The Offspring (Part 2)

Can A Mainstream Punk Rock Band Stay Relevant After 20 Years?

The Offspring in 2012, releasing their 9th studio album

In 1996, the Offspring had reached enormous levels of success which could have never been predicted by an record label executive. The band had sold millions of copies of their third full-length record, "Smash" without the backing of a major label. They were all over the radio, plastered on the front of rock magazines, selling out headlining shows, and receiving constant play on MTV. They even had a performance in 1994 at the Billboard music awards. Their first attempt to match "Smash" was met with a decline in sales and airplay, while their second shot on a major would nearly match those sales. It was hard to say where the band would go, or if they would even stay together up to 2012.

 

This 1994 performance of fan favorite "Bad Habit" exposed the Offspring to a whole new audience, and with gusto.

From 2003 until now, the band has gone on to record three full length records, with their longest span in between releases seen from 2003 to 2008. "Splinter" was the first of these releases. The record received the most mixed reviews the band had ever seen, as many complained about the length of the record, with a couple of songs considered straight filler which threw a wrench into the flow of an album struggling to find an identity - and that was easily how the Offspring could have been described; as a band without identity.

With a mixed bag such as "Splinter", one could only suggest that the band was losing touch with it's roots but at the same time experimenting with trying to stay fresh to constant turnover of fans. After all, who's buying your records from the chain stores? Kids, mostly. How could the band appeal to kids? It seemed as if they didn't know, so they tried nearly everything they could.

The lead single from "Splinter" seemed like something the band had never recorded. "Hit That" was poppy punk hid behind a synthesizer beat which amped itself up with driving guitar in the chorus. But behind the mask of production was really just another attempt to recreate the magic of "Come Out & Play", as Dexter Holland went back (again) to attempt his signature vaguely sociopolitical lyrics with a wink to his audience. Thankfully, it wasn't as painful as "Original Prankster", but it begun to feel as if every lead single was just becoming another degree of a poor mans "Come Out & Play". Did the band have any other tricks up their sleeves to get their records off the shelves?

 

"Cant Get My Head Around You" borrowed it's opening riff from "Americana's" "Staring At The Sun". A boring video accompanied the boring track.

"Rise & Fall, Rage & Grace" would be the bands next release. An album three years in the making, it was recorded in various locations over the time period, including Hawaii. The result was another incredibly mixed bag from the band, perhaps even more so than "Splinter". As Holland tried to dig deeper, and throw away the cluttered humorous tracks from previous albums in order to fill those gaps with songs for a new generation of youths to relate to, he fell more than short.

He takes a shot at the sentimental with the apologetic ballad, "Kristy, Are You Doing Okay?" which he wrote for a girl who grew up in the same town as him and was sexually abused. Apparently most of the town was aware, but failed to intervene. This track could have resulted in a richer direction for the band, but instead Holland's simply unimaginative lyrics gave way to an instrumental reminiscent of Simple Plan's corniest tracks.

  

"Kristy Are You Doing Okay?" bumps up the sentimentality with lackluster results.

Another single effort, "You're Gonna Go Far Kid" stood out like a sore thumb on an album which ranged anywhere from trying to replicate the recent major label success of Rise Against (who both Holland and Noodles claim to be fans of) to "American Idiot" era Green Day and all the way back to 90's Post-Grunge. For a band always attempting to replicate their past success, it seemed as if their new choice of direction was to replicate the recent success of others.

 
"You're Gonna Go Far Kid" is perhaps one of only a few tracks which sound anything close to the Offspring of the past on "Rise & Fall..".

Regardless, "Rise & Fall..." went on to sell less than a million copies, receive mixed to negative reviews, though it did crack the top ten on the Billboard chart. Despite the reaction to the album, the band didn't seem phased, perhaps due to settling into a constant groove and a comfortable life, they chugged along touring and preparing for their next record.

 

In comparison to their 1994 performance posted above, just last year the band plays a set clocking in at just over an hour at a festival in the Netherlands. During the first track, Holland loses his breath, failing to regain his energy for the remainder of the show. The rest of the band plays on, looking disinterested. This is 11 years after the band claimed to MuchMusic's George Stroumboulopouls, "We just love doing what we love to do." In regards to why the band has lasted so long. Perhaps things have changed.

