Before It's Over

Album: Modern Vintage (2014)
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Songfacts®:

  • DJ Ashba told Artist Direct this ragtime-themed closing track is one of his favorites on Modern Vintage as he is a lover of the early 20th century genre with a syncopated, or "ragged," rhythm. The Sixx: A.M. guitarist told Artist Direct: "A lot of the young kids today haven't even heard ragtime because it's a genre that's been lost and forgotten. You don't hear many ragtime songs these days, especially for a rock band to write a song in that vein. To me, that was a challenge."

    "It was about going back to studying that style of playing and wanting to bring to the table a cool authentic solo," DJ Ashba continued. "I did research on all the ragtime piano riffs. It's really cool. We were able to do it and still make it sound like Sixx:A.M. I used to love listening to Van Halen records as a kid because they would throw in those surprises like 'Ice Cream Man.' 'I'm super proud of this and happy we put it last."
  • Another rock song with ragtime elements is Stone Temple Pilots' breakthrough single, "Plush." The song's chord structure was inspired by bassist Robert DeLeo's love of the "raggedy" turn-of-the-20th-Century style of music.
  • Vocalist and lyricist James Michael explained the song's meaning during a Reddit AMA: "It's about someone who is struggling to deal with the loss of a loved one," he said. "The character in the song is very isolated and lonely even though he is surrounded by people that are trying to help him pick up the pieces and move on."

    "The uplifting ragtime feel of the track represents the world moving on around him and it isolates him even more as he is unable to cope," Michael continued. "The contrast of the 'happy' feeling of the music with his painfully lonely lyric creates the discomfort that he is feeling."

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