Their debut album, Lemonade and Brownies, was released in 1995. It failed to produce a major hit. Their early work was strongly influenced by funk, punk, alternative rock and straight-up rhythm and blues, not a particularly fashionable combination at the time.
Sugar Ray's first mainstream hit came in the summer of 1997 with their song "Fly", which was released on the album Floored and featured notable reggae artist Super Cat. "Fly" was notable for not sounding anything at all like the rest of the tracks on the album and received frequent (some called it "constant") radio play. As a result of the success of "Fly", Floored sold extremely well and was certified double platinum. By the end of 1997, critics, skeptical that the band could put out another successful song, had labeled Sugar Ray as a one-hit wonder.
The band's sardonic reply to these accusations was given in the form of their 1999 album, 14:59; the album's title, with a "fame clock" reading 14:59, implied that their fifteen minutes of fame were not quite up. The song "Every Morning", which received widespread comparisons to "Fly", rose to similar success in late 1998, while their follow-up single, "Someday", received extensive airplay during 1999. This album, which outsold its predecessor and was certified triple platinum, proved that Sugar Ray was not a one-hit wonder after all. Though Sugar Ray was also set to play at Woodstock '99, they had to cancel due to illness.
Their 2001 self-titled album Sugar Ray produced another hit with "When It's Over" and reached the same level as their previous singles. Sugar Ray's 2003 effort In the Pursuit of Leisure, and the first single from that album, "Mr. Bartender (It's So Easy)" received a lukewarm reception. In 2005, Sugar Ray released a greatest hits album, with two new songs, including the single "Shot of Laughter".
After a five year hiatus, Sugar Ray returned with Music For Cougars, reiterating the band’s signature sound. As ever, musical styles – from dancehall to disco, punk to pure pop – are mixed and matched, resulting in a collection that is distinctively Sugar Ray, including songs such as the first single, “Boardwalk,” and the Rivers Cuomo-penned “Love Is the Answer”. “I’m not going to say we made the best record of our career,” beams singer Mark McGrath. “That’s just so clichéd. But we did!”
Since their 1995 Lemonade And Brownies debut, Sugar Ray had become stuck in a biennial cycle of touring and recording, touring and recording. 1997’s RIAA double platinum-certified sophomore effort, Floored, and its follow-up, 1999’s triple platinum 14:59 were trailed by 2001’s self-titled collection and 2003’s In The Pursuit Of Leisure. By the release of 2005’s The Best Of Sugar Ray, the band had earned a break.
Having devoted themselves to the band since its 1986 inception as The Shrinky Dinks, each member took the time to explore new creative terrain – McGrath stayed in the spotlight as co-host of the nationally syndicated entertainment news program, Extra. Craig “DJ Homicide” Bullock relocated to Florida, where became a hugely in-demand club DJ; drummer Stan Frazier worked as a songwriter and A+R exec; bassist Murphy Karges became a video director; and guitarist Rodney Sheppard taught music to neighborhood kids. Perhaps more importantly, Sheppard, Karges, and Frazier started families, with all living within a two mile radius from one another in their hometown of Newport Beach. “It was just the natural course to sort of lay back for a while,” Sheppard says, “We had a good run up to that time and we’d gotten to the point where we welcomed a break. It just ended up being a bit longer than we thought.”
Sugar Ray was quite active during their hiatus, busting out hits at private corporate events, county fairs, and countless summer festivals. By 2008, the band was itching to get back into the studio. In July, McGrath left Extra in order to devote more of his time to Sugar Ray. At the same time, the band’s longtime friend, producer Josh Abraham (Velvet Revolver, Limp Bizkit, and Linkin Park), invited them to cut a new album for his just-launched label, Pulse Recordings. “All the stars lined up for us,” Sheppard says. “We always said we would never force ourselves back on the public, but everything just fell together nicely. It was an opportunity for us to make some new music again so we grabbed it.” With Abraham at the helm, the band immediately set to work at the producer’s Pulse Recordings in Los Angeles. The producer pushed the band to reach down deep and refine their songwriting, penned, as ever, in various combinations of band members.
