Bad Press
Concert
review: Good Charlotte more pop than punk
Though marketed as a snarling punk band with pop leanings, Good Charlotte
in concert seems as menacing as John Mayer. In Madison, the band drew a
majority of pre-teen and teen girls - some with parents in tow - who want
music far more raucous than Hilary Duff or Justin Timberlake deliver. Good
Charlotte's "dangerous" image, hunky front man Joel Madden
(sporting the world's most carefully groomed mini mohawk) and alienation-lite
tunes strike a chord with this demographic. >W<
Good
Charlotte a popular punk band
Knocking Good Charlotte, who plays Sunday at Brown County Arena in
Ashwaubenon, has become a favorite sport for hipsters, critics and wise
acres everywhere. The band undoubtedly has a huge following, but there
seemingly are just as many people who react to the cuddly foursome with
the kind of hostility usually reserved for the likes of Saddam Hussein or
Ben and J. Lo.
“What the hell happened to punk rock?” demands Rolling Stone.
Bad Charlotte: Punk bands aren’t supposed to go multi-platinum. Success
screws with your rep, which in turns screws with record sales. Of course,
if you sell fewer copies of your next album it might help your
popularity.
Bad Charlotte: Compared to the Sex Pistols, you look like the second coming of the Care Bears.>G<
These
days, punk is wide open
Three chords and aggression remain punk’s dominant genes. Heading the
current class are such pop-punk groups as Good Charlotte, The Offspring,
Green Day and Blink-182, the peppy pranksters an ailing industry hopes
will jump-start holiday record sales with a self-titled album due Nov. 18.
Punk fans who sneer at Good Charlotte or Blink-182 may be bestowing
credibility, earned in part by a talent for annoying people. >G<
Revealed:
The MVPs of MTV's VMAs
Best Wusses: Although Good Charlotte concluded their
limp rendition of "Anthem" by trashing their equipment, they
still resembled nothing so much as a bunch of colicky Boy Scouts angling
for a Revlon endorsement. Perhaps Rock put it best when he said,
"Good Charlotte? More like a mediocre Green Day." >T<
EW
VMA Re-Cap
GOOD CHARLOTTE Hey guys, the goth
cheerleader thing was a great idea -- when Nirvana did it, 12 years ago.
Meanwhile, the contrast between Good Charlotte's outré (and clearly
labored-upon) look -- guitarist Benji Madden's facial tattoos, singer
Joel Madden's dyed Mohawk -- and their bland, Blink-182 sound is
hilarious to anyone over the age of 14. And while their hits display
songwriting smarts, the band's musicianship was wobbly at best in
Thursday night's version of ''The Anthem,'' with Madden's thin,
hoarse voice wobbling in the absence of studio magic. Heck, they didn't even smash their instruments with conviction. >E<
MTV
HeadLine
The kissing theme continued during Good
Charlotte, when halfway through "The Anthem," guitarist Benji
Madden planted a smooch on bassist Paul's cheek. The goofy gag was
representative of the rest of the performance, which was filled with
spirited leaps, strained facial expressions and cartoon punk moves — not
to mention 40 "dead" girls in cheerleader outfits. >M<
REVIEW:
CARLING WEEKEND - LEEDS, MAIN STAGE FRIDAY
Good Charlotte are asking for
trouble popping into our lives at this point in the day, but we're feeling
charitable and give them a fair chance to impress. As the opening notes of
misogynist chart recent hit 'Girls And Money' cranks into life NME walks
to get a burger. And that was fucking shit too. >N<
*** 1/2 RANCID, "INDESTRUCTIBLE"
Sure, the real melancholy
here comes from knowing that modern punk is just about as watered-down as
music gets, and that at this point in its game, Rancid has to jockey for
cred position with wafer-thin baby clowns like Good Charlotte. >S<
To get the scoop on teen trends
The hard-driving rock 'n' roll of
punk music has faded faster on the charts than Good Charlotte's career.
Apparently, teenagers have tired of hearing 30-year-olds singing about
high school life. >P<