Editing Switchfoot (section)

==Switchfoot and Christian music==
Switchfoot is often referred to as a [[Christian rock]] band; even after having been signed to the mainstream [[Columbia Records]] from 2003 to 2007, Atlantic Records from 2008 to 2016, and currently, [[Vanguard Records]], their albums are still distributed to Christian retail outlets through [[Sparrow Records]]/[[EMI CMG]], their songs are featured on Christian radio and charts, they play at Christian festivals, and they are presented with [[GMA Music Awards|Dove Awards]]. The band has always philosophically disagreed with this label; "We're Christian by faith, not genre," Tim Foreman explained to ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine in 2003.<ref>Miller, Kirk (September 24, 2003). How God, Surfing and Bono Inspired This San Diego band. ''Rolling Stone Magazine''</ref>
[[File:Jon Foreman - 2024.jpg|thumb|left|Jon Foreman of Switchfoot performs at Pier 17 in New York City as part of the Help From My Friends Tour on July 30, 2024.]]
Says Jon Foreman, "We've always been very open and honest about where the songs are coming from. For us, these songs are for everyone. Calling us 'Christian rock' tends to be a box that closes some people out and excludes them, and that's not what we're trying to do. Music has always opened my mind—and that's what we want".<ref name="Boston Globe">
 {{cite news
 |url=http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2004/01/09/switchfoot_steps_toward_stardom
 |title=Switchfoot steps toward stardom
 |work=[[The Boston Globe]]
 |last=Morse
 |first=Steve
 |date=January 9, 2004
 |access-date=August 9, 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050123135046/http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2004/01/09/switchfoot_steps_toward_stardom?mode=PF |archive-date = January 23, 2005}}
</ref>

"[Signing to Columbia was] a realization of something that we'd wanted to be from the beginning," Foreman explains. "When we were signed to re:think Records [an indie label], the goal was to get the music out to everybody. [But] when Sparrow [a Christian label] bought re:think Records, it was evident that our music wasn't going to be in the hands of everybody. As a [[Christians|Christian]], I have a lot to say within the walls of the church. But also, as a Christian, I've got a lot to say just about life in general... So to be able to be on Columbia ''and'' on Sparrow felt like the realization of the two sides of what we had to say. It's a dream come true to be able to have songs that are outside of the box."<ref name="christianitytoday06">
 {{cite web
 |url         = http://www.christianitytoday.com/music/interviews/2006/switchfoot-1106.html
 |title       = Audience of One
 |last        = Hansen
 |first       = Collin
 |date        = November 27, 2006
 |access-date  = December 27, 2006
 |url-status     = live
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20061226215552/http://www.christianitytoday.com/music/interviews/2006/switchfoot-1106.html
 |archive-date = December 26, 2006
}}
</ref>

After the release of ''The Beautiful Letdown'', the band temporarily stopped playing at Christian festivals and doing interviews with Christian organizations, as they found the speculation about their faith to be distracting from the music. Three years later, they went back to headlining at large Christian-based music festivals, and also agreed to be featured on the June 2006 cover of ''[[CCM Magazine]]'' after declining the opportunity for years.<ref>Swartzendruber, Jay (June 2006). Learning To Breathe. ''CCM Magazine'' Archives. Retrieved 2012-8-2, from [http://ht.salemweb.net/ccm/ccmmagazine/pdf/200606.pdf SalemWeb.net] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510080122/http://ht.salemweb.net/ccm/ccmmagazine/pdf/200606.pdf |date=May 10, 2012 }}</ref> Yet in many ways they used the opportunity to describe their split from the CCM industry. That caused some, such as ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'' writer Andrew Beaujon to say "their lyrics often have two different meanings, one meaning for a Christian audience and one meaning for the rest of us. They try to relate to two different groups of people at once."<ref name="jsonline">
 {{cite news
 |url=http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=444350 
 |title=Rocking for Jesus 
 |last=Tianen 
 |first=Dave 
 |newspaper=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 
 |date=June 30, 2006 
 |access-date=August 9, 2006 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060706140202/http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=444350 
 |archive-date=July 6, 2006 
 |url-status=dead 
}}
</ref> Jon Foreman has compared the Christian undertones of his music to the undertones of [[C. S. Lewis|C. S. Lewis']]s books.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ctkblog.com/2013/12/05/why-switchfoot-wont-sing-christian-songs/|title=Why Switchfoot won't sing Christian songs – ctkblog|work=ctkblog|access-date=October 4, 2014}}</ref>