Jon Bellion's Cover Of Switchfoot's "Meant To Live' Is Incredible
It's my second day in a row writing a blog about a musical artist that I love. In general, I don't feel qualified to talk about music that much. Some people argue that I'm not qualified to speak of movies either, but that's a conversation for another day. With that said, Jon Bellion is amazing. He has had a wildly successful album with "The Human Condition" back in 2016, but he's one of those people born to do one thing, making incredible music. This will not be the last Jon Bellion blog I write, but considering the music video for this cover was just released, I figured I'd strike while the iron is hot here.
Knowing somebody is doing a cover of Switchfoot's "Meant To Live" makes me feel old as dirt. Has enough time passed for that to be considered classic rock? I remember when this song came out. It had a pretty darn cool music video. You see kids, the Music Television network used to play music videos back in the day. I remember Switchfoot's "Meant To Live" music video was ranked as one of the best of 2004. I remember watching that countdown with my brother over Christmas in between watching the Falcons/Panthers Monday night game from 2004. Don't ask me how I have access to those memories. I just do. It's a great rock song. It's not a song I expected to have a cover made out of it, but here we are.  I don't have any issue with cover songs, the same way they don't have any issue with film remakes, except for those shitty Disney live-action remakes. Can those please end? The original will always be there, and Switchfoot's "Meant To Live" is a legitimately awesome rock song. Still, Bellion does exactly what a great musical artist needs to do with a cover. He totally makes it his own.
Bellion's cover feels more soulful and personal in nature. These lyrics have always been filled with regret, and Bellion taps into that differently than Switchfoot did back when they did the original. While this song is not nearly as iconic as Johnny Cash's cover of the Nine Inch Nails song "Hurt," the juxtaposition between heavy rock and soulful ballad is very similar. Do I think people will remember "Meant To Live" as a Jon Bellion song more than a Switchfoot song? Absolutely not. I don't think this version will get a ton of radio play, but you are asking the wrong person about that shit. I don't even know what's popular on the radio anymore. Still, I know what good music sounds like, and Jon Bellion, even when he's covering somebody else song, makes awesome fucking music.