Sad But True

Sixpence None the Richer is a band named for an economic metaphor describing a religious concept about art. And their work, especially around the time of their self-titled record, is usually about that same three-way collison: art, faith, and money. "Sad But True" most directly addresses this pileup, but it was left off the record, relegated to the b-side of an obscure "Kiss Me" single few people bought, as it was released before the song was actually a "hit single." 

 And so the irony of the hit single being b/w a song that essentially presaged the untenable position the band would find itself in due to "Kiss Me" -- a moody, sacramental rock band being cast as a breezy teen pop group -- went largely unnoticed. For a long time, this song could be read as a statement about the band's demise: 

Beauty never sells. Money makes the rules.

Artsy band fails to capitalize on one-hit wonder status and breaks up.

But they came back! And for the first time in years, they're where they need to be: an independent band, beholden to no corporatations, in a world where radio singles aren't such a big deal. Releasing My Dear Machine on on a pay-what-you-will-or-not scheme (NoiseTrade) was a refreshing and smart move for Sixpence. What better way to exorcise the economic demons of the past than by giving away songs for free? Their Christmas album (which I will not be writing about here as I cannot bring myself to listen to Christmas music when it isn't Christmas) was released through Nettwerk, a company known for giving artists a huge degree of control over their rights to publishing and recordings. I'm not sure if Sixpence ever played this song live-- but ideologically at least, I hope they don't need to play it again for a long time.

For those of you following along at home with your Bibles, the first line of the chorus ("I need to strengthen the thing that remains" -- also rendered as "the things that remain") comes from the third chapter of the book of Revelation.

You can listen to "Sad But True" on Youtube here.