Konstantine (song)

Last updated
"Konstantine"
Song by Something Corporate
from the album Songs for Silent Movies
ReleasedMay 27, 2003
Genre Alternative rock, emo [1] [2] [3]
Length9:36
Label Drive-Thru, MCA
Songwriter(s) Andrew McMahon

"Konstantine" is a song by alternative rock band Something Corporate. The song is the third track from their album Songs for Silent Movies, which was only released in Japan.

Contents

Performance history

Fans of McMahon have been known to request the song while he toured with Jack's Mannequin and most recently under the moniker "Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness." In the past, McMahon refused to play the song, saying in an interview, "If I ever play it, I’ll have to play it forever, every night. If it weren’t such a big deal for me to play 'Konstantine', then I probably would play it. But the truth is, as soon as I bring that song out one time, I will never be able to walk through a venue, no matter what band I’m playing with or no matter where I’m at, and not have people chant and cheer for it.” [4]

On August 8, 2010, during a show at the Great Plaza at Penn's Landing in Philadelphia, Something Corporate performed "Konstantine". As McMahon sat at the piano, he prefaced the upcoming song by noting that it "has flown under the radar" for years, and that its popularity is due solely to the fans' passion for it. For this reason, prior to playing the opening measures, McMahon called 'Konstantine' "a song for the people".

In apparent contradiction to his earlier interview, McMahon played "Konstantine" at every show he headlined in 2013. [5] However, he now only plays it on one day a year: November 11. [6]

As of August 2nd, 2022, Konstantine appears to be part of the standard set-list for the "Hello Gone Days" tour. [7] [8]

Something Corporate is back together as of 2024 and on their Out of Office tour. Konstantine is part of the standard set list, usually performed during the encore. [9]

Reference to other media

The line "It's to Jimmy Eat World and those nights in my car when the 'first star you see may not be a star.' I'm not your star" is a direct reference to lyrics from the song "For Me This is Heaven" from Jimmy Eat World's 1999 album Clarity .

Referenced in other media

Chicago pop punk band Real Friends references the song in two of their own songs: "I Think I'm Moving Forward" and “When You Were Here.”

It is also referenced in the songs "Poetically Pathetic" by the American pop punk band Amber Pacific and "Success Story" by Holiday Parade.

Poet Hanif Abdurraqib references the song in the opening lines of his poem, "Ok, I'm Finally Ready To Say Sorry For That One Summer" from his collection, The Crown Ain't Worth Much.

Related Research Articles

Emo is a music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of hardcore punk and post-hardcore from the mid-1980s Washington, D.C. hardcore scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore. The bands Rites of Spring and Embrace, among others, pioneered the genre. In the early-to-mid 1990s, emo was adopted and reinvented by alternative rock, indie rock, punk rock, and pop-punk bands, including Sunny Day Real Estate, Jawbreaker, Cap'n Jazz, and Jimmy Eat World. By the mid-1990s, Braid, the Promise Ring, and the Get Up Kids emerged from Midwest emo, and several independent record labels began to specialize in the genre. Meanwhile, screamo, a more aggressive style of emo using screamed vocals, also emerged, pioneered by the San Diego bands Heroin and Antioch Arrow. Screamo achieved mainstream success in the 2000s with bands like Hawthorne Heights, Silverstein, Story of the Year, Thursday, the Used, and Underoath.

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References

  1. Ian Cohen; David Anthony; Nina Corcoran; Emma Garland; Brad Nelson (February 13, 2020). "The 100 Greatest Emo Songs of All Time". Vulture.com. Vox Media . Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  2. Koerber, Brian (February 5, 2015). "22 emo songs that helped you through your high-school breakup". Mashable. Archived from the original on 2018-02-01. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
  3. "Fan poll: 5 saddest emo songs of all time". Alternative Press . Retrieved November 15, 2024.
  4. "Jack's Mannequin makes love to Boston - Page 2 of 2". 4 May 2009.
  5. "ERRP | Expired Registration Recovery Policy".
  6. Andrew McMahon [@andrewmcmahon] (17 November 2015). "@seangally6 zero, unfortunately. Only play it one night a year. 1111" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  7. "Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness Setlist, The Fillmore, Minneapolis". setlist.fm. 31 July 2022.
  8. "Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness Setlist, St. Louis Music Park, Maryland Heights". setlist.fm. 2 August 2022.
  9. "Something Corporate Concert Setlists". setlist.fm.