2012 sees the release of two new singles from the bands upcoming ninth studio release, "Days Go By". The uninspired, flat tracks don't show as much as a change in direction for the band, more of a path running into a brick wall. The title track from the upcoming LP seems to be another attempt at current faceless radio rock the group seems to think they can not only pull off, but do better than the groups 20 year younger than them. Frankly, they are dead wrong.

 

The video for "Days Go By" looks as if it has a budget of under 500 dollars, but not in a punk rock way, more in a "were about to be dropped by our label if we don't go gold in the states with this record" way.

Of course, the band fails to disappoint us this time around, finally releasing a single that will get our toes tapping and the girls at the beach singing along with these California elderly punks again - that is, of course, before we all stick the barrel of a shotgun in our mouths and pull the trigger. The companion single to "Days Go By" is just that awful. In the same vein of "Pretty Fly" and "Original Prankster", "Crusin' California" attempts to parody. This time, the band takes on the music industry, ironically enough. Seemingly, the pop hooks are a stab at artists such as Katy Perry in a "Look! Hey! We can do it, too!" kind of way. Unfortunately, the track will both be misinterpreted as a real radio hit, and as an biting satire, neither of which it is.

 

An awful video for the Offspring's worst single to date. "Crusin' California" might be the straw that breaks the camel's back for the bands critical career.

"Days Go By" will be released later this month, and I am sitting here, dreading to write the review. If anything, going in with low expectations based on these two singles, I may be pleasantly surprised. Most signs point to the Offspring going to way of the Dodo when it comes to being plastered on mainstream media, but only time will tell.

The Offspring

Is This High Selling Band Ready To Fade Away, Or Hitting A New Stride?

 

 The Offspring circa 1994, the height of their commercial and critical success

California four-piece the Offspring formed in 1984, which as of 2012, makes their run hit 28 years. Their self-titled debut release would not be recorded until 1989, after demos and a single which received minor critical praise from people within the punk scene, such as long-running zine "Maximum Rock N Roll". But it wouldn't be until 1994 when the band released their third full length record, the aptly titled "Smash" (Epitaph records), that they would crossover with mainstream success.

The band were unlikely stars, their lead guitarist a former janitor commonly referred to simply as "Noodles", their lead singer (Dexter Holland) sporting a somewhat chunky figure behind loose goofy clothing and rocking dread locks in their music videos, while their skinny and shy bass player (Greg K.) would keep to himself in interviews (much like drummer Rob Welty, who joined the band at 16) but was still inclined to throw in the occasional Punk Rock jump at live shows. These four misfits, with their brand of blazing skate-punk packed full of clever and self deprecating lyrics seemed to fit right in with what the 90's decided was going to sell to the generation of already jaded and pissed off youngsters who were the ones stealing money from their suburban parents to buy records in order to bruise themselves while skateboarding.

The video for "Gotta Get Away" was directed by Samuel Bayer, who would go on to direct the 2010 version of "A Nightmare On Elm Street" after a long career in music videos for bands such as Hole, The Rolling Stones, Blink -182, Metallica, and many more but perhaps most famously; Nirvana's break-out hit, "Smells Like Teen Spirit".

"Smash" would go on to sell over 12 million units, and be one of the most successful punk records, as well as one of the most successful records released by an indie label of all time thanks to the radio and television play of it's three main singles; "Gotta Get Away", "Self Esteem" and "Come Out & Play", which remains their most successful single to date. All three tracks still garner radio play on mainstream rock stations.

 

Music video for "Come Out & Play" thanks to Epitaph records

The album was not without it's critics. One of the groups main influences, Agent Orange, made a claim that "Come Out & Play" sported a guitar riffs from one of their singles, 1979's "Bloodstains". Other groups around the United States grinned with jealousy at the Offspring's media exposure, while many others waited for them to fall off with the release of a new album. Thankfully, the support was still around at Epitaph records, who also released their second LP, "Ignition". Still, the band made the decision to take their music to Columbia records, but with their contractual obligation to Epitaph, were forced to release their next full length with the budding label in Europe.

Agent Orange performing "Bloodstains"

The Offspring toured heavily in support of "Smash" and wouldn't start writing or recording their follow-up (and Columbia records debut) "Ixnay On The Hombre" until 1996, a two year window riding the wave of their previous record. Feeling the pressure to re-create album sales and critical praise, "Ixnay" was released to moderate success on both accounts in February of 1997. It went on to sell about a third of the units in comparison to "Smash", but still spawned five singles.

 

Strangely enough, the Offspring's transition to a major label saw their first single as the blazing "All I Want" with a video directed by David Yow of the Jesus Lizard.

