Taken To The Wild

Album: Foundering (2022)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Jay Clifford, lead singer of the alt-rock band Jump, Little Children, told Songfacts that this thought-provoking track is about the trappings of social media. "I have kids and I watch what social media has done, especially to younger girls - it has this tendency to make you hate yourself, which is never good. And it does it to a series of attention captures so it sort of robs you of the beautiful world you live in. The idea of 'they've taken the picture but left you the frame.' You have this frame in your hand that you're focused on the whole time but the picture of yourself is gone," he explained in a 2022 interview.

    Although he thinks social media has been a mostly bad influence on people, he sees potential for it to be a positive force in the future. "I wouldn't categorize myself as a Luddite or that I'm being grumpy about the modern world because I love the modern world," he continued. "We live in some amazing times and I'm excited about the future. I'm an optimist at heart. Social media, like any other technology, it's sort of like nuclear power. You can power a city with it, or it can destroy us. I think we'll get this whole game dialed in so it's good for us as a whole. The last 10 years though, it's been largely negative for the world. I think it needs some restructuring."
  • This is included on the band's sixth and final studio album, Foundering, which was recorded after Matt and Evan Bivins left the band. Matt - who played several instruments in the band, including accordion, harmonica, and mandolin - was an original member, who co-founded the group with Clifford, cellist Ward Williams, and guitarist Christopher Pollen (whose own departure inspired their early single "Cathedrals") at the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem in 1991. His brother Evan became their new drummer the following year after the group returned from a trip to Ireland.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Maria Muldaur

Maria MuldaurSongwriter Interviews

The "Midnight At The Oasis" singer is an Old Time gal. She talks about her jug band beginnings and shares a Dylan story.

Incongruent Opening Acts

Incongruent Opening ActsSong Writing

Here's what happens when an opening act is really out of place with the headliner, like when Beastie Boys opened for Madonna.

Trucking Songs That Were #1 Hits

Trucking Songs That Were #1 HitsSong Writing

The stories behind the biggest hit songs about trucking.

Gene Simmons of Kiss

Gene Simmons of KissSongwriter Interviews

The Kiss rocker covers a lot of ground in this interview, including why there are no Kiss collaborations, and why the Rock Hall has "become a sham."

Facebook, Bromance and Email - The First Songs To Use New Words

Facebook, Bromance and Email - The First Songs To Use New WordsSong Writing

Where words like "email," "thirsty," "Twitter" and "gangsta" first showed up in songs, and which songs popularized them.

Brian Kehew: The Man Behind The Remasters

Brian Kehew: The Man Behind The RemastersSong Writing

Brian has unearthed outtakes by Fleetwood Mac, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Costello and hundreds of other artists for reissues. Here's how he does it.