As It Is pay homage to Simple Plan in new song "I Miss 2003"

Thanks to our reader Julia we’ve learned that the British-American rock band As It Is released a brand new single this week called “I Miss 2003”, which the band formed as a love letter to the alternative scene from the early 2000s. In the lyrics, the band hid a number of references to bands from this era, such as Jimmy Eat World, My Chemical Romance, Paramore, Good Charlotte or Simple Plan.

Simple Plan in particular are referenced in “I Miss 2003” through their hit song “Welcome To My Life” (featured on the album “Still Not Getting Any”). The verse referencing Simple Plan goes as follows:

I’m in the middle of a crisis
Welcome to my life, no I don’t think that I like this
I can’t believe I got this jaded (got this jaded)
I remember singing to “The Anthem”
My friends were the best, wish I knew it when I had them
‘Cause now it’s kind of complicated

Check out what the band’s guitarist Ronnie Ish said about the inspiration for this song:

“Growing up in a small town isn’t easy when you’re different. Bullied for the way you dress, criticized for the things you like, hated on for the music you listen to. Some days were a battle for me getting out of bed to go through the same routine again and again. But there’s something special about a song that makes you feel alive, and has the power to put all the negative shit in the back of your mind. This scene gave me a place to call home and empowered me to be me, unashamedly and unapologetically. If it weren’t for the bands and the songs and the words and the community to get me through all of the shit, I don’t know who I’d be today or if I’d even be at all.

We wrote a love letter to the scene titled ‘I MISS 2003’ to pay homage to all the bands that paved the way for us to say what we want to say, the way we want to say it. IM’03 was the last song we wrote and recorded with ZJ to finalize ‘I WENT TO HELL & BACK’ [coming out 02/04/22] there’s an undeniable energy to it, it feels different but the scene’s DNA that runs through all our veins makes it feel all the same. Load up the car with all your friends and turn this shit up to ten. Hope it makes you feel something.”

– Ronnie Ish (guitarist of As It Is) [on Instagram] –

Check out the full song below: