“My generation is zero.”

June 15, 2009, 2:22 am     Comments Closed

As you may or may not know, I am a huge Green Day fan. And I have been since Dookie, never waivering. I basically “grew up” with them. When I discovered them I got their older albums, Kerplunk! and 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours and loved them even more. I’m not a fair-weather fan; if I like something, I like it regardless of if its trendy or popular or hardcore or “cool.” So even when they were releasing awesome ‘under-the-radar’ albums like Nimrod and Warning I was a fan (and by the way, my favorite album is Insomniac).

I think in recent years they’ve really exemplified the main reason why I always liked them, and that is they just don’t care. They are who they are, they make the music they make, and they just really don’t care if you like it or hate it. They have nothing to prove. They love their fans, but disregard the haters. If you say they aren’t “punk” enough because they write ballads and “rock operas”, they don’t care. If you say they’re sell-outs, they don’t care. They keep on keepin’ on. And I myself have that same way of thinking- love me or hate me, this is me. Ever since their days at Gilman Street, they’ve kept it real and just been themselves, growing and evolving like humans do. One thing I hate is when a band releases record after record of the SAME SHIT. I don’t mean that you can tell its them by their sound, or that the songs have similar themes or chords, I mean literally the same songs redone, over and over and over. People change, people grow, people mature. From ‘Longview ‘to ‘Wake Me Up When September Ends’, thats growth, reflection and getting older. They don’t have to be on the fringe of society, they don’t have to be too cool for radio play. Fuck you if you don’t like it, you know?

I met Billie Joe and was present for an interview with him (and Jon Pareles of the Times/Rolling Stone) at the New York Times’ sponsored TimesTalks in January of 2005. It was a fascinating interview and afterward, as a total bonus, I got to meet him and get my ‘Waiting’ 7″ pink marble vinyl signed. During the interview he talked about how he felt about the state of the country and the world, and how it drove him to write American Idiot.

I adored American Idiot because it was so different. They really branched out and went for it, doing something that they could’ve been crucified for had it not been executed correctly. But it was. And now they’re back with 21st Century Breakdown.

I’m always apprehensive when a band I like this much comes out with a new album. I sorta feel like its me putting the album out- the anxiety of how its going to be recieved, the internet buzz before its released, etc. I heard good things even before it came out. They had played small “surprise” gigs where they played the album and everyone praised it. So I got the special edition CD and book at Best Buy… and I too love it.

If you watch the Beatles Anthology, you’ll hear George Harrison say something that was thought for a long time by many people, and that is that Rubber Soul and Revolver could’ve been part one and part two, or even a double disc. Well, even though Green Day is adamant that this album is NOT American Idiot part two, I feel it totally could be. American Idiot was the anger and rage, and this album is sort of the desire to have hope and recover from that, but still enraged and angry at whats been happening since American Idiot. I can see how they could totally be part one and part two. If you listen to American Idiot and then 21st Century Breakdown, I think you’ll see what I mean.

The album isn’t produced by longtime Green Day producer Rob Cavallo, but instead is produced by Butch Vig, who’s a  member of the band Garbage and an amazing producer in his own right. And as a Garbage fan as well, I can hear that the guitars on some tracks sound very Garbage-like, but not to the point where you think Butch Vig took over.

So here I am throwing in my two pennies on Green Day’s new album, 21st Century Breakdown. By no means is this a professional review, its just my opinion, and my favorite lyrics from each song.

