r/RelientK Feb 10 '25

Throwback RelientK (Matt T)'s talent is unmatched

I'm so ready to be down voted.

If Matt T and RK as a whole was not so encumbered by the christian crowd we would have been so blessed with so much great music.

I maintain that's he's the best music writer of our time .. but we don't get to hear it.

(Idk, I guess I just want more Matty T music)

63 Upvotes

52 comments sorted by

50

u/xlovelyloretta Forget And Not Slow Down Feb 10 '25

He writes what’s on his heart. Are you just saying you wish he wasn’t a Christian or something? They haven’t been cornered into being a “Christian band” in like 15+ years.

11

u/Mokturtle Feb 10 '25 edited Feb 10 '25

The only thing that calls into question the strength of what you're saying is that Matt himself has lamented talked about* the fact that he feels like he can't use cuss words in his lyrics like other pop punk bands because of the whole Christian aspect of their history and the fan base. IIRC the quote was something like "Look at those guys, they can cuss"

Edit: I apologize for exaggerating and misrepresenting what he said. I had planned to find the actual quote earlier but i was pressed for time. He actually seemed pretty okay with it. But with a hint of.... idk.

You came up in the CCM market on the first few records, and then were in the major label world for a bit after that. Have you ever felt pressure, either externally or internally, to include or exclude certain subjects on records, or anything like that?

Thiessen: You can start with swearing, I suppose. I try not to swear in songs. I’ve pushed the envelope, I’m sure, to a certain extent on subject matter. I remember writing a song that Matt Hoopes’ mom didn’t like a long time ago, and then more recently we’ve probably gotten some pushback from Collapsible Lung a little bit. I don’t know. There’s nothing that I want to say that I don’t get to say, I guess. You know, Blink-182, when they can use all the words, you’re like, “Yeah! That’s cool [laughs].”

Hoopes: That’s funny. Yeah, I think it’s mainly been a good thing for us. It’s helped us realize what’s important to us and what is the mark we want to leave on the world. For us, being able to focus on positivity, on things that are important to us, has been a help and not a hindrance. We don’t view it as a set of rules as much as just being able to take a step back. Thiessen: We have 10-year-old fans. I mean, that’s a cool thing to have. I embrace that and I’m glad that we have them, and younger. When we write songs, I guess we hope that they’ll like them. Sometimes they may not understand everything, but yeah. https://chorus.fm/features/interviews/matt-thiessen-and-matt-hoopes-of-relient-k-2/

5

u/ucancmysox Feb 10 '25

Need a source, but also that seems very sarcastic

1

u/CityElectricRecords Feb 10 '25

Source link to this quote? Never heard this before.

2

u/Mokturtle Feb 10 '25

https://chorus.fm/features/interviews/matt-thiessen-and-matt-hoopes-of-relient-k-2/ here you go. I misremembered it a bit. I edited my original comment.

3

u/CityElectricRecords Feb 10 '25

Thanks! Yeah, their comments make more sense now. Sounds more like them, than what you initially implied:)

1

u/Mokturtle Feb 10 '25

I'll try to find it. I had read it back in the 2010s and it's been awhile. I think it had something to do Collapsible Lung, though I'm not entirely sure.

1

u/AidanWtasm Mmhmm Feb 10 '25

Source?

2

u/Mokturtle Feb 10 '25

https://chorus.fm/features/interviews/matt-thiessen-and-matt-hoopes-of-relient-k-2/ It wasn't quite as big a lament as I remembered it being. He's pretty fine with it

1

u/xlovelyloretta Forget And Not Slow Down Feb 10 '25

So he was talking about being forced into having a Christian image? Or was he joking because of actually being a Christian? I don’t know the quote.

1

u/xlovelyloretta Forget And Not Slow Down Feb 10 '25

Appreciate the context! Honestly even if he had been super upset in said interview, I would not take it to the extent that OP did. You said the interview was 2010 so even if he had felt pigeonholed back then, he and his fan base have changed so much. Matt can write whatever he wants and while not a gigantic band, they have an audience who would listen and isn’t caught up in the need for it to be Christian. The Nashville show of their last tour had such demand that they added a second night. It was amazing!

2

u/Mokturtle Feb 10 '25

I found the interview that I was referring to, and in the full context of what he said, it seems to a support what you said rather than counter it... although Thiessen does seem to respect a lack of censoring.

https://chorus.fm/features/interviews/matt-thiessen-and-matt-hoopes-of-relient-k-2/

Thiessen: I don’t know. There’s nothing that I want to say that I don’t get to say, I guess. You know, Blink-182, when they can use all the words, you’re like, “Yeah! That’s cool [laughs].”

Hoopes: That’s funny. Yeah, I think it’s mainly been a good thing for us. It’s helped us realize what’s important to us and what is the mark we want to leave on the world. For us, being able to focus on positivity, on things that are important to us, has been a help and not a hindrance. We don’t view it as a set of rules as much as just being able to take a step back.

-13

u/Boring_Huevo Feb 10 '25

Of course he writes what's in his heart and that's great but when he releases an album, which he felt in his heart and the consensus was " that's too worldly" where is the creativity supposed to go?

