This Town

Album: All Sides (2008)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Frontman and lyricist Marc Roberge said on the album's promotional materials that this track's opening guitar riff "is the perfect way to begin this album. It is an announcement. This is a song about the joy we get out of touring this country and the world. It's about the live show and was written for the crowd."
  • This song, along with the rest of the album was produced by Matt Wallace (Maroon5, the Replacements, Faith No More). Wallace bought O.A.R. out to Los Angeles to record, the first time the quintet has worked on an album away from the East Coast. Roberge explained to Billboard magazine that he felt that working on the West Coast had a pronounced effect on the album. He said: "We wanted to get out of the sludge of winter. I think the L.A. weather had a huge part in this record."
  • Roberge told Billboard magazine that variety was the primary goal when he embarked on writing 30 or 40 demos for possible inclusion on the album. He said: "The name 'All Sides' was thought of almost two years ago, when I started writing the demos, 'cause I didn't want to get caught up in the same musical style on every song. The point of each demo was to go down a different path, all to the same end of something we could play live and be effective with and that our fans would dig." (check out our interview with Marc Roberge)

Comments: 2

  • Jon from Enumclaw , WaI kinda like this song. I have seen it on tv in NACAR commericals.
  • Jon from Enumclaw , WaI kinda like this song. I have seen it on tv in NACAR commericals.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Early Days of MTV

Early Days of MTVFact or Fiction

If you can recall the days when MTV played videos, you know that there are lots of stories to tell. See if you can spot the real ones.

Emilio Castillo from Tower of Power

Emilio Castillo from Tower of PowerSongwriter Interviews

Emilio talks about what it's like to write and perform with the Tower of Power horns, and why every struggling band should have a friend like Huey Lewis.

American Hits With Foreign Titles

American Hits With Foreign TitlesSong Writing

What are the biggest US hits with French, Spanish (not "Rico Suave"), Italian, Scottish, Greek, and Japanese titles?

U2 Lyrics

U2 LyricsMusic Quiz

How well do you know the lyrics of U2?

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.

80s Video Director Jay Dubin

80s Video Director Jay DubinSong Writing

Billy Joel and Hall & Oates hated making videos, so they chose a director with similar contempt for the medium. That was Jay Dubin, and he has a lot to say on the subject.