History Music / Switchfoot

* ChristianRock: Though not a blatant example.
** NotChristianRock: They are this if they aren't Christian Rock. Pretty much any discussion of how "Christian Rock" should be defined ''will'' eventually mention Switchfoot.
** As Jon once put it: "We're Christians by faith, not by genre."

* NiceHat: Jon wears fedoras pretty often.

** "Dirty Second Hands" from ''Oh! Gravity'' cranks this UpToEleven. It moves back and forth between 5/8 and 6/4 during the verses, throws in a hardly discernible time signature during the chorus, only to move to full-on 6/4 during the last third of the song. Long story short, the song's a musical MindScrew.

After a brief hiatus, their latest album ''NATIVE TONGUE'' was released in January 2019.

* {{Mondegreen}}: Due to Jon's occasionally lazy enunciation, some of their lyrics can be hilariously misheard. [[note]] [[http://landofbrokenhearts.org/fan-zone/lyrical-errors/ Land Of Broken Hearts]] has a page devoted to lyrical errors.[[/note]]

* RereleaseTheSong: "Dare You To Move" was originally released on ''Learning to Breathe''. The band later rerecorded it and released it again on their next album, ''The Beautiful Letdown''.

* GratuitousPanning: The intro to "Meant To Live". If you're listening in headphones, it's a very quick way to find out if your headphones are on backwards. [[note]]The intro guitar riff starts panned all the way to the left speaker.[[/note]] Ditto "Mess of Me".

* LatexPerfection: Used at the very end of the "New Way To Be Human" music video.

* CallBack: Towards the start of "Ode To Chin", Jon quips that 'life's more than girls'. Towards the end of "Gone" released six years later, he says that "life is still more than girls".

Switchfoot are an alternative rock band from San Diego, California. The band's members are Jon Foreman (lead vocals, guitar), Tim Foreman (bass guitar, backing vocals), Chad Butler (drums, percussion), Jerome Fontamillas (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals, accordion, pretty much everything else, really ), and Drew Shirley (guitar, backing vocals).

Formed in 1996, the Foreman brothers, sons of a local Baptist preacher, got fellow band-mate Chad Butler together and started recording music. They were then discovered by producer Music/{{Charlie Peacock}} who signed them to his re:think indie label and produced their second and third albums. Their first three albums, ''The Legend Of Chin'' (1997), ''New Way To Be Human'' (1999), and ''Learning To Breathe'' (2000) helped the band gain some indie status, and also snagged them a few Grammy nominations for Christian music.

After re:think was bought by Sparrow Records, Switchfoot signed to Creator/ColumbiaRecords in 2002 and released their breakthrough album, ''A Beautiful Letdown'' in 2003. They gained two radio hits from it, the epic "Meant To Live" and the heartwarming "Dare You To Move" (the latter had previously appeared on ''Learning To Breathe'', but was remixed and rerecorded for the new album). Their music started massively being used in TV commercials and shows, quickly growing them more recognition.

They then recorded 4 albums worth of material. The first, ''Hello Hurricane'' was released in 2009 and was a refreshing return to their old sound. The second, ''Vice Verses'' was released in September of 2011. A remix album titled ''Vice Re-Verses'' was released soon after. Their most recent albums, ''Fading West'' and ''Where the Light Shines Through'', were released in 2014 and 2016.

* NiceGuy: All of them! Seriously, you'll be hard-pressed to find another group with the same level of popularity that are as amiable and friendly as these guys. For proof, watch their interviews, or better yet, their podcasts. And if you do decide to watch the podcasts, [[CrowningMomentOfFunny prepare to laugh at almost every single one of them!]] They love to goof off, with special mention going to Drew.

* AlbumTitleDrop:
** ''Nothing Is Sound'' is the only album not to have a title track on a Switchfoot album. Instead it's a line repeated in "Happy Is A Yuppie Word". [[{{Anvilicious}} Seven times very loudly, if the first time didn't suffice.]]

* DarkerAndEdgier:
** ''Nothing Is Sound'', being their first album recorded with Drew Shirley, is noticeably heavier than ''The Beautiful Letdown'' due to the extra emphasis on electric guitar. Its lyrics are also a shade darker than most of their work up to that point.

* PissTakeRap:
** Jon on "Dirty Second Hands". It's actually pretty cool.

* RockersSmashGuitars:
** During their 2007 tour, Jon deliberately destroyed his guitar on stage during the finale of 'Dirty Second Hands', and then proceeded to bang on a cymbal with what was left of the neck. According to their video podcast, he'd planned it in advance and they even filmed him saying 'goodbye' to the guitar backstage before the show.

* AlbumTitleDrop:
** ''Nothing Is Sound'' is the only album not to have a title track on a Switchfoot album. Instead it's a line repeated in "Happy Is A Yuppie Word". [[{{Anvilicious}} Seven times very loudly, if the first time didn't suffice.]]

* DarkerAndEdgier:
** ''Nothing Is Sound'', being their first album recorded with Drew Shirley, is noticeably heavier than ''The Beautiful Letdown'' due to the extra emphasis on electric guitar. Its lyrics are also a shade darker than most of their work up to that point.

* PissTakeRap:
** Jon on "Dirty Second Hands". It's actually pretty cool.

* RockersSmashGuitars:
** During their 2007 tour, Jon deliberately destroyed his guitar on stage during the finale of 'Dirty Second Hands', and then proceeded to bang on a cymbal with what was left of the neck. According to their video podcast, he'd planned it in advance and they even filmed him saying 'goodbye' to the guitar backstage before the show.

* AlbumTitleDrop:
** ''Nothing Is Sound'' is the only album not to have a title track on a Switchfoot album. Instead it's a line repeated in "Happy Is A Yuppie Word". [[{{Anvilicious}} Seven times very loudly, if the first time didn't suffice.]]

* DarkerAndEdgier:
** ''Nothing Is Sound'', being their first album recorded with Drew Shirley, is noticeably heavier than ''The Beautiful Letdown'' due to the extra emphasis on electric guitar. Its lyrics are also a shade darker than most of their work up to that point.

* PissTakeRap:
** Jon on "Dirty Second Hands". It's actually pretty cool.

* RockersSmashGuitars:
** During their 2007 tour, Jon deliberately destroyed his guitar on stage during the finale of 'Dirty Second Hands', and then proceeded to bang on a cymbal with what was left of the neck. According to their video podcast, he'd planned it in advance and they even filmed him saying 'goodbye' to the guitar backstage before the show.

* AlbumTitleDrop:
** ''Nothing Is Sound'' is the only album not to have a title track on a Switchfoot album. Instead it's a line repeated in "Happy Is A Yuppie Word". [[{{Anvilicious}} Seven times very loudly, if the first time didn't suffice.]]

* DarkerAndEdgier:
** ''Nothing Is Sound'', being their first album recorded with Drew Shirley, is noticeably heavier than ''The Beautiful Letdown'' due to the extra emphasis on electric guitar. Its lyrics are also a shade darker than most of their work up to that point.

* PissTakeRap:
** Jon on "Dirty Second Hands". It's actually pretty cool.

* RockersSmashGuitars:
** During their 2007 tour, Jon deliberately destroyed his guitar on stage during the finale of 'Dirty Second Hands', and then proceeded to bang on a cymbal with what was left of the neck. According to their video podcast, he'd planned it in advance and they even filmed him saying 'goodbye' to the guitar backstage before the show.

* AlbumTitleDrop:
** ''Nothing Is Sound'' is the only album not to have a title track on a Switchfoot album. Instead it's a line repeated in "Happy Is A Yuppie Word". [[{{Anvilicious}} Seven times very loudly, if the first time didn't suffice.]]

* DarkerAndEdgier:
** ''Nothing Is Sound'', being their first album recorded with Drew Shirley, is noticeably heavier than ''The Beautiful Letdown'' due to the extra emphasis on electric guitar. Its lyrics are also a shade darker than most of their work up to that point.

* PissTakeRap:
** Jon on "Dirty Second Hands". It's actually pretty cool.

* RockersSmashGuitars:
** During their 2007 tour, Jon deliberately destroyed his guitar on stage during the finale of 'Dirty Second Hands', and then proceeded to bang on a cymbal with what was left of the neck. According to their video podcast, he'd planned it in advance and they even filmed him saying 'goodbye' to the guitar backstage before the show.

* AlbumTitleDrop: ''Nothing Is Sound'' is the only album not to have a title track on a Switchfoot album. Instead it's a line repeated in "Happy Is A Yuppie Word". [[{{Anvilicious}} Seven times very loudly, if the first time didn't suffice.]]

* DarkerAndEdgier: ''Nothing Is Sound'', being their first album recorded with Drew Shirley, is noticeably heavier than ''The Beautiful Letdown'' due to the extra emphasis on electric guitar. Its lyrics are also a shade darker than most of their work up to that point.

* GodIsLoveSongs: "Only Hope", "On Fire", and oh so many more.
** Or they could be plain old love songs. Your interpretation of those songs will vary.

* RockersSmashGuitars: During their 2007 tour, Jon deliberately destroyed his guitar on stage during the finale of 'Dirty Second Hands', and then proceeded to bang on a cymbal with what was left of the neck. According to their video podcast, he'd planned it in advance and they even filmed him saying 'goodbye' to the guitar backstage before the show.

* PissTakeRap: Jon on "Dirty Second Hands". It's actually pretty cool.

* {{Post-Grunge}}: They're more this in name than in sound, though.

* AllJustADream: "Faust, Midas, and Myself" from ''Oh! Gravity.'' Jon [[LampshadeHanging hangs a lampshade]] on the first line of the song. [[note]]Of course, that's before you find out that the song is about [[{{Inception}} a dream within a dream within another dream.]][[/note]]

* ShoutOut: At the beginning of [[PunnyName "Might Have Ben Hur"]]: "This one goes out to [[BenHur Charlton Heston]]".