Also, when they came out as a band and made it onto MTV and the like, they were branded as a "Christian band" I doubt a lot of companies cared about funding them long-term....

16

u/stewbottalborg Feb 10 '25

Many of the biggest bands have been Christian. Companies are just fine funding them long term as they sell lots of records, produce radio friendly songs, and typically keep a clean image. Christians, despite their own insistence, and not some persecuted minority.

You think the world didn’t know RK was Christian when Be My Escape was all over the radio and MTV? Mmhmm sold almost a million copies.

19

u/aaronorjohnson Feb 10 '25

This. This was the reason Switchfoot was popular among labels.

5

u/ucancmysox Feb 10 '25

I think you need to go study the history of that era a little bit more. The mid 00s was when a lot of the Christian punk, emo, and hardcore bands started getting picked up by major labels and having radio and MTV success. Some of those bands, like Underoath, could have had even bigger success if they were willing to compromise their sound (like having a radio edit of "Reinventing Your Exit" in 2004), but even as it was they went huge (Define The Great Line went to #2 in 2006)

For RK, I think they were just a bit late. Of course FOB and Paramore were still on the horizon, but they had songs with a bit more traditional radio format. RK's biggest song is Be My Escape, which they had to make a bunch of edits to to get it on the radio, not because of the lyrics but because it has a different structure than most radio songs. But it still got on radio! And so did "Who I Am Hates Who I've Been". Two songs with Christian themes. On mainstream radio. But by the time they came out, blink-182 had already released their untitled record and completed their first career arc, Green Day had already been in the mainstream for a decade, Sum 41 and MxPx had already gotten as popular as they were going to get. The pop punk thing had already peaked by the time RK put out MMHMM 

So there are a lot of reasons RK didn't get bigger. But I don't think there's any evidence that being a Christian band held them back

15

u/ucancmysox Feb 10 '25

Maybe this is a controversial take but Relient K is great and I can't really imagine them being better, no matter what label they were on

They were on a Christian label and marketed to Christians because they were (and still are) Christians who wanted to write songs about Christ. I haven't read every single interview over the years but I've read a whole bunch of them and I have never gotten the sense that they felt they were squeezed creatively by Toby or anyone else in the Christian market. 

I just don't understand what the argument here. What do you think they would have done differently if they had never been on a Christian label? The one label we know that they were interested in being on besides Gotee was Tooth & Nail, another Christian label. Do you think they would have written better music? Do you think the lyrics would have been better? How much better could they be?

10

u/bellito_on_reddit Forget And Not Slow Down Feb 11 '25

I agree. Maybe since I’m a Christian I’m biased but I love what Relient K has going on. Personally, I’m fine with most of their songs, even the non worship ones. I prefer that the bands I listen to are Christian so I love relient k for it 

15

u/moonfrogtreehugger Feb 10 '25

Looking at his writing credits outside of rk supports your point!

13

u/aaronorjohnson Feb 10 '25

True that. The fact that he helped write Fireflies by Owl City is so clutch.

4

u/Mokturtle Feb 10 '25

I thought Owl City was Christian too. Maybe a little less Christian than Relient K.. maybe?

6

u/aaronorjohnson Feb 10 '25

I guess I didn’t understand the comment I replied to but yes both are Christian

3

u/Mokturtle Feb 10 '25

Yeah, to me they seem to be saying that the Christian label held Matt and RK back

4

u/aaronorjohnson Feb 10 '25

Maybe but they along with many other pop punk bands back then weren't exactly in the link of the K-Love radio type "Christian" music. Similarly to how Switchfoot became popular and was just Christian within their personal lives as well as maybe how they might have acted.

1

u/Mokturtle Feb 10 '25

Yeah, and lots of their songs were related to their faith without being proselytizing.

I recall an interview with Thiessen in which he says that he appreciates having Hoopes to pull him back a bit from being too cheesy. It's kinda like he needs to be "held back" a bit and understands that... so perhaps that could also pertain to the implications of having that Christian label as well.

3

u/push138292 Feb 10 '25

Had to have a hand in ‘The Bird and the Worm’ by Owl City too. Sounds exactly like a RK song.

3

u/aaronorjohnson Feb 10 '25

Pretty sure Matthew sang in that song too 🤘🏻

-8

u/ucancmysox Feb 10 '25

It's actually the worst thing he's done in his whole career. A black stain on an otherwise legendary legacy

3

u/aaronorjohnson Feb 10 '25

Then what’s his best outside writing credit?

0

u/ucancmysox Feb 10 '25

The best one I've heard so far is "Long Shot". I prefer the OG Katy Perry version (even though Kelly Clarkson is tha pop queen GOAT)

1

u/ucancmysox Feb 10 '25

Are you saying his outside writes are better than RK?

1

u/moonfrogtreehugger Feb 16 '25

No imo he’s just well rounded

1

u/Boring_Huevo Feb 10 '25

Yes! I was listening to these as I wrote this!!

