If your interest was piqued by the inclusion of the New Radicals’s 1998 hit single “You Get What You Give†on Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’s recently-announced inauguration playlist, you’re definitely going to want to watch the closing act of their “Parade Across America†virtual inaugural event this Wednesday. According to Rolling Stone, the New Radicals will be reuniting after 22 years (active from 1997 to 1999, the band released one album, Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too, in 1998) to celebrate the fact that the world might, if we’re lucky, pull through after all.
“If there’s one thing on Earth that would possibly make us get the band together, if only for a day, it is the hope that our song could be even the tiniest beacon of light in such a dark time,†New Radicals frontman Gregg Alexander said in a statement. “America knows in its heart that things will get bright again with a new administration and a real plan for vaccines on the way. That’s the message of the song… this world is gonna pull through.â€
In addition to being incoming Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff’s self-selected campaign walk-on song, Rolling Stone points out that “You Get What You Give†also holds significance for Biden’s family. According to the soon-to-be 46th president, the song served as a rallying cry for son Beau Biden as he received treatment for cancer; Beau passed away in 2015.
“During breakfast, Beau would often make me listen to what I thought was his theme song, ‘You Get What You Give’ by the New Radicals,†the President-elect wrote in his 2017 autobiography Promise Me, Dad. “Even though Beau never stopped fighting and his will to live was stronger than most – I think he knew that this day might come. The words to the song are: This whole damn world can fall apart. You’ll be ok, follow your heart.â€