Throwback Thursday - Staind - It's Been A While
(It’s been a while… since I’ve revisited this Throwback Thursday series, but you read that in Aaron Lewis’ voice, didn’t you?)
I know this isn't the most upbeat and happy song in the world, but it came up randomly when I was writing the Charlie Sheen blog yesterday after a "hottest babes from Two and A Half Men" video stopped playing and I thought to myself, "damn, that was a pretty great song way back when."
Per usual, hearing songs like this from back then immediately conjure up thoughts and questions about why the fuck don't they make music like this anymore?
Let's throw it back.
The year was 2001. The world was still running on frosted tips, oversized jeans, and LimeWire. Gas was cheap, Carson Daly had a chokehold on our afternoons, and angst was the currency. And in this post-grunge golden hour, one brooding anthem stood above the rest like a Spencer's Gifts employee with a lip ring and a heart full of pain- "It’s Been Awhile" by Staind.
FUN FACT - Aaron Lewis actually wrote "It’s Been Awhile" back in the early ’90s, but shelved it because he didn’t think it fit the band’s heavier nu-metal style. Fast forward to 2001, Staind is signed, Fred Durst (yes, that Fred Durst) is producing for them, and Lewis dusts it off. Boom. It becomes a massive hit. A soft, sad-boy ballad gets the green light from the guy who made Nookie. What a time.
This wasn’t just background music for sad dudes in Jeep Wranglers. This song fucking dominated. It spent 20 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks chart. It also hit the top five on the Hot 100. That means it beat out actual pop stars while being unapologetically moody and monotone. It's not hard to interpret what the song is about. It is basically a raw confessional. A song about regret, addiction, guilt, and trying (and failing) to grow into a better version of yourself.
“And everything I can’t remember / As fucked up as it all may seem.”
That line hit like a truck in 2001. And it still does. It was vulnerability before every bro on Instagram had a podcast about mental health and microdosing mushrooms. Aaron Lewis was out there raw-dogging his trauma into a Shure SM58, and we felt it. Listening to It’s Been Awhile in 2025 is a weird, beautiful experience. Back then, we thought Staind was deep. We were teenagers trying to process emotions with nothing but this song, a Nokia brick phone, and a burned CD from Newbury Comics. You weren’t allowed to have feelings, but somehow this song gave you permission to stare out the window like a misunderstood philosopher.
If you're wondering what Aaron Lewis is up to today, well, let’s just say he’s pivoted to country and politics. He went from Outside to outspoken, and he’s made some headlines for stuff that’s very much not about music. But "It’s Been Awhile" remains untouchable. A time capsule from when rock radio still mattered, and men worked through heartbreak with baritone vocals and flannel shirts. They sadly don’t make shit like this anymore. Not because they can’t, but because we’re too ironic now. Too curated. Everything’s clean and algorithm-approved. "It’s Been Awhile" wasn’t made to go viral. It was made to bleed and cry.
Let me know what we should run with next week in the comments below.