Five years ago, Green Day released its anti-Bush opus, “American Idiot.” Five years later, the band has woken up in a feral Bush-hating hangover. “Know Your Enemy” is the first single from Green Day’s forthcoming album, “21st Century Breakdown,” and it features Billie Joe Armstrong on anti-authority repeat.
“Do you know the enemy?/Do you know your enemy?/Well, gotta know the enemy,” questions Armstrong, for a grand total of 16 times throughout the song. This astoundingly repetitive feat is second only to that of John Mayer, who sang “Say What You Need to Say” 36 times in “Say What You Need Say.”
The track opens with Tré Cool pounding on the drums. Armstrong then scratches away at three chords, and asks, in its megaphone-filtered glory, “Do you know the enemy?” Green Day is ready to stick it to the man. But what, in the name of John Mayer, is there left for Green Day to say? Armstrong’s presidential favorite won. Yes, the economy is in the shitter, but “burning down the foreman of control” is the least of our concerns.
After frantically questioning the listener, Green Day concludes, “silence is the enemy.” Upon hearing the same chords, the same lyrics, and the same melody for 120 seconds, silence is the only solace. Silence is the hero. Make. This. Song. Stop. The 21st-century breakdown has just been kicked into overdrive. Hating on subversive politics is Green Day’s special way of being as culturally relevant as your Aunt Tilly’s kidney stone.
— Stelios Phili
Sonic Youth
“Sacred Trickster”
3 stars
With a few harsh, out-of-tempo chords that sound like sinister church bells, Sonic Youth’s new single, “Sacred Trickster,” begins. A melody then takes over, but it’s hard to latch onto. Like so many Sonic Youth songs, this one is heavily structured but obscured by the ruthlessness of the performance. Sonic Youth has never been known for their catchy riffs.
But it’s tempting to read “Sacred Trickster” as a pop song. It clocks in at just over two minutes and seems like a distillation, rather than culmination, of the band’s signature sound: fuzzy guitars, lengthy instrumental introductions (even in this short format), and of course Kim Gordon’s beautiful, ugly voice.
“I want you to levitate me!” she sings. Aw, thanks Kim. I was just thinking the same thing.
But ultimately, the song doesn’t catch on. It never has the time to find its way, and the group uses Gordon’s theatricality as a crutch.
“What’s it like to be a girl in a band?” she asks and, inevitably, the listener chuckles. Gordon cracks a joke while the band falls apart around her confidence. They’re playing some interesting noises with those guitars, but they refuse to latch onto one or even three riffs. The dynamic changes far too much for the song’s two minutes. It’s over before you know what hit you. Points for effort and intensity, though.
at least with bands like Metallica they try to put some time and thought into their work.
Granted its all the same thing on a bigger scale, but still.
then you get bands like Tool, now these guys no their stuff, they tell you whole stories, sure it ends up lasting 3 hours per song, but its worth it imo.
then there are bands like Anal C*nt, these guys base whole albums to a topic, "Howard is Bald" great album, all the songs are titled about how howard is bald, i haven't listened to it, but im sure the lyrics are great, how many different ways can they say howard is bald? i dont know, but i want to find out.
maybe there is some indepth story as to how howard became bald, again, i dont know.
KMC Community Forums
May 5th, 2009 07:26 PM
Role Model-Eminem
