The Greatest Gen X Rock Band
An Appreciation of OneRepublic
The brilliant mythologist Joseph Campbell once observed that the greatest response we can have to life each morning is to arise and exclaim, “That the universe should be here!” The best classical musician in history, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, conveyed in his music some ultimate Beneficence behind the cosmos that surrounds us and lifts us up. In the 1920s, Louis Armstrong made people feel totally alive and jazzed about life. Much of our best music does this for us.
Some Gen X music has been life-affirming. U2. Enya. In Christian music, Kirk Franklin and Jonathan David Helser. In both his cover songs and his original songs, Michael Buble. Regrettably, however, most popular Gen X music was party animal music in the 1980s and authentic but alienated music in the 1990s.
The mainstream soundtrack of the Millennials, on the other hand, has been laid down by their own life-affirming musicians — Alicia Keys, Ed Sheeran, Jacob Collier, and, despite the tragic end to his life, Avicii — and by two life-affirming Gen X bands: Coldplay and OneRepublic.
Let’s look at rock bands with musicians born entirely or mostly in the 1960s and 1970s — what I consider to be Generation X. Let’s set aside songs that are exclusively dance songs (which are for people who enjoy dancing) or exclusively love songs (which are for two people to sing to each other). I count eight great songs by U2, 14 great songs by Coldplay, and 15 great songs by OneRepublic. How ‘bout you?
What makes OneRepublic the greatest Gen X rock band?
The way I think about it, there are about five main things that a great song can do for us:
Motivate us to meet life’s challenges.
Help us understand our family upbringing and become a better father, mother, and other relative.
Expand our circle of care beyond our partner and family — by keeping us aware of human suffering and / or by deepening our love toward friends, neighbors, and humanity.
Provide us some insight or wisdom into ourselves and / or our society.
Expand our consciousness and / or move and deepen our soul.
I’d suggest that the main reason OneRepublic is underestimated as a band (and has never won a Grammy) is because out of their 15 great songs, 11 are primarily or partly motivational. Many people feel they’re too sophisticated for music that motivates; I think that all five of the above purposes of songs are important, and I find the way OneRepublic motivates us to be the best element of their music.
I see five elements in the band’s greatness:
First, there is OneRepublic’s sense of life — the most important thing musicians convey to us. There is a sense of aliveness; we’re glad to be alive, even exhilarated. They put us in a positive frame of mind. We have extra energy to tackle the challenges of our day. We’re empowered, our locus of control shifts in our favor, our consciousness moves from that of a passenger to that of a driver, we are ready to engage with each and every situation, and we reach toward mastery. We may even rise out of anxiety or a depressed mood and shift into a more joyful energy. On some deep existential level, with a OneRepublic sensibility, we know that everything is all right. And, hey, today might just turn out to be one of the better days of our life.
This is no small feat. A band that does this for us becomes an important part of us living an excellent life.
Second, OneRepublic gets us into a dynamic rhythm. You could dance to the beat of almost any of their great songs.
Third, their songs are singable. You can remember the lyrics. They put their life-affirming message to danceable, singable, life-affirming music that we can enjoy listening to every day or two or three — so the words get in our heads and become part of who we are.
Fourth, we can have fun and loosen up with their songs without hearing any lyrics that are contrary to us being spiritually good people. They don’t give us party animal songs. There’s no hedonism. There’s no alienation. Their songs are wholesome enough for the whole family to join in the listening experience.
And fifth, there is the value in our daily lives to OneRepublic’s message, which goes something like this:
Yes, life is full of problems and we might feel like we’re drowning in a flood of problems. We might feel low. We might think we can’t keep running the race.
But we can let our problems go. We can lift that weight off us. We can move beyond shame and blame. Don’t complain. Don’t worry. Wash away the fear.
Let’s keep writing and editing our story. Let’s stay steady on our feet, take the wheel, help ourselves up, and give our life even more heart and soul.
