Saves the Day’s Chris Conley Reveals ‘Through Being Cool’ Born Out of Creative Writing Assignments

20 years ago, Saves the Day were just a fresh new band getting an education in the music scene when they released one of their most highly regarded albums, Through Being Cool. But in speaking with singer-guitarist Chris Conley, we also learned another part of his education played a big role in how the album turned out.

According to the singer, he was living in New York City at the time, still taking some classes, including a creative writing course that helped spark his approach to the music. The vocalist admits that some of the lyrics for the album started off as writing exercises for his class.

When asked about some of the more violent lyrics for the album, Conley confesses, "There are a lot of lyrics that I would not write now or even think of now, but the thing was that I was doing writing assignments. This might alter someone’s perception of the album, but this is true — some of the songs aren’t about things that happened, they’re about emotions."

He adds, "The exercise would be to create a scene where an emotion could live so you could allow the emotion to have its space on the page. I didn’t feel those things about people. It was an intense emotion that I was releasing. I think that’s important to know, because the songs that are about actual things are the love songs, and the angry songs are just about frustration. They’re not directed at anybody, and they’re not about anybody."

Conley reveals that one of the more vividly descriptive writers he loved during that period was Morrissey. "He would write things like ‘If a 10-ton truck killed the both of, to die by your side would be such a heavenly way to die,’” says the singer. "That’s a great lyric, it’s intense, it’s about getting flattened by a double decker bus, but it gets the point across."

To mark the 20th anniversary of Through Being Cool, Saves the Day are releasing a remastered double LP version of the album alongside nine never before heard demos recorded in their basement as well as a live session from the same period.

Watch more of our interview with Saves the Day's Chris Conley reflecting on Through Being Cool in the player above, and look for the special release coming Oct. 25. You can place your pre-order here. And look for the band playing 20th anniversary shows celebrating the album at the stops below.

Saves the Day 20th Anniversary Through Being Cool Shows

Nov. 02 - Sayreville, N.J. @ Starland Ballroom
Nov. 03 - Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Elsewhere
Nov. 09 - Anaheim, Calif. @ House of Blues
Nov. 10 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Bootleg Theater

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