Perhaps more importantly, Abraham hooked Sugar Ray up with Pulse in-house producer/songwriter Luke Walker (The Deftones, Alkaline Trio, Filter, Elliot Yamin, and From First to Last), whom the band enthusiastically credits for helping to both energize and focus the album. “The guy’s a genius,” McGrath enthuses. “He’s an amazing songwriter and he really infused a new attitude, a new creativity, a new way to get songs done and get ‘em done quickly. Luke is the MVP of the whole project.” “We really clicked with Luke,” Sheppard says, “separately and together. A lot of time in the past, the band would come up with a song and get it three-quarters of the way there. With Luke, we were able to realize all our ideas. He was an important ingredient in the song-crafting.”
The sessions spanned close to a year, a leisurely process that enabled Sugar Ray to take their time with both songs and sonics. “Being the underdog again really frees up your creativity,” McGrath explains. “We had so much fun making the record. There was no pressure. It was purely about the love of songwriting and getting into the studio.”
Music For Cougars sees the band ping-ponging though pop’s innumerable permutations. “Love 101” is classic El Lay harmony pop a la Ricky Nelson, while “She’s Got The…” recalls the days when rock giants like Kiss and the Kinks dared to dip a toe into disco’s forbidden waters. Elsewhere, the band displays their mastery of cross-pollinated island rhythms and raps with the delightful “Girls Were Made To Love.” The track – built upon a sample from the 1962 hit, “(Girls, Girls, Girls) Made To Love,” written by Phil Everly and performed by child star Eddie Hodges – was an instant favorite among the bandmates, though they all sensed it needed something more to push it into classic status. McGrath suggested reaching out to Bermuda-based dancehall star Collie Buddz. The band sent the unfinished track to their friend Native Wayne, host of Indie 103.1’s “Native Wayne’s Reggae Smoke-In,” and within days, Buddz had promised to record his parts at the next earliest convenience. True to his word, Collie spent an April afternoon at Pulse, laying down his rapid-fire rhymes. “It’s amazing that when you reach out to people they sometimes actually say yes,” Sheppard says, “To have him on the record, it’s an honor. I think it’s the best song on the record now. The guy just came through big time.” “It’s something people would expect to hear from us,” McGrath says of the track, “but updated. I know there are people who are gonna say, ‘Oh great, Sugar Ray is doing dancehall again. Whatever.’ But to me, you can never have enough songs that sound like ‘Fly.’”
Sugar Ray has always reveled in teaming with fellow artists spanning a wide swath of genres, counting hip-hop heroes like Run DMC and KRS-One, reggae/dancehall superstars Shaggy and Super Cat, alternative rock musician Nick Hexum from 311, and pop royalty The Wilson Sisters. Along with the aforementioned Collie Buddz, Music For Cougars features a number of new alliances, including “Going Nowhere,” co-written with Tim Pagnotta of Sugarcult, and “Dance Like No One's Watchin',” a collaboration with surfing singer/songwriter Donavon Frankenreiter – an old friend of the band’s and Sheppard’s cousin by marriage. Perhaps the album’s most striking partnership is “Love Is The Answer,” an original song gifted to the band by Weezer honcho Rivers Cuomo.
Sugar Ray can claim credit for some of the most indelible pop hits of the previous decade, including the unforgettable #1 smashes, “Fly” and “Every Morning”. McGrath is proud of the band’s body of work. “I’ll be self-deprecating about myself and about the band,” he says, “but we wrote some fucking amazing songs. We wrote songs that people fell in love to, that people got married to, that people had sex to for the first time. The songs became bigger than the band. They’re the world’s property now and we need to be humbled by that.”
Sugar Ray are now getting set to take their classic songs – both new and old – on the road for their first full-scale tour in years. Music For Cougars allows the band to live up to its mission statement from the very beginning – to hang out together and make high-energy rock ‘n’ roll. “We have no misconceptions about what this record may do,” McGrath says. “It was strictly about making another record because we had great new material and the fact that we still enjoy playing together. “This is my life’s work,” he notes. “People say, ‘You’re still in the band?’ This is what I do! I’m gonna be in Sugar Ray till I die! I’ve been lucky enough to fit a uniform, I’m gonna wear it till the wheels fall off!”