The record didn't stray too far from the Offspring's punk rock roots, but with the adage of major label backing, it was questioned if some of the tracks might have been forced upon the band to put on the final cut for mass appeal to a radio rock audience the band had yet to reach. The single "Gone Away" was met with commercial success, but would leave a bad taste in many critics mouths, who saw it as a deep dive into post-grunge territory for the band. Other tracks were deemed throwaways behind solid punk singles such as "All I Want" and "The Meaning Of Life". The band begun to lose steam and popularity among the devout punk rock crowd, but still soldiered on with the experiment of a major label jump.

"Gone Away" was the Offspring's first experience to mixed critical reaction from the mainstream

"Americana" was released on Columbia in the Winter of 1998, and went on to breathe a new live in the bank-ability of the band. It went on to nearly match the sales of "Smash" with around 12 million units, and spawned four singles. Still, somehow, the lasting effect and influence of "Smash" seems to allude "Americana."

This may be due to the records lead single, "Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)", which stands as the groups first attempt at combining the sounds they achieved with their most successful single ("Come Out & Play) with both pop sensibilities and parody of popular culture. The track went on to reach number 1 on the charts in nine countries, but failed to do so in North America. To this day, it's played on both mainstream rock and pop stations.

 

The music video for "Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)" was directed by McG, who went on to direct the updated version of "Charlie's Angels" & "Terminator: Salvation". He was also heavily involved with television shows "Supernatural", "Chuck" and "The OC".

Other singles from "Americana" were met with less success such as "Why Don't You Get A Job?" and "She's Got Issues" along with "The Kids Aren't Alright." Though the latter was met with great reception from critics and remains a fan favorite. Still, some tracks on the record such as "No Brakes" and "Staring At The Sun" managed to hint at the Offspring's classic "Smash" sound, filling the gap for punk fans in between the radio hits that were being shoved in their faces.

 

The video for "She's Got Issues" featured a young Zooey Deschanel, long before she was your indie darling

Not many bands have the chance at success like the Offspring achieved even once, but twice, and the group seemed to be set for the future with Columbia and fans from outside of their former stomping grounds of Punk Rock. Tomorrow, we look at the band between the year 2000 and now, and the ups and downs in between.

Hurry Up & Wait: Six Degrees Of Doin' It Yourself

 Music in general is ever changing because of it's involvement with technology. Many groups and artists fight to keep up with the websites and mediums that their music can be exposed through. If looking at music from a business stand-point, the people you are trying to reach with that music have about a five second attention span. Music might effect us all in similar ways, but the mass consumer can replace any artist at the drop of a hat with the new hip sound due to music being just that - a product - because that is how it is presented to them and that is how it's absorbed. A vicious cycle of crawling back up to the edge of the cliff you're clinging to by one hand in the business of music.

 Thankfully, there is a whole other side to music. There are people out there who think that the artists and the listeners are on the same level, and are just people trying to share with each other. This is a very prominent thing in Punk Rock, but even so, many bands fail to cause a mark on little more than the cities they tour to or the chance kids who bought their demos and fade into the background never to be seen again. It can leave an emptiness inside when you were so into those records that every time you listen to it, you just want to share them.

 This made me think about those bands who toured together, worked their fingers off, played hard, scraped the money together to put out records, worked day jobs, even came together from halfway across the country to play shows together every so often. These bands are motivated by how the music makes them and others feel. I figured that before I wrote my introspective on a band that was fading in a different way, through their own fame and laziness (the Offspring) and before I wrote about the past and future of punk in my hometown of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, I would try to offer a look at some music that has made me very happy in times of need.

 The connection here is that every one of these groups shares a member, and that is Justin Sullivan, who I was hoping to do an interview with for this article but I haven't been able to find any contact information for him (as if finding information on his bands isn't hard enough). But in no way is this article a love-letter to the long time Punk drummer/vocalist, as I have never met him, but it is more a "Six Degrees Of" Justin Sullivan, and a look at his involvement in Punk music.

 My memories from being a teenager run from hazy to black-out, but I remember the first time I heard Long Island, New York's the Insurgent amazingly clear. It was in the basement of a house where a pal of mine Alec Whitford lived. We referred to Alec as "Straight Edge Al". He was a shy, yet outspoken Punk in his twenties, who loved to cook vegetarian meals and sing earnest songs on his acoustic guitar. Some of the time, touring bands needed a place to play and Al's basement was available. It was a very small space and usually a small amount of kids would show up.

"Straight Edge" Alec Whitford performing at the Outhouse, me looking on with an admiring smile.

 One night, Al played before a band and started off his set with a long speech typical of his performances. His voice would always run out of steam in the middle, as if he needed a drink of water, yet he never learned enough to bring one up with him. He was talking about how this band had changed his life, and if not for them, he wasn't sure if he would have made it here today. I felt the same way about many bands, so I hung on his every word before he launched into a rendition of "Had Nowhere", the sing along anthem from the Insurgent.

 Months later, a label called Dare To Care Records teamed up with a fellow named Troy from Vancouver and the Insurgent's own outlet (Innocent When You Dream) with one more hand and released the Insurgents entire recorded material on a disc called "It Will Be That Sound". That same month we found a copy of their earlier 10" titled "Inside Every Kid..." for our collectively run record distro, which we called Community Tigers.  We were now stocked with 11 copies of this bands music, and I hadn't yet heard it properly recorded.

 Needless to say, "It Will Be That Sound" failed to leave my  Sony discman (yes, I used a discman back then) for the entire Summer. I learned every word, and when I lost my copy, I would put six dollars back into the distro for a new one. Soon, we had sold all of our copies to kids attending our shows, and I was dying for new music from the band even though they had song since broken up.

  

Download the Insurgent's "Loudest Letter" 7" thanks to HereOnThisIsland

 By chance of browsing the internet on lonely nights and randomly ordering cheap 7" records in bulk from various outlets, I came across the next best thing in a band that Justin Sullivan had joined in the wake of the Insurgent calling it quits. Sirens would release two 7" records in short press during their time as a band,  and two members (including Justin) would go on to form Ringers who would boast a more extensive catalog before breaking up after a final show at the Fest 8 in Gainsville, Florida.

 Download "Washington ST" from "Long Distance Calling" by Sirens thanks to 1234go! Records

 Around the time that Ringers' first full length record, "Curses" (Regeneration records) was released, my two Sirens records, "Where Have You Been?" (Regeneration) and "Long Distance Calling" (1234go! records) had been bought up by the same kids buying "It Will Be That Sound". Unfortunately, "Curses", did not go as well. The compact discs in our distro started not to sell, as vinyl came back harder and harder in Calgary, and we didn't have the money to ship in LP's that we weren't willing to charge over 20 dollars for. The distro folded and our members bought up the remaining inventory.

 Download both "Cue the Strings" and "For Arguments Sake" from Ringers fantastic debut LP "Curses" which was released jointly by Regeneration and 1234go! (thanks to the latter for the mp3s)

 It was around this time that Al handed me a copy of a band called Speakeasy's "Return To Sender" (Innocent When You Dream) which also featured Justin Sullivan. It provided a bridge for me until the next Ringers record "Detention Halls" (1234go!/ YoYo records) would be released and wear out another shitty discman.

Mp3s of Speakeasy's "Return to Sender" are rare these days, but thankfully the track "(Fuck You) I'm Nervous" was made available through Dare To Care Records, on account of it being included on a compilation from the Montreal based label.

Since then, I have always been clamoring for new material from everyone involved in all these bands. Justin went on to form a band called United States (featuring Ren from longtime Long Island friends of the Insurgent, Sometimes Walking Sometimes Running) the same time he was in Ringers, which released one LP of Fugazi/Rites of Spring influenced post-hardcore. You can listen to all eight tracks here, thanks to RokLok Records.  United States might also be an earlier or later incarnation of another project of Sullivan called City Limits, who are very hard to find any information on other than the single track they share on their Myspace page. Later, he was in a group with former Bent Outta Shape member Jamie Ewing (who would tragically pass at the age of 25 in 2008) and future Vivian Girls member Cassie Grzymkowski. They were called Bossy, and went on to release a "best of" compilation in 2008. A track can be heard under this paragraph, and it is a complete departure from most of Sullivan's other work.

Walk Around - Bossy

As for Sullivan now, he has released demos with a band called Babies. I haven't heard them yet, but I plan on getting my hands on them as soon as possible. Other members of some of his groups have been in new bands. Barker Gee of Sirens went on to play with solid group Witches With Dicks and also Neon Piss. Along with the aforementioned tie to Vivian Girls, among others. But what really rings true here is the value of the music he has already made with these bands who will most likely never reform and never gain popularity despite their sincere and catchy songs.

 If you have any mp3s of any of these groups mentioned, stories, pictures, or pressings of their records, you can get in touch with me through comments. In a few days, we will move on to the rise and fall of a band who might have never had the talent to rise in the first place, the Offspring. See you in the pit.

More downloads: 

Ringers: "Canned Laughter" from "Hurry Up & Wait" thanks to No Idea Records. "Amateur Hour" & "Nothing To Show" both from "Detention Halls" thanks to 1234go!

Three Albums You Can Set Your Watch To: Or Three Records I Hope To Be Streets Ahead

The Tallest Man On Earth - There's No Leaving Now - June 12th

The Tallest Man On Earth had nothing short of a fantastic year in 2010, releasing both "The Wild Hunt" and the "Sometimes The Blues Is Just a Passing Bird" ep within mere months of each other. Both received widespread critical praise and spread the singer/songwriter's fan base wider than the Pitchfork crowd. Well deserved, we've waited two years for a follow up, and hopefully we'll be happy with this new full-length.

Here is the title tracked played live, and played beautifully.

The Gaslight Anthem - Handwritten - July 24th

 It's hard to believe that the last two albums by New Jersey's the Gaslight Anthem weren't released by a major label. Both "The 59 Sound" and "American Slang" had slick production and big sound for records released on an indie label (SideOneDummy). We'll see if the band can get any slicker or any bigger sounding on "Handwritten", their debut for Mercury records.

In the meantime, here is the debut single "45" which shows much of the same from the band, but with the energy of their first record "Sink or Swim" mixed with a new found speed that was lacking on "American Slang".

Against Me! - TBA/Transgender Dysphoria Blues - TBA

Earlier this month, Against Me! band leader Tom Gabel announced that he had been going through transgender dysphoria for most of his life, and was going to make the transition to physically become a Woman through hormone treatments and electrolysis while staying married to his Heather Gabel and raising their daughter Evelyn. This news comes a year and a half after the bands departure from their first major label partnership with Sire records, and even less time since third drummer Jay Weinberg joined the band after replacing Hot Water Music's George Rebelo. But in that short window of massive news, Against Me! has released a new single on their on record label Total Treble music, which was recorded in Gabel's own studio. It has a new, raw energy, as have their live shows and Gabel's solo acoustic sets where new songs have been heard that seem to have a personal and urgent edge to them.

 We're hoping that Gabel's transition to Laura Jane Grace shoots a new life into a band who has put out nothing but solid music over their career. Meanwhile, here's a short clip of a  live version of a new song Gabel performed recently called "Osama Bin Laden as the Crucified Christ".

Against Me!'s Tom Gabel Comes Out As Transgender

Earlier this week,  the Against Me! guitarist/vocalist came out as transgender, something she has been struggling with since her youth. Within hours of the Rolling Stone article leaking online from this Friday's issue, it caused a media fire storm. Every sector of the punk rock universe and beyond was weighing in on the subject, with plenty of support for Tom transitioning to his new monicker, Laura Jane Grace. 

 It's been a couple of days now, and while the punk rock scene has mostly heard of the story, the rest of North America's reactions are starting to be seen. Mainstream news websites are reporting the story, saying that Gabel is the first rock-start to be openly transgendered. While he may be the most relevant and popular, it is certainly untrue as Life Of Agony vocalist is Keith Caputo (now known as Mina) is currently in the transition process, and Lucas Silveria of the Cliks, is a transgendered man - these are only two examples.

 But still. This is a big story, and the way that Gabel decided to break it - though a mammoth media outlet such as Rolling Stone magazine - seems to a message to everyone who feels uncomfortable with what they've been dealt. Also, with the basic legacy of a band like Against Me! within the alternative music scene over the span of the last ten years, a story like this has caused a huge wave.

 I decided to weigh in, now that the reality of it has set for me.

Plenty of internet reactions have blown my mind so far. The internet is such a strange thing. The things you say can be read by anyone, misinterpreted, blown out of proportion, and so forth. It's important to remember that most people on the internet are speaking from a stream of consciousness, much like they would to their friends on the street. And it's a two-way street, people should know that not everything needs to be said, and their opinion is just that. Every one of us has a different perspective, we're all at different places in our lives, and who knows what's drawing us to feel the way we do/say the things we say.

But regardless of all that, I'm still going to voice my opinion on this whole subject in a detailed post, even if it's unnecessary.

I don't remember the first time I heard Against Me!, but I know it was the Crime As Forgiven By... record. I didn't stop listening to it for days. I rode the bus to school and stared out the window, completely lost in the music. I would play along on my guitar, which I didn't know how to play. I would sing along in my bedroom, even though I couldn't understand half the words. I was fifteen years old.

Over the years, I've always loved Against Me! the same. In 2005, I traveled to Edmonton to see them, then back home to Calgary that same night to see them the next day. After the encore at the Calgary show, we were kicked off stage to the side for jumping up and singing with the band. They came and sat with us and we talked for a while. They were very nice people, and Tom was very shy, but sweet.

After Against Me! signed to Sire records, they were written off by my friends. I kept listening to whatever they would put out, and for the most part, enjoying it heavily (I still listen to them nearly every day, and "White Crosses" is in heavy rotation on my iTunes as well as in the kitchen I work). I think they are an amazing band, and them having their records put out by Sire didn't make that much of a difference. Even though that period is over, they made great music.

I was laying in my bed, falling asleep on Wednesday night when I snapped out of it and opened my tumblr feed (which I have about four people on) and saw a post by a friend of mine regarding Tom Gabel. I thought he was being cute, making a joke, because none of my friends are very big fans of the band. But as I kept researching and realizing it was true, I went deeper. I thought about it. I thought about the lyrics. I looked up what Tom was going through. I let it soak all in. I couldn't sleep. I listened to the band all night, and all day at work the next day, and almost broke down crying on my way to work while listening to "Bamboo Bones".

I'm a man. I'm a 24 year old man. I've been called a faggot all my life because I can't live up to what many people's standards are for being a man. I don't want to. As much as I am a man, and people have called me "manly" in the past, I'm not comfortable. Still, I am a male. I am not going through what Tom is going through. I will never fully understand. I won't pretend like I do. But I can try to put myself in her shoes. I can try to be supportive and show my love for someone who affected my life more than any other musician has.

Last year I went through some tough times and was couch surfing in Vancouver. I met someone who was trans, female to male. We did drugs together, and they tried to fuck me, but I was too high to be into it. Instead, we sat on their bathroom floor with our shirts off and they told me their life story. I was amazed at how strong this person had to be. I learned a lot that night, and I can only try to apply that to my understanding of Laura Jane Grace.

All my support and love, this is the coolest thing that has happened in Punk Rock for years.

 Mean Jeans - On Mars - Dirtnap

8.0/10

My memory of the first time I heard Mean Jeans' debut full length record are vague. I know I was probably wasted, and the guitar riff instantly implanted itself in my brain. I spent the next few days at work listening to it over and over again. Anytime I would throw the record on, the other people in the room would sing along. Everyone knew the words, and if they didn't, they had heard the record. It got around fast, because it was a lot of fun, and there's never a reason not to party.

 But now, I'm just going to say that I've been sober for nearly a month and a half. When the follow up to one of my most played records of the last decade, "On Mars" was released, I was skeptical if I could have the same feeling listening to lyrics about shotgunning cheap beer and powering through a bag of nose-candy at a back yard pizza party. Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised.

 I've asked around since the records recent release, wondering what pals and acquaintances think of the new turn that Mean Jeans has taken from very short and very catchy distorted Ramones tribute songs to extended jams that are less to the point. I've been met with two simple responses followed by a change of subject, the first being that it sucks and the second being that it rips. We punks are a simple bunch. And even though I don't feel the need to thoroughly discuss the subject with said pals, I feel as if I can understand where both sides are coming from.

 On the subject of sucking:

 "Are You Serious" fuckin' ripped, brah. Every time I put that shit on I shotgun like five beers and fall down in my back yard! Sometimes I bust a line so big that my left eye pops out, then I rip the pant legs off my jeans, slap on a pair of sunglasses and jump off my roof onto a mattress. Yeah, I'm that jacked!

 But seriously folks, who can't get behind a series of songs about having a great fucking time? It is pretty much one of the most fun punk records you can put on, and most of us have mad love for it. There are a select few who can't get behind the Mean Jeans hype, but that's cool. Hey bud, let's party anyway. Long story short, it was the record of Summer for a huge group of sweet dudes and ladies, so the follow-up was eagerly awaited. We wanted to have fun again.

 The fact that the first track didn't blaze through a ten second first verse, a five second chorus and have a two second guitar solo didn't make us happy. We searched the track list, skipping around, trying to find that jam that was a direct brother of "Party Animal", but it never came. So we threw the record in the garbage and put "Are You Serious" back on.

Really though, "On Mars" does rule. Maybe not as much as "Are You Serious", and for different reasons. Mean Jeans are the same band, but after touring around, playing the same jams for a while and having a pretty great time I imagine they wanted to try something a bit new. After all, the Ramones didn't make the same record every year, and they made a stack of fantastic records.

 The difference here is that Mean Jeans take on a lot more of their influences, and seem to have fun with it. There isn't a bummer track on this album. They aren't all a minute or two long, they might have more interesting guitar parts, more thought-out background vocals, better bass-lines, and all around be more diverse. All of these things are not hard to pull off, as earlier Mean Jeans is simple, and extremely straight-forward.

 The best part about records like "On Mars" is that they blow by you. Every time I've listened to it, it's started and ended before I knew what was going on. Not that it's a short record, but I can get lost listening to it. Which means I can listen to it again and again, without it getting old. Hopefully, until a new record comes out, which (also hopefully) will sound different as well.

 Break it out and party. Big time.

 Pennywise - All Or Nothing - Epitaph

3.5/10

Pennywise has such an extensive catalog of music, and most of it sounds the same. Until now, you knew it was always Pennywise. The band has a new vocalist since the departure of Jim Lindberg in 2009, who left the band due to creative differences. Ignite front-man Zoli Teglas is attempting to fill the shoes left behind, but apparently the band wrote and recorded "All Or Nothing" with no influence from the previous sound of the Lindberg era. It's hard to support this, because the straight-forward melodic punk the band has always played is so recognizable.

 In the 90's, Pennywise helped break punk once again to the mainstream along with a handful of their peers. Around the release of "Straight Ahead" in 1999, how the genre was presented to main stream North America was changing rapidly. Personally political and angry bands were being replaced by fart jokes and songs about girlfriends. Pennywise begun to fizzle out, but always held a solid fan base and quietly released some solid albums while little attention was paid. The band didn't ask much attention from hip kids or publications, so it ceased to exist. Still, the band deserves recognition for both their early albums and the fact that they stuck with it.

 With "All Or Nothing", we are faced with the question of, "Should Pennywise have called it quits and gone their separate ways after the departure of the figurehead for their band?" And it's a hard question to answer, because honestly, this sounds like a lot of things, but the one thing it doesn't sound like is a Pennywise record. Flechter's riffs are there, the bass lines are loose and fast, and the drums beat to a skateboard video heat, but something is different.

 The main problem: it's all over the place. The secondary problem: it's full of itself. We start off with our title track. When I first heard it I thought it was just a signature Pennywise track except with Ignite's (far inferior) vocalist. It almost sounds like a cover of an old Pennywise song by a tough-guy hardcore band. It's not awful, but it's also a huge cop-out way to get fans of other Pennywise material to sit through the entire record, such as the next track "Waste Another Day", which boasts lyrics basically ripped out of Lindberg's notebook and a drum break straight off of "About Time".

 So far, the album is completely listenable. It's angry, fast, and sounds like you can rip around on your skateboard to it. Even if it's tired, it's not awful. But it's all downhill from here with the lazily titled and lazily written "Revolution", which holds a chorus of "whoa's" and the sound of a Rise Against hit. The track is entirely far too long as Telgas asks us to "sing it again" for the hundredth time. We can only wonder if this is where the creative differences stem from, as the band sounds like they want to be all over the radio but don't really know how to get there.

"Stand Strong" is another lazy effort, with lackluster lyrics that sound as if they were written by a band of seventeen year old hardcore kids, complete with gang vocals and riffs from the Offspring's "Smash". It's all very by the book until the knock-out (in a bad way) surprise of "Let Us Hear Your Voice", an awful bastardization of pop punk that the band clearly can't come close to pulling off.

 We go through a few more tracks of clear sub-par renditions of Pennywise's back catalog until we reach "We Have It All" which tries too hard to amp up that signature sound, but in the end starts to sound like if Sum 41 sped up their most boring tracks. It is truly awful, and the theme comes together of a band that seems to be trying too hard but is actually too bloated and lazy to care.

 I've never felt like I've wasted my time listening to a studio record by Pennywise, there has always been something to take away, even if it just might have been the nostalgia of seeing them as a 13 year old kid at Van's Warped Tour. But, there's nothing left to say except that things have changed.