The Best Thing You're Not Listening To
Written: Sep 07 '09 (Updated Sep 08 '09)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Full of catchy pop songs, fun lyrics, all around great music
Cons: Why are they so unknown? Might be hard to find
The Bottom Line: Its a shame what happened with Sony, try and find this album, its worth it.
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| musicc's Full Review: Suck Fony [Limited] by Wheatus |
Wheatus is a pop band that plays catchy music. They found some minor success with their song "Teenage Dirtbag" from their first self titled release. Since then they have released several albums but never found any commercial success at all. Frankly that shocks me. If life was fair Wheatus would be getting played on the radio instead of all the sh!t that is played today. listening to this album is such a joy, I still can't believe they remain so unknown. Even though this album is a few years old its only four years which is not even that old. From my understanding Wheatus had a disagreement with Sony, Sony then did nothing to promote their second album "Hand Over Your Loved Ones". After that Wheatus created their own lable and rereleased a majority of their songs for their album Suck Fony (which has to be one of the best album titles of all time). I'm not sure what disagreement Sony had with them but I can't believe they wouldn't want to release this.
The album starts out with the energetic "Deck" to get things rolling. This is a fine example of the style of Wheatus and their sound. Fast paced vocals and catchy guitar riffs fill up the song. The lyrics don't always make a lot of sense but it doesn't matter, its more about having a good time while rocking out to the song. "Lemonade" follows Deck. It is slower paced but still just as great. The song is about his girlfriend who cheated on him and how he always imagined they would grow old together drinking lemonade. The high pitched chorus is very catchy as is the rest of the song. Various instruments are used such as key boards I believe and it helps the song as do the supporting vocals.
For the next song the band chooses to cover Pat Benetar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot". It is a great song for them to cover as it embodies all of their best qualities. Its catchy, the chorus is fun to sing a long to and the lyrics while remaining unchanged makes for a good commentary for their dispute with Sony. "Anyway" starts out a bit slower but by the time the chorus hits you won't be able to stop singing along. Lead singer Branden proudly proclaims he's a jerk and a weirdo but thinks she would love him anyway. Its incredibly catchy and really well done. "Freak On" is yet another immediately catchy song that makes you want to get up and dance around to it. The lyrics aren't as important here except for making you want to sing along to. They are cleverly arranged and the music is wonderful. The key boards are really being used to their fullest advantage here.
"William Mcgovern" is by far the slowest song on the album but that is in no way a bad thing. It is a slower acoustic ballad with a distinct Irish flavor. The song seems to be about the title character as he goes through life. While the song is dominated by an acoustic guitar it still remains a catchy number and its nice to see the band try new things. After that comes one of the best songs on the album. "American In Amsterdam" by far one of the catchiest songs I think I have ever heard. How this song never became a radio hit or at least recieved some success boggles my mind. The song is about exactly what the title implies, he is an American in Amsterdam. Nothing complex here just good music, the lyrics are humorous. I really dig the back ground vocals here, they add so much to the song while the catchy key board moves the song along. Once you hear this song you'll be singing it for days and listening to it non stop.
"Fair Weather Friend" is another catchy number, it uses acoustic guitar for the intro and the interlude which is just awesome. It is a bit faster paced and another fun one to sing along to. The song is about a friend of their's who is a loser and needs them to cover for him. Again nothing complex here just catchy music that is a lot of fun. "Randall" is a mostly acoustic peace that is a bit slower paced than the rest of the album. Not too sure what the song is trying to say except that his name is Randall. But it doesn't matter, this is just another catchy song with a great chorus. "Whole Amoba" is another solid acoustic piece. Back up whistling helps the song as do refrences to other songs such as NWA's F*ck the police. It is odd but they pull it off nicely.
"Songs I Wrote When You Dissed Me" is a creative pop piece that has funny lyrics with a good sense of humor. It is catchy but doesn't sound exactly like all their other songs. They have good diversity and can make each song sound unique and different. "Dynamite Satchel of Pain" closes out the album on a good note. It is an immature song full of sophmoric humor. It is childless but Wheatus does this in the best possible way, the sound is excellent and sounds like it could be from the eighties. It clocks in at fifteen minutes as it contains several versions of "Songs I wrote when you dissmed me", all of which are quite good.
Overall go buy this if you can or download it whatever the point is listen to this album because you have no idea on what your missing out. I can't understand anyone not liking this, its a wonderful album, every song is great there are no weak points. Maybe its not perfection but for pop its pretty close. I still don't understand how none of this ever caught on its better that 95% of anything that comes out today and achieves popularity. This album is right up there with Fountains of Wayne's Welcome Interstate Managers. A true pop classic.
5 stars
Song list
Deck 5/5
Lemonade 5/5
Hit Me With Your Best Shot 4/5
Anyway 5/5
Freak On 5/5
William Mcgovern 4/5
American In Amsterdam 5/5
Fair Weather Friend 5/5
Randall 4/5
Whole Amoba 4/5
Dynamite Satchel of Pain 5/5
Key Lyrics
Lemonade
Just tell me his name,
Just tell me you didn't get laid in our bedroom,
And was it the same?
Just tell me if his d!ck is bigger than mine,
Do you remember the way it was when I was home,
Before I left you all alone
Anyway
OK so I'm a jerk, and I'm a weirdo,
And even if I'm lucky I'll amount to zero,
But I thought that you'd love me anyway,
I'm so not even worth it,
But baby no-ones perfect,
Yeah I thought that you'd love me anyway,
Anyway.
American In Amsterdam
We play in a band that has no fans,
I think Pete lost the map we don't know where were going,
I'm trying to remember who I am,
I'm an American in Amsterdam,
Recommended:
Yes
Great Music to Play While: Hanging With Friends
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Epinions.com ID:
musicc
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Member: Max Mosher
Location: San Diego, CA, USA
Reviews written: 273
Trusted by: 38 members
About Me:
Going to film school in Canada, lots of fun, trying to keep up with Epinions.
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