Closer
Sugar Ray Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I feel love, and it feels so real, it makes time go by,
But you think, that it's over, and you feel that way,
But it's just so painful now, it's nothing at all
Maybe I'm right,
But maybe I'm wrong, making it up as we go along,
Don't run away!
So long, we've been building a bridge for so long,
It's been fifteen years, it's so long, but you're still right here
By my side,
So to think, that it's over, I don't to feel that way,
We can work this out somehow, it's nothing at all
Maybe I'm right, but maybe I'm wrong, making it up as we go along,
Don't run away! We're just getting closer, yeah!
They say love like this can never last, they say all those things that make us laugh,
It's nothing at all, we're just getting closer
There's nothing wrong, there's nothing wrong!
It's been far too long, it's been far too long to let this slip away
Maybe I'm right, but maybe I'm wrong, making it up as we go along,
Don't run away! We're just getting closer
They say love like this can never last, they say all those things that make us laugh,
It's nothing at all! We're just getting closer, getting closer
Getting closer, getting closer
Getting closer, getting closer
Getting closer, getting closer
Getting closer, getting closer
Getting closer
The song begins with the singer expressing how strongly he feels love and how it is the only thing he feels. He is asking his partner if they can feel the same way. He believes that love is so intense that it makes time go by quickly. His partner thinks that their relationship is over but the singer disagrees. He believes that it is just a difficult phase and they can work it out. He acknowledges that he might be wrong but they can figure it out as they go along. He urges his partner not to run away, they are just getting closer.
The second verse talks about how long they have been together and how they have built a strong foundation over the years. Despite the length of their relationship, the singer still feels the same way about his partner. He admits that he does not want to feel like their relationship is over. He reassures his partner that they can work it out, and it is nothing at all. He repeats that maybe he is right or wrong, but they are making things up as they go along. He asks his partner not to run away and reminds him/her they are just getting closer to each other.
The chorus reassures us that there is nothing wrong with their relationship, they are just getting closer. He acknowledges that people say love is not meant to last, but he doesn't believe that. He ends by repeating the fact that their relationship is getting closer.
Line by Line Meaning
Love, can you feel what I feel, I feel love, and it's all I feel,
Asking if the subject feels the same intense love that the singer feels.
I feel love, and it feels so real, it makes time go by,
The love that the singer experiences is so real and immersive that it makes time pass by.
But you think, that it's over, and you feel that way,
The subject believes that their relationship is over and they feel as though it is.
But it's just so painful now, it's nothing at all
Despite the pain being very real and present, there is a sense that in the bigger picture, it's not actually that significant.
Maybe I'm right,
The artist is open to the possibility that they are correct in believing that the relationship can still work.
But maybe I'm wrong, making it up as we go along,
At the same time, the singer realizes that they could be wrong and that they are figuring things out as they move forward.
Don't run away!
The singer is pleading with the subject to not give up on the relationship and leave.
We're just getting closer
Despite the hardships, the two are actually growing closer and more resilient as they overcome them.
So long, we've been building a bridge for so long,
The relationship between the artist and the subject has been a work in progress for a significant amount of time.
It's been fifteen years, it's so long, but you're still right here
The relationship has lasted over a decade and a half, and despite everything, the subject has stayed with the artist.
By my side,
The subject has remained faithful and loyal to the singer throughout the duration of the relationship.
So to think, that it's over, I don't to feel that way,
The artist is hesitant to accept the idea that the relationship is over because they believe it can be saved.
We can work this out somehow, it's nothing at all
The singer is confident that they can mend the relationship despite how daunting the situation appears to be.
They say love like this can never last, they say all those things that make us laugh,
Society and others may doubt the longevity of the relationship, but the singer and the subject still find joy in each other.
There's nothing wrong, there's nothing wrong!
Despite any disagreements or hardships, there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the relationship.
It's been far too long, it's been far too long to let this slip away
The relationship has endured for so long that the artist cannot fathom letting it end now.
Getting closer, getting closer
Repeating the phrase signals the desire for the relationship to grow stronger and more intimate.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: OLIVER ELLIOT GOLDSTEIN, LUKE W WALKER, JOSH ABRAHAM, STAN FRAZIER, MARK MCGRATH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind