"Pressing On" is a song by the

Christian rock Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. This music is typically performed by Christians, Christian individuals. The extent to whi ...

band

Relient K Relient K () is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1998 in Canton, Ohio by Matt Thiessen, Matt Hoopes, and Brian Pittman during their third year in high school and time at Malone University in Canton. The band is named after guitarist ...

. It was released as the second single from their second studio album, ''

The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek ''The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek'' (often shortened to ''Anatomy'') is the second full-length album released by the Christian rock band Relient K. It was released on August 28, 2001, and peaked at No. 158 on the ''Billboard'' 200. On Ju ...

''. The song was written by the band's lead singer

Matt Thiessen Matthew Arnold Thiessen (born August 12, 1980) is a Canadian-born American musician known for being co-founder, lead singer, guitarist, pianist, and primary songwriter for the rock band Relient K. With Relient K, he has released eight full-lengt ...

Background

Following the release of their debut self-titled studio album, the group decided to show more growth and maturity in their songs from ''

'', as heard on "Pressing On". The song is about growth in

faith Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, faith is " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, faith has multiple definitions, inc ...

, while also making a reference to

pop culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art pop_art.html" ;"title="f. pop art">f. pop artor mass art, some ...

, where the last line of the song is from ''

The Mary Tyler Moore Show ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (also known simply as ''Mary Tyler Moore'') is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns and starring actress Mary Tyler Moore. The show originally aired on CBS from September 19, 1970 ...

'' theme. An acoustic version appears on ''

The Creepy EP ''The Creepy EP'' is the second EP by American rock band Relient K. It contains two songs from their later full-length release, ''The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek'', and four exclusive tracks. This EP, along with Relient K's other early EPs, i ...

'', along with the studio version.

Composition

"Pressing On" was written by

and produced by

Mark Lee Townsend Mark Lee Townsend is an American multi-instrumentalist and record producer best known as guitarist for the Christian rock band dc Talk and as the long-time producer for Christian rock band Relient K. Career Townsend's career started as a member ...

. The song was mixed by J.R. McNeely at the Castle in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, while

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' '' Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Early life ...

mastered the track at Sterling Sound in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Use in media

The song was featured in the ''

Power Rangers Ninja Storm ''Power Rangers Ninja Storm'' is a television series and the eleventh season of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, based on the 26th Super Sentai series '' Ninpu Sentai Hurricaneger''. The season marked a series of firsts in the franchise, being ...

'' episode "Looming Thunder", along with "Trademark" from ''Two Lefts Don't Make a Right...but Three Do''. It also appears in ''

Big Air Freestyle ''Big Air Freestyle'' is a motorcycle racing video game for the GameCube developed by Paradigm Entertainment and published by Infogrames in 2002. It is an enhanced port of the PlayStation 2 game ''MX Rider'', without the FIA license. Reception ...

'', a

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video game for

GameCube The is a PowerPC-based home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, in Europe on May 3, 2002, and in Australia on May 17, 2002. It is the suc ...

and can be heard on at least one episode of the television show ''

Pimp My Ride ''Pimp My Ride'' is a staged American television series produced by MTV and hosted by rapper Xzibit, which ran for six seasons on MTV from 2004 to 2007. In each episode, a car in poor condition is both restored and customized. The work on th ...

''. The song is featured in the episode of '' What's New, Scooby Doo?'' called "Gold Paw."

Music video

A music video for "Pressing On" was released in 2001. The music video shows the at-the-time four band members as they walked from a van to a building where their video is to be shot. However, the band is instantly swamped by fans.

Security guards A security guard (also known as a security inspector, security officer, factory guard, or protective agent) is a person employed by a government or private party to protect the employing party's assets (property, people, equipment, money, etc.) ...

desperately try to keep the fans away, but the band continues to look forward and walk towards the building anyway. Once they are inside, another fan who awaits them charges in their direction. Two more security guards take the man away as the band shows up on set. An extra scene is added at the end, where the

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

refers to their music as "Whatever you guys are playing these days". The music video also has many shots of the band performing the song, which are cut into the scenes of them walking through the fans. The group was originally set to record a music video for another song, "Sade Hawkins Dance" in July 2001 and was supposed to feature

Gary Coleman Gary Wayne Coleman (February 8, 1968 – May 28, 2010) was an American actor, known as a high-profile child star of the late 1970s and 1980s. Born in Zion, Illinois, Coleman grew up with his adopted parents, and a kidney disease; due to the co ...

in the video. However, on a post to their official message board, Thiessen admitted that the band had to change to "Pressing On" at the last minute because of a low budget. Having only several days to plan the video, it was pulled together very quickly. The video is also included on the gold edition of ''

''.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits for "Pressing On" adapted from album's liner notes. Relient K *

– lead vocals, guitar *

Matt Hoopes Matthew Ryan Hoopes is an American musician, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Relient K. He has played lead guitar and provided backing vocals for Relient K since 1998 and is one of two constant members of the band, the other b ...

– guitar, backing vocals *

Brian Pittman Brian Lee Pittman (born October 21, 1980) is an American musician most notable as the former bassist for the Christian rock band Relient K, of which he was a founding member. He has also played bass for the Christian metal band Inhale Exhale. ...

– bass *

Dave Douglas David or Dave Douglas may refer to: Entertainment * David Douglas (director) (born 1953), Canadian cinematographer, director and writer * Dave Douglas (trumpeter) (born 1963), American jazz trumpeter * Dave Douglas (drummer) (born 1979), American ...

– drums, backing vocals Additional musicians * Rob Roy Fingerhead –

nylon guitar The classical guitar, also known as Spanish guitar, is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string instrument with strings made of gut or nylon, it is a precursor of the modern steel-string a ...

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that ...

* Madalena Burle Marx – cello * Ann Smith – viola * Cory Smith – violin * Heather Walker – violin * Crystal Brezovsky –

French horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most o ...

Production *

– producer * J.R. McNeely – mixing *

– mastering

References

{{RelientK 2001 singles Contemporary Christian songs Relient K songs Songs written by Matt Thiessen 2001 songs Gotee Records singles