Icon For Hire has released three full length albums: Scripted, Icon For Hire and YOU CAN'T KILL US.
Released in 2011, their first album Scripted shattered first-week sales becoming the highest new artist debut in Tooth & Nail Records history. The record debuted on the Billboard Top 200, at No. 4, on the iTunes Rock chart, and No. 19 on the iTunes overall albums chart.
Icon For Hire released their second full length self-titled album Icon For Hire in October 2013 on the Tooth and Nail label. Producer Mike Green (All Time Low, The Wanted, Pierce The Veil) was at the mixer to follow up their debut album, Scripted.
After spending a remarkable 18 months touring around the world, the group returned to their hometown of Decatur, IL to write their new record. Icon For Hire is set to push the boundaries of music and fashion far beyond their debut. According to the guitarist, Shawn Jump, “We wrote and dreamed about this record away from everything. We needed a safe place where we could all get to “spirit,” and maximize our different influences.” Added drummer, Adam Kronshagen, “There’s been undeniable friction in the songwriting process. We love knowing that you will definitely hear the element of conflict inside of every song we wrote.
The band's video, “Off With Her Head,” received 200k views its first week. Frontwoman and fashion designer, Ariel, worked with the team for weeks to create an avant-garde interpretation of the hit song. The group spent two days in Compton, CA (South Los Angeles) filming the video with a variety of the hottest underground artists.
Icon For Hire moved towards a new chapter of the band in 2016. Adam Kronshagen left the band to spend more time with his family coupled with a split with their record label Tooth & Nail the band decided to go it alone, or so it seemed. The band put together a plan for a kick starter project backed by their own fans. The kick starter reached its target in a matter of days. The album YOU CAN'T KILL US was released in stages throughout the year to those who have backed the kick starter project and there were physical copies on sale in December 2016 when it was completed.
On October 23, 2018, the band uploaded a video to their YouTube channel titled "Supposed To Be Acoustic Sessions Video Teaser", announcing their first video session to come soon, as well as that the Still Can't Kill Us: The Acoustic Sessions album would be released on December 7. The band released their "Supposed to Be" Acoustic Video on October 26, their "Get Well II" Acoustic Video on November 8, and "Demons" Acoustic Video on November 23. The tracks were also uploaded to Spotify as singles. A new album The Reckoning was released in September 2022.
Ariel Bloomer - Vocals,
Shawn Jump - Guitar,
Adam Kronshagen - Drums,
Josh Kincheloe - Bass.
Background Sad
Icon for Hire Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah
Come a long way, the hard way
And maybe I made it too hard
Been a long fight, the wrong kind
Been fighting to feel like myself
Not sure that′s what I want anymore
Feeling like me is probably the problem
I've had all along
I tell everyone I got better
But what if I′m not?
It's hard to face the truth sometimes
(It's hard to face the truth)
Oh and I tell everyone it gets better
But what if I′m wrong?
It′s hard to tell the truth sometimes
Am I always gonna just be, just be
Background sad, background sad
Waiting for the storm clouds to clear in my head
Background sad, background sad
Wondering if this is as good as it gets
Am I always gonna just be, just be getting by
Telling myself it's alright?
Does it matter how hard I try?
Am I always gonna just be, just be
Background sad, yeah
Yeah, yeah
I got pages and pages of documentation I keep
Looking for answers and patterns I′ve hidden in me
Don't need the world in my hands
Think I′d be happy with halfway content
I should grow up and shut up
I'm probably wanting too much
Oh and I tell everyone it gets better
But what if I′m wrong?
It's hard to tell the truth sometimes
Am I always gonna just be, just be
Background sad, background sad
Waiting for the storm clouds to clear in my head
Background sad, background sad
Wondering if this is as good as it gets
Am I always gonna just be, just be getting by
Telling myself it's alright?
Does it matter how hard I try?
Am I always gonna just be, just be
Background sad
Will I always be waiting?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
And what is it I′m chasing?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
These questions could drive someone crazy
I don′t want to spend the rest of my life asking myself
Am I always gonna just be, just be
Background sad, background sad
Waiting for the storm clouds to clear in my head
Background sad, background sad
Wondering if this is as good as it gets
Am I always gonna just be, just be getting by
Telling myself it's alright?
Does it matter how hard I try?
Am I always gonna just be, just be
Background sad, yeah
Yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah
"Background Sad" is a track by the American rock band Icon for Hire. The song's lyrics revolve around a person who is dealing with anxiety, depression, and feelings of inadequacy. The singer of the song has gone through a lot in life, but still feels as if they haven't reached where they want to be in life. They are fighting to feel like themselves but are unsure if that is what they want anymore. The idea of feeling like themselves being the problem has been present all along creating a frustration within themselves. To cope up with these issues, they try to tell everyone that they have gotten better, but deep down they know they haven't yet.
Line by Line Meaning
Come a long way, the hard way
I have made significant progress but it has been very challenging
And maybe I made it too hard
Perhaps I have caused unnecessary difficulty for myself
Been a long fight, the wrong kind
I have been struggling for a long time, but perhaps not in the right way
That breaks you and leaves you unsure
This kind of struggle can be very damaging and leave you feeling uncertain
Been fighting to feel like myself
I have been working to regain a sense of my true self
Not sure that's what I want anymore
However, I am no longer certain if that is even what I want
Feeling like me is probably the problem
In fact, my sense of self might actually be part of the issue
I've had all along
That I've had from the beginning
I tell everyone I got better
I have been telling others that I have improved
But what if I'm not?
But what if I am wrong, and I haven't really improved
It's hard to face the truth sometimes
It can be very difficult to confront reality
Oh and I tell everyone it gets better
I also promise others that things will improve
But what if I'm wrong?
But what if I am actually incorrect in my predictions
Am I always gonna just be, just be
Will I always be stuck as
Background sad, background sad
Feeling depressed but not showing it overtly
Waiting for the storm clouds to clear in my head
Hoping that the mental turbulence subsides soon
Wondering if this is as good as it gets
Questioning if life will always be this mediocre
Am I always gonna just be, just be getting by
Will I always just barely make it through life
Telling myself it's alright?
Convincing myself that it's okay
Does it matter how hard I try?
Wondering if putting in effort even makes a difference
I got pages and pages of documentation I keep
I have a lot of information and records that I hold onto
Looking for answers and patterns I've hidden in me
I am trying to find solutions and discover my own behavioral patterns
Don't need the world in my hands
I don't necessarily need to have complete control over everything
Think I'd be happy with halfway content
I might be satisfied with just being partially fulfilled
I should grow up and shut up
Perhaps I should mature and stop complaining
I'm probably wanting too much
I might have unrealistic expectations for my life
Will I always be waiting?
Will I continuously remain in a stagnant position?
And what is it I'm chasing?
What exactly is it that I am striving for?
These questions could drive someone crazy
These types of inquiries can become overwhelming and disorienting
I don't want to spend the rest of my life asking myself
I don't want to keep questioning myself for the rest of my time on earth
Writer(s): Amy V A Jump, Shawn M Jump
Contributed by Scarlett V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.