I am at all times, how unsure of myself I am, every word that comes out of my mouth, in every situation.
His main goal was to make people going through something not feel alone. We’re all screwed up a little, after all.
The song spent 18 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Top 40, and ranked on other charts. It was nominated for a Grammy in 2004 for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
The increasingly fantastical music video was No. 1 on VH1’s Top 40 Videos of 2003.
Enjoy!