MY NIGHTMARE HAS COME TRUE.

Songs about a very young Zooey Deschanel having issues, rehashed VANDALS riffs, some minor attempts at social commentary, blatantly unfunny attempts at parody, Davey Havok backings (Ixnay leftover) and a nice slew of awesome punk rock anthems and singalong choruses. The pros definitely weigh out the cons but it’s those few cons that might put you off of this record. I made the mistake of dismissing THE OFFSPRING on account of a few dreadful singles that sounded unclever at best when I first heard them as a kid but somehow the bands I loathed for being immature in those days are now the staples on my iPod/creative zen. For years I didn’t think much of this band until Smash hauled me into to their back catalogue and I realized that I had been fooled by those few dreadful singles. I’ve always felt that Smash had a harder and more altrockish sound than its Epitaph peers and it deserves every bit of praise it gets as one of the key albums of the alternative nineties but Americana, as well as Ixnay, shouldn’t be overlooked when it comes to good songwriting. Both records are chockfull of punk rock tunes that, after some time spent ripening in the Californian sun, range from highly enjoyable to fucking amazing. The songs that gave Americana its multi-platinum status are the ones that could be considered filler but I guess they’ve served their purpose and in the end Pretty Fly and Why Don’t You Get A Job are the only ones I ever skip due to the MTV overdose of ’98. I’m actually thinking about giving Conspiracy Of One a shot as well even though the artwork is horrid (unlike Americana) and Original Prankster isn’t exactly Redman’s finest hour (a Blackout! post from my behalf is an accident waiting to happen). I’d also like to point out that in No Brakes it sounds as if Dexter Holland is singing “no braids” which, given his ongoing descent into the realm of sketchy hairdo’s, struck me as quite funny. I’m a geek.


On a completely unrelated note; this week’s best reads include:
-EVERYBODY GETS HURT int in Double Rabies Ish Six. “I was creepy-crawling across the floor and this big German guy just stepped on my back like a fucking bug.”
-Three Men Seeking Monsters, an account of cryptidhunting whilst travelling on an unhealthy diet of RAMONES, SEX PISTOLS and BLINK 182. Is supposedly being made into a movie, Jon Heder was involved but I’m not sure if he still is.
-I’m also in the process of rounding up The Mothman Prophecies (of underrated movie starring Richard Gere fame) and I’ve already learned that there’s way more to the MIB-phenomenon than Will Smith in a fancy suit. Expect some actual book reviews on here sooner or later or never.

Peace.