1. Song of the Century – Just a :58 second, scratchy-sounding clip of Billie Joe singing acapella. Its heard again later on in ‘American Eulogy.’
2. 21st CenturyBreakdown – The title track starts the album off on a good foot. Great song, with excellent lyrics like “My generation is zero/I never made it as a Working Class Hero” and “Video games of the tower’s fall/Homeland security could kill us all.”
3. Know Your Enemy – The first single. More a of a rock-n-roll anthem, I really like this song, it reminds me of older Green Day songs with Billie’s signature jibberish yelling (“Well gotta know the enemy, roh -eh!”) in there. “Bringing on the fury, the choir infantry/Revolt against the honor to obey.”
4. ¡Viva La Gloria! – By far one of my favorite songs on the album. I love the chorus and the melody. Then again, give me a song that starts with violins and kicks into heavy guitars and I guess I’m a sucker for it. An awesome song I’ve had on repeat for days. Best lyric: “Eternal youth is the landscape of a lie/The cracks in my skin can prove as the years will testify.”
5. Before the Lobotomy – A good song, and the lyrics are clever, but not one of my favorites. I can’t get into it yet, but that will probably change the more I listen to the album. “Well, it’s enough to make you sick/To cast a stone and throw a brick/When the sky is falling down/It burned your dreams into the ground.”
6. Christian’s Inferno – Great track. Love the guitars on it. “I am the atom bomb/I am the chosen one.”
7. Last Night on Earth – Has to be my favorite track. Incredibly Beatle-esque. A love letter with music, its really a beautiful song; beautifully written both musically and lyrically. The kind of song every girl wants written about her. “With every breath that I am worth, here on Earth/I’m sending all my love to you.”
8. East Jesus Nowhere – A song slamming how phony religion can be, inspired by Billie’s attendance of a friends child’s baptism. “Put your faith in a miracle/And its non-denominational/Join the choir we will be singing/In the church of wishful thinking.”
9. Peacemaker – Another absolute favorite. Sounds inspired by Jewish guitar/Klezmer music and also (to me) a bit of Mexican/Spanish guitar playing at the same time to me. “Vendetta, sweet vendetta/This Beretta of the night/This fire and the desire/Well, Shots ringing out on a holy parasite.”
10. Last of the American Girls – A song Billie wrote for his wife, Adrienne. Definitely in my top 5 songs on the album. Again, a song every girl would want written about her. Adrienne is an environmental activist and does a lot of work with Habitat for Humanity and other groups like that, and this song is a tribute to her undying punk rock activism. “She’s on a hunger strike for the ones who won’t make it for dinner.”
11. Murder City - I like this song, it seems like classic Green Day to me. “I’m wide awake after the riot/This demonstration of our anguish/This empty laugher has no reason/Like a bottle of your favorite poison.”
12. ¿Viva La Gloria? (Little Girl) – Again, a favorite. A little bit rockabilly guitar, a little bit 1920’s jazz piano, a lot of awesomeness. “Little girl, little girl, you dirty liar/You’re just a junkie preachin’ to the choir.”
13. Restless Heart Syndrome – Not a favorite. I think it slows down this section of the album. Again, its definitely a great song, but I feel like it should’ve been more at the end. But they didn’t ask me, did they?
    
14. Horseshoes and Handgrenades – Another awesome track. “Maybe you’re the runner up/But the first one to lose the race/Almost only really counts in/Horsehoes and hand grenades.”
15. The Static Age - The lyrics are very good, remind me a lot of The Clash, or maybe its just the Coca-Cola reference? The Clash said in ‘Straight to Hell’: “Lemme tell ya ’bout your blood, bamboo kid/It ain’t Coca-Cola/It’s rice.” In this song Green Day says: “Billboard on the rise in the dawn’s landscape/Working your insanity/Tragic a’la madness and concrete/Coca cola execution.” I’m probably stretching a bit there but the political aspect of Green Day’s last two albums remind me a lot of what The Clash did in terms of making people think,  fighting injustice through lyrics and creating awareness.
16. 21 Guns – Love it. The falsetto Billie Joe does in this song really changes the whole feel of it, I’ve seen him sing it live and he doesn’t do it quite the same. Kinda a shame because it really makes the song! “When it’s time to live and let die/And you can’t get another try/Something inside this heart has died/You’re in ruins.”
17. American Eulogy – Bassist Mike Dirnt sings part of this song. Its not one of my favorites, but again, the lyrics are great. “The class war is hanging on a wire/Because the martyr is a compulsive liar.”

I hope my silly little review encourages you to listen to this album, if you haven’t already. I think its one of their finest works to date, I love the “grown-up” Green Day.

“I want you all over me like L.A.M.B.”

January 19, 2009, 10:07 pm     2 Comments »

My newest sneaker obsession: L.A.M.B. Meihana sneakers in midnight/molasses. I think they’re so cute!

Even Gwen Stefani herself loves them…

I’m a big Gwen fan, I think her style is pretty wicked and I just think shes adorable. Gwen was the lead singer of the ska/pop band No Doubt from 1986 (when they were called Apple Core), before leaving in 2003 to release her own solo CD, ‘Love Angel Music Baby.’ Admittedly, when I was in high school, I was a bit too “hardcore” and punk rock to be into a band like No Doubt, but after graduating, getting into the real world and growing up a bit I realized I really liked them, and I didn’t have to stick to one type of music to be credible or prove myself to anyone.  Songs like ‘Bathwater‘ and ‘Underneath it All‘ are just good songs, period. So thats when I started to notice Gwen and her style, which has undergone many different variations since then. My favorite Gwen is blonde Gwen, but the ‘Return of Saturn‘ pink-haired Gwen is a runner up. Her hair and makeup style in the videos for ‘Ex-Girlfriend‘ and ‘New‘ were just awesome. But lately I think she’s hit her stride; her style is just where it should be. Not too serious, not too stuffy, yet not as juvenile as it has been in the past (like the blue hair/bindi dot phase).

So therefore I adore her clothing/accessories line L.A.M.B. and have since July 2003, when Gwen made her very first handbag line for LeSportsac. I got a first season LAMB print “hella hobo” I for my birthday that year, and nobody had a clue about what it was or that Gwen even had a line. Then all of a sudden, that fall, pictures of Carmen Electra, Paris Hilton, Cameron Diaz and Pamela Anderson with that same bag started popping up everywhere, and people caught on. After that, I was a die hard Lambie: I bought a bag from every season in almost every print that was made. I’ve since sold a lot on eBay, and  some on L.A.M.B./No Doubt internet communities, mainly because I just had no use for many of them and never used some of them, and I’m a firm believer in the philosophy that things like that are meant to be loved and used, not just collected, and if I’m not using them I should sell them to a home where they will be. But I’ve kept quite a few, and everytime I use them I get compliments (specifically anything Donegal Plaid). Of course, as is the way with most things on eBay, people were willing to pay over $400 for a bag that retailed for $120 or less… but it was LAMB-mania! Gwen learned from this, and started up her lux line of bags after parting with LeSportsac after  creating LAMB for LeSportsac for 4 seasons (fall/winter 2003, spring 2004, summer 2004 and fall/winter 2004).

I  also adore the clothing line that she started shortly after the LeSportsac line, and her new “lux” handbag line is fantastic as well. About 3 years ago one of my surprise Christmas presents from Jay was a pair of black ‘Baby’ sneakers and since then I’ve kept a close eye on her shoe line too. For those of you  totally unfamiliar with L.A.M.B., heres a brief history thanks to Wikipedia:

“L.A.M.B. is a fashion line by American singer Gwen Stefani, the lead vocalist of the rock band No Doubt and a solo artist. The line manufactures apparel and fashion accessories. The line was founded in 2003 but made its runway debut the following year in 2004. The fashion line manufactures accessories like shoes, watches, bags and a fragrance called “L” as well. The name is an acronym of her debut solo album Love.Angel.Music.Baby.

The line is influenced by a variety of fashions cultures, including Guatemalan, Japanese, Indian and Jamaican styles. Stefani came from a line of seamstresses. This further inspired her to launch her own fashion line. The line achieved popularity among celebrities and is worn by stars such as Teri Hatcher, Nicole Kidman, Paris Hilton and Stefani herself.

The fashion line made a runway debut in the spring collection of 2004,^[1] and achieved mainstream success at New York Fashion Week in 2005 and currently makes an annual gross income of $90 million. The line, as well as the fashion shows were well received by critics and appreciated the indulgence of a celebrity into the fashion world. An additional fashion line was also launched by Stefani called Harajuku Lovers intended for those who, like her Japanese back-up singers, share a love for Kawaiiness.”

I’m a big fan of her Harajuku Lovers line too, and I have a few bags and clothing items from it. Harajuku Lovers is lower on the price scale than L.A.M.B. and is a bit more youthful, whereas the L.A.M.B. line is classier and a bit more adult for lack of a better word. Both lines have fragrances; and all of them are delicious.

Some highlights of the L.A.M.B. line for me have been:

Donegal Plaid military coat, Fall 2004

Cheetah hoodie, Spring 2007

Double breasted leopard coat, Fall 2006

Where did my LAMB go? hoodie

If you’re interested in seeing more or purchasing something, here are some L.A.M.B. and Harajuku Lovers links-

L.A.M.B. (clothing)

LAMB shoes

LAMB fragrance

Harajuku Lovers

HL fragrance

Gwen Stefani L.A.M.B.

“Inject your soul with liberty, its free.”

December 19, 2008, 1:12 am     Comments Closed

When I was in high school, actually make that junior high, I was a big Cranberries fan. My cousin bought me a VHS (oh god, I’m dating myself) of The Cranberries live in England and I played it constantly. I thought Dolores O’Riordan was the coolest woman on the planet. As a matter of fact the first time I cut my hair short, when I was 15, I was inspired by her. She looked so amazing with it, it was fashionable, and edgy… yet not as out there as Sinead O’Connor’s shaved head. She was definitely an icon back then. Outspoken but not pushy, through the song and video ‘Zombie‘ she made known the mostly ignored and unresolved struggle that had been going on in Northern Ireland for so many years.

Since then, Dolores has grown her hair out, gotten married, had three babies and left the Cranberries for a solo career. Last May, she released a new album called ‘Are you Listening?‘ I haven’t got the album, but I read up on it and listened to most of it on the internet. On Amazon, the majority of reviewers gave it 5 out of 5 stars, I’d have to say based on what I’ve heard I’d give it 4.

The songs on the album are based on her life, and experienced during the writing of the album. According to an interview on Bobbysix:

As well as being a delightfully catchy listen, Are You Listening? is a powerful juxtaposition of the darkness and light in O’Riordan’s world. Her song Black Widow was inspired by the death of her mother-in-law, while current single Ordinary Day is a paean to her daughter. In Human Spirit she sings: “Don’t let life consume you/It could eat you up inside,” and it is clear that Dolores O’Riordan is now wise, worldly and ready for phase two of her musical adventure. “When you’ve learnt as much as I’ve learnt, the second time around you see the error of your ways. I’m not saying I’ll never make a mistake again, because I will, but not the ones I’ve already made.”

If you liked the Cranberries, and like her voice, then you’ll definitely appreciate this album. Its like having the old Cranberries back again, or at least their sound. And its been a long time, since the last few albums they released (‘Bury the Hatchet‘ and ‘Wake Up and Smell the Coffee‘) just didn’t have that… at least for me. However if you didn’t like the Cranberries, or don’t enjoy O’Riordan’s voice, then you most assuredly won’t like ‘Are You Listening?‘ and I don’t see why you’d buy it or listen to it in the first place.

‘Black Widow’ is a haunting song with an almost choir-like feeling to the intro. ‘When We Were Young’ is so much like the old Cranberries it almost gives me déjà vu. Same with ‘Ordinary Day’ and ‘In the Garden.’ Theres a lot of drum machines used, giving the songs an almost Evanescence kind of vibe. Not that it sounds anything like Evanescence.

I’m definitely going to get my hands on this album. And I’d love to get my hands on that coat shes wearing in the promo photo above as well…

Dolores O'Riordan 'Are You Listening?'

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