The Get Up Kids

Something to Write Home About (Vagrant)
by Tim Den

Hmm… so the world’s most overrated band has given us two releases at once. How nice. Well, at least one of them, Red Letter Day, is only an EP. The less time filled with their unoriginality the better. Alright, so you disagree because you think they’re cute. I bet you also disagree because they’re danceable, easily melodic, and just so darn peppy. Well, I’ve got news for you: So and so are Brittany Spears, and 98 Degrees.

The Get Up Kids, indie rock’s hottest (and most net-grossing) band right now, fall to pieces when examined under close observation. Hell, that’s even stretching it. These young ‘uns simply sound like store brand goods mimicing the name-brand rock of Jimmy Eat World, Weezer, The Promise Ring, and Crumb, all of which are obvious influences on our Kids. I mean, it’s one thing to copy a sound and do it well, it’s another to copy it verbatim and not put any effort into it at all. “Hey, Jimmy Eat World used some keyboards on their last record, and so did Weezer. Guess what instrument we’ll be incorporating (and desecrating) on our new album?” It doesn’t take more than two songs to show that the percentage of creativity at work here is zero. And this shit sells more than Far and Into Another?

Which, in turn, is a shame. Because it makes you realize that there are more than plenty of ignorant fools out there buying this crap, considering how many units these boys are moving (and isn’t that what matters the most?). There are tons of people out there who either don’t pay attention to what they’re listening to, or just flat out have cow dung for taste. Pity. I guess this isn’t news, especially since Matchbox 20 and The Offspring dominate the airwaves. But somehow I expect the indie rock audience to be smarter.
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