The Meanies

10% Weird (Frontier)
by J. Lianna Ness

Listen to the Meanies/They ain’t no pop weenies/From the Land Down Under/The music roars like thunder…oh, fuck it. Poetry ain’t my forte, but you get the general idea. 10% Weird (Frontier) is The Meanies first full-length U.S. release, which they recorded in Seattle. Eddie Vedder was so impressed that he asked the band to open for them on Pearl Jam’s Australian tour in the Fall of ’95. This exposure garnered The Meanies a spot on the Australian Top 20, but this ain’t no pussy pap power pop band. The music is hard, fast and voluminous. The monotone-like vocals remind me of the Smithereens, and they possess the heavy, buzzing guitar sound of the Rocket to Russia and Road To Ruin era of Ramones (not to mention the two-minute song structure – this disc packs 14 songs into 30 minutes). At other times, they sound like pre-retro (i.e. early-’80s) Bad Religion, minus the deep, political lyrics. The lyrical content of the Meanies’ songs is fairly light and facetious. My all-time favorite track is “Ton Of Bricks” (“If ya wanna hate me/just fill out the form and sign the line/Then I’m gonna file it/so there’ll be no confusion with time.”). I also like the title track “10% Weird,” a playful tune about towing the line between conformity and outrageousness; being considered a little odd, but not quite strange enough to shock the masses. The Meanies may be 10% Weird, but they’re 90% pile-driving punk. If you thought nothing good could come from the country responsible for Men At Work, think again.