"Shelf in the Room" is a song by

Days of the New Days of the New was an American rock band from Charlestown, Indiana, formed in 1995. The band later relocated to Louisville, Kentucky. They consisted of vocalist/guitarist Travis Meeks and a variety of supporting musicians. They are best know ...

and the third and final single from their self-titled debut album. The song reached #3 on

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" ...

in 1998 and is a concert staple. "Shelf in the Room" is also the first track on the band's '' Definitive Collection'' released in 2008. While perhaps not as popular as other singles from the album, "Shelf In The Room" is regarded for its engaging

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

melody and serves as the opening track. The song utilizes the basic instrumentation heard throughout the album but also features a vocal

distortion In signal processing, distortion is the alteration of the original shape (or other characteristic) of a signal. In communications and electronics it means the alteration of the waveform of an information-bearing signal, such as an audio signal ...

during the

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...

. Lyrically, the song often refers to a key and tends to vaguely describe emotional stability and isolation. The shelf is considered a means of security with the chorus line, "The shelf in the room has been so true/I can hide in the shelf in the room." It is also described as "holding me, and letting me stay." These themes are illustrated through the song's music video.

Music video

The

video Video is an Electronics, electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving picture, moving image, visual Media (communication), media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, whi ...

for "Shelf in the Room", directed by Sean Mullens, bears the

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

and color aesthetics depicted in the album art of ''Days of the New''. It focuses on a troubled adolescent boy, likely a reflection of Days of the New

frontman The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

Travis Meeks Travis Shane Meeks (born April 27, 1979) is an American musician and the lead singer, guitarist and songwriter for acoustic rock band Days of the New. At age 17, Meeks was signed to Geffen Records, and from 1997 to 2001 his band of rotating music ...

. He is first seen glaring through the

display window A display window, also a shop window (British English) or store window (American English), is a window in a shop displaying items for sale or otherwise designed to attract customers to the store. Usually, the term refers to larger windows in t ...

of an

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store before shattering it with his fists. The store owner comes out to yell at the boy who carelessly leaves. He is then shouted at by a man on the street and barked at by a dog, all of whom appear in a

motion blur Motion blur is the apparent streaking of moving objects in a photograph or a sequence of frames, such as a film or animation. It results when the image being recorded changes during the recording of a single exposure, due to rapid movement or l ...

. Later on, the boy is surrounded by older kids who begin taunting him. He is chased out of town and into the woods where he finds solace in a small wooden building. While appearing no bigger than an

outhouse An outhouse — known variously across the English-speaking world otherwise as bog, dunny, long-drop, or privy — is a small structure, separate from a main building, which covers a toilet. This is typically either a pit latrine or a bucket ...

from its exterior, inside is a large empty room. The boy places items he has obtained, including a set of old keys, a dead bird's feather, and shards of glass, on a shelf. He then sits curled up on a chair in the middle of the room. Throughout these scenes, the band is shown performing in a wooden building with a shelf bearing various strange items that Meeks examines while he sings. He also uses a telephone device to perform the distorted vocal effect during the chorus. Meeks does not perform guitar in the video with the exception of the

solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''Star Wars Legends'' continuity * Kylo Ren (Ben Solo), a ''Star Wars'' character * Napoleon Solo, fr ...

. He is also seen sitting on the floor under direct lighting much like the young boy. Items showcased on the shelf include a 19th-century photograph of a bearded man, an old photograph of two women wrestling, a gold

Buddharupa Much Buddhist art uses depictions of the historical Buddha, Gautama Buddha, which are known as () in Sanskrit and Pali. These may be statues or other images such as paintings. The main figure in an image may be someone else who has obtained ...

, a glass jar of

billiard ball A billiard ball is a small, hard ball used in cue sports, such as carom billiards, pool, and snooker. The number, type, diameter, color, and pattern of the balls differ depending upon the specific game being played. Various particular ball pro ...

s, a wired gadget with an eyeball, an insect anatomy chart, and a severed porcelain doll arm giving the love gesture.

Track listing

# "Shelf in the Room" # "Special Guide" # "Whimsical"

Chart

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shelf In The Room 1997 songs 1998 singles Days of the New songs Song recordings produced by Scott Litt Songs written by Travis Meeks