Let’s feel alive, take it all in, take the pain and the joy, soak up the sun, swing our hearts out there again, make the most of every day, and fully live every moment. Like fools, let’s let happiness take us over. Let’s remember everything there is to feel good about, keep chasing the green lights, and raise our cups and celebrate life.
Let’s not cut other people down. Let’s move beyond being lonely and find real human connections. Let’s share in the good vibes and experience life’s magic together. Let’s love each other, lift each other up, and give each other strength.
That’s the OneRepublic philosophy of life — their approach to life — and it not only works but it makes our lives better. It might be simple, but there’s an excellence to it and even some real wisdom to it.
For one thing, everything else we want to be and do in life depends on us having the inspired and motivated spirit and the volitional energy to do it. So when we set OneRepublic’s message aside — when we think we’re too sophisticated for it, when we let disappointment down-shift us into a negative mindset — we do so at our own peril.
Besides, doesn’t it feel good that millions and (briefly) billions of our fellow human beings have shared in this jazzed-up sense of life?
These five elements, in a nutshell, are OneRepublic. This band delivers — with constancy.
There isn’t a book yet about OneRepublic. But there will be. There isn’t a biography yet of Ryan Tedder. But there will be.
Tedder has also been a prolific songwriter and producer for the likes of Taylor Swift, Beyonce, and Adele. And he wrote (and sang with other singers) the song of the 2019 Special Olympics Summer Games — “Right Where I’m Supposed to Be” — a powerfully moving song about the determined individual who goes at it twice as hard when told something’s impossible, never gives up, and triumphs.
While Tedder is the frontman, OneRepublic has gone from being a five-man band to a six-man band, with two of the musicians changing. The former members are Jerrod Bettis and Tim Myers. The current members are guitarist Drew Brown, drummer Eddie Fisher, keyboardist Brian Willett, and the two band members who write many of the band’s songs with Tedder: his high school friend and guitarist Zack Filkins and bassist Brent Kutzle (a Millennial).
If OneRepublic were to end their run tomorrow, they’d stand as the band who has done the most of any band in history to motivate human beings. Tedder and his bandmates have had a perfect ear for motivational songs that would resonate with millions of youth and rising adults of the Millennial Generation.
However, when I think about what OneRepublic could be in the future, my mind turns to my favorite musician of all time, a Boomer, Peter Gabriel. I think of Gabriel’s turning point in his musical career in the mid-1970s during his revelatory experience on Solsbury Hill. That’s when Gabriel got deeper and began generating consciousness-expanding music, and he’s done so ever since.
Peter Gabriel is an influence for Ryan Tedder and OneRepublic (along with U2 and, yes, Mozart), although it’s hard to hear Gabriel’s influence. But, hey, Tedder’s just getting going as a midlifer, as is Filkins, and Kutzle will enter midlife this year. OneRepublic could start creating music that is more consciousness-expanding. If they choose that path for themselves, they’ve got time.
Before we take a look at their songs, let’s address the question of whether OneRepublic is really a Gen X band. If you count people born in the 1970s as second-wave Xers and people born in the 1980s as first-wave Millennials, it’s a close call. Ryan Tedder is only an Xer by a few months. The other seven former and current band members are about half Xers and half Millennials. Tedder’s songwriting collaborators, especially Filkins and Kutzle, are a mix of Xers and Millennials. And so in the end it comes down to the man at the center of every song, Tedder himself, who I’d say that by dint of being born in the 1970s is an Xer.
In my own totally subjective exercise, I’ve decided that OneRepublic has produced 15 great songs. (I don’t include their two great dance songs “Heaven” and “Run” or their great dance song and popular love song “I Don’t Wanna Wait”.) And I’ve ranked these 15 great songs from #15 to #1.
(Each song is linked to its YouTube video and after the songs you’ll find the links to the Spotify and YouTube playlists.)
#15. “Fire”
[This energetic UEFA EURO24 theme song — a collaboration with MEDUZA and Leony — combines a passion for sports with a desire for unity across nations. It has 50 million listens on Spotify]
Let’s lift each other up when we feel low, so all our lights come on and we shine like gold.