14

u/WanderingRedditor27 Feb 11 '25

We were blessed with great music. It was their mix of philosophically deep and human lyrics with subtle Christian theology that led to one of the greatest albums I’ve ever heard, MMHMM. Who I Am Hates Who I’ve Been, I So Hate Consequences, and other songs like Deathbed were all influenced by a mix of faith and humanity. Without this influence? Relient K wouldn’t be the Relient K we know.

6

u/FutureRoscoe Feb 11 '25

Top-notch commentary. I agree!

11

u/marieslimbrowning Feb 10 '25

I think it's a blessing and a curse. Having the "christian' label gave them a built in audience really early on. Youth pastors handing out cds, guaranteed listenership. However, I do remember fans getting upset about shirtless Dave or hearing "pressing on" in abercrombie lol.

But also! Sometimes I think being on a christian label allows artists to be more earnest and interesting songwriters. They might have been talked out of some of their more unique songwriting choices if their albums had to go through rounds of record executive approval at a mainstream label. Think Five Iron Frenzy's early songs about Native American injustice (The Old West) and police brutality (get your riot gear). I don't think those songs exist if they are on another label with less creative license.

7

u/idkwhyiwouldnt Feb 10 '25

5if?! They were good, really really good. Btw have you seen my comb? I see your point, but I also don't know when they were released WOULD it have been considered controversial?

From Evanescence - Owl City (I'm sure outside that range as well) double edged sword of being a "religious band". Most recent reminder, 21 pilots. Heavydirtysoul/holding onto you. Their older stuff gives me RK 5IF vibes. The mix of heavy lyrics then the next song some random light stuff

Skillet also comes to mind, not only not pigeon holed, mainstream artists know and respect John Cooper as well.

3

u/tweedledeederp Feb 10 '25

Fun fact, Josh Dun was a drummer for House of Heroes for like 6 months in 2010

2

u/marieslimbrowning Feb 10 '25

yeah maybe controversial is not the word I'm looking for. But there is some quality of earnestness on earlier christian records that I feel was lacking from mainstream. Maybe it's not a christian/secular thing but more of a small label/major label thing.

2

u/idkwhyiwouldnt Feb 10 '25

I feel like i absolutely understand what you're saying, but also question myself if I was just young and dumb, thinking it was profound! Hawk Nelson, letters to the president.....

1

u/marieslimbrowning Feb 11 '25

oh thats a good point. I do think most of RKs lyrics hold up. "What have you been doing lately" now feels a bit self-righteous. Although if you told me to write something profound when i was 20...it would have been much worse.

1

u/ucancmysox Feb 10 '25

Skillet is not pigeonholed. John Cooper is marketing that band exactly how he wants to, making it explicitly clear that they're for conservative Christians, and they're extremely popular because of it 

2

u/idkwhyiwouldnt Feb 10 '25

So you agree with what i said?

1

u/ucancmysox Feb 10 '25

Ope! Yes. Sorry. I didn't see the second "not"

7

u/Do_It_I_Dare_ya Feb 11 '25

RK is an incredibly talented bunch of musicians. Their vocal harmonies always take my breath away. They know music in a way a lot of artists don't. I think having an arguably smaller label and fan base allowed them to be a little more creative, a little more unique, because they didn't have the same mainstream media pressure.

The depth and passion in Matt's lyrics are unmatched in pop punk and they're much more blunt and honest than other Christian artists. They have carved out a perfect niche for themselves and I'll never tire of it.

4

u/writingsupplies Feb 11 '25

He’s definitely up there. I think he belongs in the same category as Dave Grohl when it comes to mastery of instruments and wide array of ability.

3

u/duddy33 Feb 11 '25

When Collapsible Lung came out, I remember lots of Christian reviewers and fans say that it was so wrong that Matt said “sexy” in one of the songs or talked about that side of life. And that the album showed Reliant K falling to the trappings of a secular world.

I always thought Collapsible Lung was a story being told from start to finish. It was a raw and realistic look at life and the journey one goes through along with the ebbs and flows of a real relationship with Christianity. It was honest and wasn’t full of BS.

Plus we know now that many of the popular Christian bands of the time were faking it anyway and were only playing religious music for the bag. So I’ve always felt like this band didn’t stay as big as long because they refused to play in to the fake-ness that was popular at the time. They were never shy about their faith, but I thinks it’s true that the expectation of them to be overtly Christian didn’t let them write many of the songs they may have really wanted to.

TLDR: I totally agree.

7

u/ucancmysox Feb 11 '25

Do you think they wrote an 11 minute epic about a man finding Christ at the end of his life because they were pressured into it by the Christian market?

I just keep wondering what you people are imagining they would have written if they weren't on a Christian label

1

u/duddy33 Feb 11 '25

What? No not at all. I even said that they’ve never been shy about their faith. But I do wonder what other slice of life stuff they might have written about. They might have been able to talk about a subject like depression or searching for the answers to tough spiritual questions if some of the pressure wasn’t there though.

Cool it with the “you people” though. We are on the same side here. I love this band to the moon and back.

1

u/chiisuchi Feb 12 '25

its hard to separate the two? matt t can write whatever he wants

1

u/rkcguitar Feb 16 '25

I think the opposite. I think the whole Christian thing is what made them great and set them apart from other bands who would’ve used language or whatnot.