#14. “I Ain’t Worried”
[This fast-paced, upbeat, breezy but infectious song Tedder wrote for a “Top Gun” Maverick” scene has 1.85 billion listens on Spotify and 360 million views on YouTube]
Even when we have a flood of problems, let it all go and do not worry.
#13. “Preacher”
In this beautiful song, Tedder remembers his grandfather, who had no money but who had the kind of wealth you cannot spend. His grandfather, a preacher, taught him to help himself up in life, to love, and to let his guiding angel shepherd him away from evil.
#12. “Kids”
[This synthpop song — with its pop rhythm and electro tinge — has 100 million views on YouTube]
Remembering that things were not better when we were younger in the town where we were raised, and aware that right now we don’t know what’s round the corner, let’s make the most of every day.
#11. “Apologize”
[With touches and flourishes added by leading Gen X producer Timbaland, this song became a huge hit — capturing in its timeless way something that everyone experiences — with 730 million views on YouTube and 830 million listens on Spotify]
A song that reminds us not to cut each other down or we might find the other person has given up on us and the relationship is over.
#10. “Better Days”
[Written during the COVID pandemic lockdown]
Let’s wash away the fear and paranoia, move past the insanity of the day’s storms, and never shed another tear for today. Cuz the sunshine is coming our way and tomorrow everything can change for the better.
#9. “Lift Me Up”
Let’s love each other and help each other and give each other strength. Let’s lift each other up, experience the magic together, and show the world that they ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
#8. “Life in Color”
When we think we can’t keep running the race, let’s soak up the sun and give our life even more heart and soul.
#7. “Sunshine”
[Tedder raps some of the lyrics in this song, which has 490 million listens on Spotify]
It’s okay when we take a swing and miss. Just keep writing our story, just keep chasing those green lights, and just keep sharing in the good vibes.
#6. “Secrets”
[Tedder’s nuanced lyrics turn this from a conversation to a plea, though it’s a bit of a mystery what his plea is for. This song forms a core memory for many Millennials and has 280 million listens on Spotify and 680 million views on YouTube]
A song about moving beyond insincerity and lies, beyond negative situations and problems and bad news, and beyond shame and blame. There is another story we can tell, by opening up and sharing what we’ve kept secret.
#5. “Stop and Stare”
[Tedder’s best singing packs this relatable and meaningful rock ballad with emotion and strength. This song has 90 million views on YouTube]
Tedder sings about shaking off the rust from life in a town that is cold and sick of him — why am I here? — and untying the weight bags, taking the wheel, and making a move.
#4. “Connection”
[“If there are so many people here / then why am I so lonely?” This is the lyric that you feel, that hits home, that goes to the heart of what’s amiss in our lives in the age of social media.]
With so many people in the world, why are we so lonely? Let’s edit our story. We need love. We need to move beyond being lonely and find real connections.
#3. “Good Life”
[This song makes many Millennials nostalgic for better days. But it can remain true to us throughout our life. It has 225 million views on YouTube]
We have problems, but there’s really nothing to complain about. Let’s take it all in, live fully every second, and stay aware of all that there is to feel good about. Cuz when we’re happy like fools, we let happiness take us over.
#2. “Counting Stars”
[Eleven years ago, every Millennial on the planet was singing this song. It’s folk pop and rock pop with an R&B twist and it has a staggering 2.8 billion listens on Spotify and a stunning 4.1 billion views on YouTube]
When we feel like we’re drowning, when we feel like things are killing us, when we’re not sure how we’ll realize our dreams, let’s find love and hope, feel alive, and swing our hearts out there again.
#1. “I Lived”
[You feel this meaningful, enlightening, and empowering anthem through your whole being. It has 540 million listens on Spotify]
Tedder advises young people, including his son, to prepare in life, to move beyond fear, to take the pain and the joy of true love, to raise their cups to life each night, and, no matter their trials and difficulties, to squeeze every drop out of life every day.
If you’re on Spotify, the playlist is here.
On YouTube, the playlist is here.
